BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #288 - Arbutus Distillery Hibiscus Vodka

DISTILLERY NOTES

Brand new, just released and currently only available at our lounge is our Hibiscus Vodka.
Tart and juicy, super delicious in cocktails or simply paired with soda and lemon.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

Literally arrived this morning and what amazing timing. Arbutus Distilleries latest offering is fantastic, I love hibiscus and this is absolutely fantastic. That beautiful red berry fruit leather notes partnered with the clean backbone of the base spirit is heavenly. A splash of simple with this in a drink and it will sing. Hit this with the Fever-Tree Elderflower Tonic.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Gorgeous deep pink

Nose - Raspberry fruit leather, hibiscus flower and hints of the base spirit

Taste - Bright and floral hibiscus, that beautiful red fruit leather and strong backbone of the vodka

Finish - Long hibiscus

Best Enjoyed - Try it with Elderflower Tonic

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #287 - Old Order Legacy Gin

DISTILLERY NOTES

Our craft gin is made in a Dutch style of Genever, distilled from a 100% malted barley grain mash, which produces a fuller-bodied spirit. Our approach to Legacy Gin was to make the sweet spicy flavours of our malted barley spirit shine with botanicals that include juniper berry as well as cardamom, coriander, anise, angelica root and cinnamon. You’ll find no flowery lavender here folks! This is balanced with a citrus profile of orange and lemon peel and dried apples from our farm in Summerland. This unique complex gin, stands on its own in a Martini with just a splash of Vermouth or pairs well with a craft tonic

BC SPIRITS NOTES

Haven’t tried much from Old Order Distilling but glad I stumbled upon a bottle of this at Tudor Liquor Store. Grapefruit and piney juniper on the nose leans into big textural floral notes on the palate. Another great addition to your gin collection.

Alcohol - 43% / 86 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Grapefruit and piney juniper on the nose, aromatic floral notes

Taste - Big aromatic floral bomb on the palate, fresh and clean with balanced piney juniper and rich citrus

Finish - Long citrus and floral notes

Best Enjoyed - Gin & tonic for sure

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Cocktail of the Week #9 - All in the Family

Decided to do a cocktail from Clive's in Clive's, All in the Family created by Dave Warren and is featured on the the Hometown Heroes section of the menu.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
3/4 oz (22.5mL) Devine Distillery Genever

3/4 oz (22.5mL) Legend Distilling Naramaro

3/4 oz (22.5mL) Ampersand Distillery Imperative

Glass - Nick & Nora

Method - Stir with ice and strain

Garnish - orange express and discard, lemon twist garnish

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #286 - Taynton Bay Pickled Vodka

DISTILLERY NOTES

Perfect for Caesars! This tangy and lively spirit was born through a partnership with Sophie's Original Choice Pickled Products. Trust us, it's amazing! Your Caesars have never been better with this Pickled Vodka.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

Another great find, while I am not a huge fan of flavored vodka, this is a fun little number from Taynton Bay. It's not just a pickled flavored vodka but a pickle vodka; on the nose, bread and butter pickles then the palate opens up to rich salinity and texture with dill, pickling spice notes and that distinct cucumber acidity.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Pickle green

Nose - Bread and butter pickles on the nose, pickling spice and deep notes

Taste - Rich, pickling spice, bread and butter pickles and huge salinity to it. Layers of deep flavors

Finish - Bread and butter pickles for days

Best Enjoyed - Caesars for sure

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #285 - Tumbleweed Spirits Gin

DISTILLERY NOTES

This one of a kind, ultra-modern ‘Canadian Dry Gin’ is the better half to the time tested and traditional London Dry….smooth, juniper forward, with a hint of lavender, citrus and wild desert sage. Great for sipping, shaken or stirred.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

Fantastic surprise finding this on my liquor store archaeology trip. I don't have the opportunity to taste enough stuff from Tumbleweed Spirits in the southern Okanagan in Osoyoos. Mostly known for their moonshines, this gin shows amazing complexity on the nose with sage and floral tones that flow to the palate with rich lavender and juniper balancing out the herbal notes.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Fresh rain, sage brush and hints of piney juniper

Taste - Lavender forward balanced by herbal sage notes and a solid blend of juniper and citrus to give it structure and a back bone.

