Love cocktails as much as we do? Then try your hand at making some of these cocktails from local bartenders, bars and distilleries.
Alcohol - 30% / 60 proof
Color - Deep red
Nose - Medicinal, herbal black berry
Taste - Unique, an amalgamation of all black berries including cherry, herbal almost subtle amaro tones with hints of green leaf and floral notes
Finish - Clean and dry but full of herbal notes, black berries and hint of floral notes
Best Enjoyed - Chilled and sipped after dinner
Alcohol - 30% / 60 proof
Color - Light translucent dark pink
Nose - Spiced cherry, forward and in your face
Taste - Cherry pie filling, slightly spiced, hints of tannic skin, pits and green flavors. Only subtle honey comes through
Finish - Clean cherry, hints of spice and a slight burn
Best Enjoyed - Blood and Sand
And more importantly, Elder Bros Farms Whack-a-Vole Schnapps; now usually I don't do a single distillery tasting as I like to get a spread but from my knowledge, these are the only schnapps in the province and they are fantastic. Get away from peppermint schnapps you would have had in a shot at the club growing up, these are authentic European schnapps made by a Hungarian family in Wycliffe.
With quarantine shrinking the stocks in the local liquor stores and some out of the way distilleries not shipping everywhere quite yet, I have had a hard time building out the big episodes every week. This week I tackled brand new whiskies from Odd Society, Liberty Distilleries and DeVine Spirits. Great selection of things I have never tasted, love the anticipation.
The last time I did a barrel aged gin episode, I did 14 which was excessive to say the least. So this time, I wanted to bring 5 gins that each had their own style and taste, from light wood to a wine barrel finished gin. All spectacular, showcasing Stillhead Distillery, Noteworthy, Liberty Distilling, Odd Society Spirits and Resurrection Spirits.
Delve into the cabinet this week and take a tour of smoked whiskies in BC, only a couple but great expressions. Starting with the Lohin McKinnon Peated, which could be my favorite expression from the distillery. The eclectic Odd Society Spirits Maple Whisky and finally the legendary Shelter Point Distillery Smoke Point.
With the huge win for Ampersand's Per Se Vodka, picking up World's Best Single Varietal Vodka at the World Vodka Awards; I decided to take a geeky Soole approach to this week's episode and explore single varietal vodkas from fruit to honey to grain and potatoes. Featuring Merridale Cowichan fruit Vodka, Wayward distillation house Unruly Honey Vodka, Stealth Distilleries Corn Vodka, Schramm Potato Vodka and finally the show runner, Ampersand Distilling Per Se.
Time to explore some nutty liqueurs, both Nocino and Amaretto (although that is made from apricot kernels), great examples found right here in BC. Showcasing the original introduction to the style with Ampersand Distilling Nocino and then to the newly released contenders of Wood's Spirit Co. Nocino and Bruinwood's Noveau Nucino. For amaretto, we tackle the Sons of Vancouver, including tasting the barrel aged No.82, something you didn't know you needed in your life.
Spring is just around the corner and we got into some seriously great liqueurs with Maple Leaf Spirits Pear liqueur, Urban Distillers Blackberry and Okanagan Spirits Cherry, Blueberry and Haskap Liqueurs.
Part five of gins still hasn't even scratched the surface but slowly but surely I am making my way through them. This week we cover Sheringham Seaside, Spinnaker's Breakwater, Noteworthy, Tofino Distillery & Shelter Point Botanical Gin.
While my disdain for this category is well known, the flavored vodka market in the province is diverse, out of the box and innovative. Check out these from One Foot Crow, Roots and Wings, Arbutus Distillery, Taynton Bay Spirits, Stillhead Distillery, Moonshine Spirits and Tofino Distilling.
Can never get enough of the gin life here in British Columbia. Great tasting with Merridale Cowichan Gin, Salt Spring Shine Sting Gin, Taynton Bay Spirits Gin, the OG Victoria Gin, Jones Distilling Revelstoke gin and the Roots and Wings Jackknife Gin.
Welcome back to the first episode post Dry January! And what better way to kick it off but with a tasting of barrel finished whiskies featuring Legend Distilling latest Wyatt release, a couple of doozeys from Dubh Glas Distillery, the Lohin McKinnon Tequila Finish and Cocoa Finish.
The end of Dry January is coming to the end for a lot of you, I wanted to get a one last episode down focusing on the amazing non alcoholic ingredients we have in the province, this week we focus on the unique line up from Frost Bite Syrup Co. and the eclectic shrubs from Mixers and Elixirs.
Another Dry January episode and we explore two of the most prolific bitters companies in the province; the OG, Bittered Sling and quite possibly the one with the largest selection, Ms. Betters Bitters.
It's Dry January for a lot of people including myself so I decided to focus on the locally made syrups and shrubs in the province. Showcased the Rootside Provision and Booze Witch up from Gillespie's Fine Spirits.
Really wanted to take the time to thank all the distilleries in BC for the support and to highlight some of my favorite things this year, too many things to mention and tag but it captures my joyful gleeness with how amazing this province it. Can't wait to tackle 2020.
RTD's or Ready to Drinks are gaining popularity in BC and while they are not my cup of tea, they are to a massive market! We took a look at the Tempo range, the Bitterhouse Spritz and the Highball from Goodridge & Williams along with Queensbourough Gin range.
With over 70 distilleries in the province each making up to 4 different styles of gin, there is tons of variety out there. The Fever Tree project I did this year really opened my eyes to just how much is available, we tasted Odd Society Wallflower, Mad Lab No6, Phillips Fermentorium Discovery Street, Legend Distilling Doctor's Orders, Wayward Distilling Unruly and the Arbutus Distillery Empiric.
I don't love vodka, I think it's a super hard market to be in especially for craft spirits. But I know a lot of people drink it so I decided to taste a few this week including Roots and Wings, Stillhead Distillery, Sheringham Distillery, Bruinwood Distillery, Salt Spring Shine Hive.
