(pictured: (R-L) Tony Dyck – Owner/President of Okanagan Spirits with Rodney Goodchild – Sales and Marketing, Operations).
Okanagan Spirits has been crafting world-class spirits in the Okanagan Valley since 2004. Original distilling can be traced back to the Greek alchemists in the first century, but in British Columbia’s distilling history they were one of the very first. Okanagan Spirits now has 25 different products; all made with 100% BC ingredients. At the latest Worlds Spirits Awards in Klagenfurt Austria they were named Distillery of the Year and well as scoring the highest points in history for their Blackcurrant Liqueur – it won Spirit of the Year at 97.7 points.
After 10 years in Vernon, Okanagan Spirits has outgrown its production and tasting facility and has broken ground on a new 16,000 sq ft distillery not far from the original. With the new liquor laws this artisan is further focused on producing top quality ingredients BC fruits and crops and are looking forward to the 2014 growing season. The new distillery will have a 20-foot tasting bar and lounge, a presentation room and many more stills and tanks enabling them to ramp up production while still keeping their artisan mandate.
Recently Okanagan Spirits released a BC Hopped Whisky that was barrel-aged for five years and is the first hopped whisky of its kind, but sadly only 300 bottles were available. Part of the “Final Proof Master Distiller Series”, this whisky is part of a series of small batch whiskies that will be released in batches. Last year the distillery released single malt, but again the quantity was so limited there had to be a lottery just to win the right to buy the liquid gold.
Located in Kelowna and Vernon
*See cocktail recipe in Recipes Section.
~ Cassandra Anderton