Finish - Long, fresh rain balanced with delightful herb garden notes

Best Enjoyed - In your favorite cocktail

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #284 - Okanagan Spirits Pinot Noir Grappa

DISTILLERY NOTES

Made from 100% BC Pinot Noir pomace gives this Marc (known as Grappa in Italy) a fine aroma of blackberries and rose petals.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

This was an amazing surprise from Okanagan Spirits, way above a grappa/marc in the traditional sense. Bright, aromatic and complex notes of floral and fruity tones with a rich and textured that goes on and on.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Heavily aromatic with deep notes of fragrant Pinot Noir notes

Taste - Rich, clean and aromatic, this is so much more than a grappa/marc, structured wine tones with amazing aromatic eau de vie notes

Finish - Aromatic and fragrant grape notes that go forever

Best Enjoyed - Neat

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #283 - Goodridge and Williams Northern Grains

DISTILLERY NOTES

Artisanal whisky distilled from Canadian wheat and malted barley, aged in American bourbon barrels and finished in red wine casks from the Okanagan Valley. Taste the notes of dried fruits, toasted wood and sherry.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

A regular release from Goodridge and Williams, a blend of malted barley and wheat from the province gives a very unique expression from the distillery. A very approachable spirit, the grain mix gives it a great back bone and fantastic high notes from the wheat. Just a very solid Canadian whisky for drinking and mixing.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Burnt orange copper

Nose - Soft high notes of wheat, structured barley grain notes on the market

Taste - Wheat and malted barley play well together, high soft notes of the wheat with the bold barley holding the court

Finish - Hints of sweetness, round texture and wheat is forward

Best Enjoyed - Neat or in cocktails

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #282 - Sheringham Distillery Akvavit

DISTILLERY NOTES

A traditional Nordic spirit of tranquil unsung fortitude.  Notes of dill, caraway, anise & citrus with a hint of the ocean from locally harvested winged kelp.

Akvavit originated in Scandinavian lands with each country having a distinct flavour profile for their native spirit. This is a representation of Akvavit with our island twist curated by the aptitude of Jason MacIsaac.

Made from white wheat, malted barley and botanicals from land & ocean, including sustainable hand-harvested local winged kelp (Alaria marginata).

BC SPIRITS NOTES

I am blown away that the Sheringham Distillery Akvavit has not been on the show. It’s 282 and I’m doing something that I proudly can say I helped create. Bold caraway and botanicals, it’s balanced mix portrays a spring in Scandinavia. Aromatic botanicals mixed with rich caraway and kelp texture and taste.

Alcohol - 42% / 84 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Aromatic with bright notes of caraway, fennel and hints of juniper

Taste - Complex and aromatic, balanced notes of myriad of anise notes, hints of juniper and citrus and long textural salinity

Finish - Long and gorgeous aromatics, all anise and caraway

Best Enjoyed - Neat or in cocktails

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #281 - Yaletown Distilling KPMG Blue Ocean Gin

DISTILLERY NOTES

This aromatic artisinal gin is a small batch distilled in the London Dry style exclusively for KPMG using locally sourced grains and wild craft botanicals. The result is enchantingly fruity with a gentle sweetness and delicate bitter finish.

Evoking a passion for the ocean, a unique infusion of kelp sustainably harvested off the coast of Haida Gwaii lends a subtle sea note, while the natural butterfly pea flower achieves the vibrant ocean blue.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

This was a sneaky one from Yaletown Distilling, the blue from the butterfly pea flower gives you the underestimation of it being soft but this is a big, ballsy, classic style London Dry Gin that is bold juniper, woody coastal forest and a long earthy finish with hint of salinity from the kelp.

Alcohol - 42% / 84 proof

Color - Bright blue

Nose - Bold and aromatic of woody, piney juniper

Taste - Bold, floral juniper with balanced citrus and a solid, strong botanical backbone with hints of salinity from the kelp

Finish - Long juniper, hints of Pacific forest woodiness and just hints of the sea air

Best Enjoyed - Gin and Tonic

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Cocktail of the Week #8 - Corpse Reviver No. #Blue

A classic from Jacob Briars, a blue take on the Corpse Reviver #2. This one, we took all local ingredients....obviously.

