LOCALLY SOURCED AWARD-WINNING CRAFT SPIRIT COMPANY BLACK DI MO D DISTILLERY A ndrea Scade insisted on a black diamond by Anita Flowers
for an engagement ring. She didn’t realize at the time that she would also be opening a distillery named after that ring, Black Diamond Distillery in St. Albert, Alberta. Spotlight on Business recently sat down with Andrea and David Scade, co-owners of Black Diamond Distillery, to chat about their whirlwind years that brought marriage, two kids and a new distillery. Neither Andrea or David imagined that owning a distillery would be part of their plans as husband and wife. David began working in construction right out of high school, then went back to obtain a degree in architecture, learning drafting and design. He worked for an architect for a number of years and then began work at the city of Edmonton as part of the team building the new Rec Center. Andrea grew up on the East Coast, outside Halifax, and completed a kinesiology degree at St. FX. She worked as a strength and condition- ing coach, training military personnel, firefighters and athletes, then moved to Edmonton by way of Toronto, to be closer to her siblings. Even before he began dating Andrea, David was already distilling, after borrowing a still from a friend who made moonshine from leftover apples in his orchard. He went on to design his own still and began creating his own recipes. He met Andrea at the city Rec Center where she was part of the fitness staff that opened the building. The match seemed meant to be. “She didn’t run when she found out I was making moonshine in the kitchen,” said David.
“She didn’t run when she found out I was making moonshine in the kitchen,”
Andrea insisted that she didn’t need an engagement ring. “He’s very traditional, he wanted me to wear a ring. He surprised me by taking me to look at engagement rings. He had picked out rings he thought I would like. I, on the other hand, said, you know hon, instead of getting me a ring, why don’t you just spend the money on a squat rack? I’d love a squat rack. I don’t really wear jewelry. A squat rack is a better investment.” David ultimately proposed with a black diamond engagement ring, selected and designed by Andrea. It’s all become part of the Black Diamond Distillery story. The couple made all the alcohol for their wedding. Friends and family at the wedding loved the product and encouraged the couple to move forward. The minimum production amount required for a craft distillery has been significantly lowered, opening the door for smaller operations. A week after the wedding in 2016, the couple met with a small, family-owned east coast distillery, Cold Stream Clear. “We took them a sample of the Limoncello we’d made for the tables at the wedding and their immediate and profound response was “You guys need to do this!”
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JUNE 2020 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JUNE 2020
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