CORPSE REVIVER NO. #BLUE

3/4 oz (22.5mL) Queensborough Wine Barrel Aged Gin

3/4 oz (22.5mL) Beaufort Vermouth

3/4 oz (22.5mL) Sons of Vancouver Blue Curacao

3/4 oz (22.5mL) lemon juice

Dash of Alchemist Green Frog Absynthe

Glass - large cocktail glass

Method - Shake all ingredients and double strain

Garnish - Lemon twist

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #280 - Odd Society Powell Brewery Collab Whisky

DISTILLERY NOTES

Our Powell Bourbon-Style Whisky was made in collaboration with our good friends at Powell Brewery , located just down the road. This is our first “bourbon” and was inspired by Powell’s experimental corn California common. We can’t technically call it bourbon because it wasn’t made in the US but the mash bill is 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley. The mash was soured overnight at the brewery (A special thanks to Okanagan Spirits for helping us source BC-grown corn suitable for distilling), and the whisky was aged for three years in a 200 litre brand new American white oak barrel at the distillery. Rich and smooth, with typical corn sweetness, this whisky is a very special bourbon-style treat!

BC SPIRITS NOTES

What I believe is the last brewery collaboration from Odd Society comes their first "bourbon style" whisky in collaboration with Powell Brewery. I love my classic bourbons and this one stands up to the challenge, beautiful warm vanilla tones, stewed stone fruit and drying but not overpowering spiced oak.

Alcohol - 46% / 92 proof

Color - Deep bright copper orange

Nose - Vanilla, stewed stone fruit and hints of oak

Taste - Strong dry vanilla, spicy oak, stewed stone fruit, bitey chocolates and toffees

Finish - Round and drying with vanilla, oak and spice

Best Enjoyed - Neat or in an Old Fashioned

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #279 - Wood's Spirit Co. Amaro Chiaro

DISTILLERY NOTES

The Woods Spirit Co. Chiaro Amaro is a Pacific Northwest take on a traditional Italian favourite. A little more approachable than the original herbal liqueur, Chiaro Amaro is delicate and balanced. It’s delicious served neat with a citrus wedge, on ice with soda, or mixed into your favorite martini, sour, or white negroni. 

Woods’ expert distillers tested many variations of herbs, roots, flowers, bark, and citrus peels before landing on the perfect blend of botanicals for Chiaro Amaro. Thirteen botanicals including Lemon, Star Anise, and Gentian.

Chiaro Amaro’s unique clarity and flavour is thanks to our innovative process of vacuum distillation which reveals the pure essence of the botanicals, while maintaining the crystal clarity of the alcohol.

Citrus-floral forward with a perfect blend of bitter and sweet, Woods’ Chiaro Amaro is a refreshing and versatile liqueur that can be enjoyed alone or added to your favourite cocktails.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

Brand new from Wood's Spirit Co., this take on their classic Amaro deserves a place of it's very own. Bright and gentian forward on the nose, reminiscent of French gentian liqueurs than leads it into a complex bitterness on the palate, spiky gentian bite with gorgeous aromatic citrus; looking forward to playing with this one.

Alcohol - 25% / 50 proof

Color - Off clear

Nose - Big gentian and orange on the nose

Taste - Lightly sweet is balanced with complex floral and orange notes along with a spiky and poignant bitter gentian note

Finish - Hints of sweetness with floral, citrus complexity and then a bitter bite in the end

Best Enjoyed - On the rocks with tonic and in cocktails

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #278 - Tofino Distillery Beach Fire

DISTILLERY NOTES

Our one and only "Beach Fire" cinnamon spirit is a truly unique product made from our bourbon base, drawing inspiration from some more commonly found cinnamon style products.

This lighter alcohol spirit is distinct, pulling its sweetness from the high corn mash as well as the addition of organic cane sugar, while delivering all the warmth and astringency of real organic cinnamon.

Originally designed to be passed around the bonfire, it also doubles as a flask-filler on the ski hill because it's great as a straight up sipper.

In the winter months it can be added to hot apple cider or hot cocoa and even some hibiscus iced (or not) tea.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

A craft take on that liqueur that everyone loves on the snow fields, it rhymes with Lirecall. I don't love cinnamon in anyway but I can see this by the fire off the shore of Tofino, it comes in sweet cinnamon roll and then the cinnamon spice just dries out leaves you wanting to more.

Alcohol - 36% / 72 proof

Color - Dark cola brown

Nose - Just bold cinnamon, dry and aromatic

Taste - Sweet cinnamon on the front palate and then dries right out and leaves you lingering

Finish - Cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon

Best Enjoyed - Chilled on the beach

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #277 - Forbidden Spirits Eve's Gin

DISTILLERY NOTES

Eve’s Original Gin begins with the finest BC Apples. It’s gently infused with juniper, coriander, rose hips, butterfly-pea flowers and angelica root. Fair warning: mixing with citrus, will lead to unexpected and entirely satisfying results.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

A delightful apple based gin out of Forbidden Distillery, one that I hope that I can get more in the coming weeks. Beautifully aromatic apple on the nose with a hint of the botanicals coming in the back. On the palate, the complex bright botanicals are balanced out with aromatic apple spirit.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Clean apple nose with hints of botanicals behind but big eau de vie nose.

Taste - Aromatic apple, musty juniper with simple but complex botanicals.

Finish - Clean, long and fresh rain and aromatic apple

Best Enjoyed - Gin & Tonic

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #276 - Okanagan Spirits Essential Gin

DISTILLERY NOTES

The journey begins with the annual grain harvest just a few kilometers from our family distillery. We then hand-grind, ferment, and distill on site, using our state of the art, 50-plate, copper-pot still to ensure absolute purity.

Our blend of botanicals—many of which come straight from our Master Distiller’s garden—are then added to the spirit, which is then re-distilled.

Okanagan Spirits Essential Collection gin salutes the local herbs and botanicals that grow in the Okanagan region as well as introduces a few of the exotic Gin classics.

Juniper forward with spruce tip overtones, coriander to balance, rhubarb for past good memories, orris for a fleeting moment, violet flower for some and rose because we like rose to balance the silky smooth texture.

The spiciness of our local grain adds strength to balance the tempering floral overtones. Neat on ice or further developed in a symbiotic relationship with a citrus-based tonic we invite you to experience the exceptional.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

Shocked to say that this never has been on the show and the grain based gin from Okanagan Spirits is a crowd pleaser. Classic based gin with the classic juniper and botanicals but it's the rhubarb and the lemon balm that really does it for me. Bright and aromatics balanced with those stand out flavors make it unique.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Fresh rhubarb, lemon balm, spruce tips and just a spring garden

Taste - Sweet and fruity then leans into the savory notes of that lemon balm and then finishes in the classic New Western Gin styling.

Finish - Sweet spring garden, long and fresh

Best Enjoyed - Swap in for your White Lady cocktail

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #275 - Deep Earth Deep Magic Baiju

DISTILLERY NOTES

Owner Samuel grew up in the rural mountain villages of China, and has developed a unique passion and connection to agriculture. Having studied biology in university, he worked at a number of famous international food corporations. He has also built his own factory, which later became a branch of Nestle. His various working experiences prepared him for roles in the fields of manufacturing, quality control, sales, management and much more. After moving to Canada, he decided to pick up farming once again, fusing his love and passion for Chinese culture together with his experiences in agriculture. The result was the creation of a craft distillery that manufactures traditional Chinese liquor. After meticulous planning, he decided that the Fraser Valley is the best location to base the farm.

The Fraser Valley has some of the best underground water resources in the world, which has won several awards at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting event. The fertile lands of BC, plentiful rainfall and warm weather produces some of the finest grains. High quality water and grain are essential to distilling high quality liquor. After establishing the factory, Samuel invited an experienced expert, who had earned a master’s degree in alcohol distilling, to work with him to combine the traditional Chinese distilling technique with the modern distilling methods. After countless experiments and hard work, paying attention to every detail, he finally created an organic and smooth liquor with a touch of sweet aftertaste.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

Very unique spirit to be made outside of China, Baiju is the most drunk spirit in the world and to be able to try a craft version of it in BC is completely cool. It doesn't give a lot of information and I am very interested to see if it uses the traditional fermentation starter, Qū. I haven't tried enough traditional baiju to really get the flavor comparison but it's vegetative, green and really delicious; it has reminiscent tones blanco highland tequila.

Alcohol - 48% / 96 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Funky, vegetative on the nose, green spice, green capsicum

Taste - Very vegetative, green pepper, rainwater, and long funky notes

Finish - A little hot, long funky and green tones

Best Enjoyed - Neat

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Cocktail of the Week #7 - I Live in Vic West

A very popular cocktail at Clive's Classic Lounge right now. I wanted to create a simple and tasty cocktail that would be "Sessionable" and here it is.

I LIVE IN VIC WEST

1 1/2 oz (45mL) Stillhead Distillery Blackberry Gin

1 oz (30mL) Esquimalt Wine Co. Kina Rouge

1/4 oz (7.5mL) simple syrup

3/4 oz (22.5mL) lemon juice

2 dashes of Bittered Sling Kensington Bitters

Glass - Old Fashioned Rocks

Method - Shake and strain over fresh ice

Garnish - lemon slices

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #274 - Odd Society Bittersweet Vermouth

DISTILLERY NOTES

Odd Society Bittersweet Vermouth is the perfect union of our commitment to ingenuity in the face of our reverence for tradition. It’s a contradictory blend that yields both the bitter and the sweet, just like a life well-lived.

Based on an old Italian sweet vermouth recipe found in an antique notebook, this reimagination combines 25 botanicals and fine BC wine fortified with our malted barley spirit.

Our Bittersweet Vermouth is unique, yet timeless. Its rich and intense flavours will add subtle complexity to your favourite cocktails or stand alone as a strong apéritif.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

I really can't believe that I haven't done this one before. Odd Society Spirits has many cult labels and this is definitely one of them. Rich and balanced, hits you hard with beautiful roundness and sweetness in the front and then dries out with complex botanicals in the finish, mix with their Wallflower and Mia Amata for a autumn themed Negroni.

Alcohol - 18% / 36 proof

Color - Burnt copper

Nose - Bold wine notes and hints of the botanicals to come, rich honeysuckle, complex herbal tones get you ready

Taste - To begin it is sweet and mouthfilling but then it dries right out and brings complex and bitter herbal notes rushing over your tongue

Finish - Dry and herbal with just a hint of that wine sweetness

Best Enjoyed - Autumn Negroni like above

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #273 - Shelter Point Canada One Vodka

DISTILLERY NOTES

CanadaOne is named after the distiller’s cut—the purest one percent of a spirit that is achieved for a brief moment at the peak of distillation. To get to that one percent, we use one grain, from one farm, at one distillery. Our vodka is refined and smooth, distilled in a 20 plate column still for maximum purity. With true provenance, we use barley grown right in front of the distillery. Once it’s in a glass, there’s no mistaking it. CanadaOne vodka is as pure as the barley and spring water it’s made from—an unmistakably Canadian vodka.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

We all know and love Shelter Points whisky but they don't do a bad job at making a tasty vodka either. 100% malted barley from the farm is distilled to a gorgeous textural vodka with some funky notes on the nose, great grain structure and a long lingering finish. I would do a burnt martini using their Smoke Point and the Beaufort Vermouth.

Alcohol - 40% / 80 proof

Color - Clear

Nose - Funky grain notes, hints of fresh rain on hot concrete, stonefruit notes

Taste - Fruity stonefruit and grain notes, a little funk with a great creamy texture

Finish - Funky stonefruit notes linger

Best Enjoyed - Burnt martini as above

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BC Spirits "Spirits a Day" #272 - Victoria Distillers Empress 1908

DISTILLERY NOTES

Handcrafted in small batch copper-pot stills, Empress 1908 Gin is a collaboration between Victoria Distillers and the legendary Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. On top of traditional botanicals, we add a signature blend of black tea served at the Empress Hotel and butterfly pea blossom, an exotic herb that balances the traditional citrus notes of gin with a warm herbal earthiness, and gives the gin its natural indigo colour. Empress 1908’s combination of exquisite taste, delicate aroma, soft texture, and remarkable presentation provide the perfect base for a new aesthetic of cocktail creation and enjoyment.

BC SPIRITS NOTES

An now iconic brand from Victoria Distillers, outselling Hendricks in BC last year and being available world wide. The flavor is designed to be very New Western with subtle but structured juniper and lengthy botanicals with bright citrus to balance it all. Great gin for those chasing a nouveau gin with a little bit more.

Alcohol - 43% / 86 proof

Color - Bright indigo

Nose - Bright citrus on the nose with hints of dusty juniper

Taste - Rich botanicals, bright citrus and complex but subdued juniper notes.

Finish - Bright notes of citrus with that earthy juniper notes

Best Enjoyed - Sub in for regular gin to create the color changing effects

Join the #1 authority on British Columbia's distilling and spirit culture, we taste through some of BC’s burgeoning craft spirits, from the weird and wonderful to the eclectic. With in-depth tastings, to advice on how to mix craft spirits along with professional bartending tips and tricks; BC Spirits has you covered.

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