toque represents the cold Canadian climate; the inuksuk represents Canada’s heritage; the hockey stick represents Canada’s love of winter sports; and the moose represents Canada’s wildlife. I was just about to ask you about the bottle design. The Kannuk bottle itself definitely helps in your mission to recreate and reinvent vodka. AS: It does, there’s no question. We never wanted our pack- aging to be like anybody else’s. Patricia and I are both artisti- cally-minded people, although her artistic background is a lot more formal, a lot more sophisticated, I’d say. She did a combined degree in university in fine arts and psychology. The fine arts component of it was actually all painting and study. As for myself, all throughout high school, I would win art contests – and I thought I was pretty good. I was also very strong in math and it’s no secret that it’s hard for pure artists to find success in today’s world, so I leaned towards math and business. PS: So, at the end of the day, Adam and I knew exactly what we wanted on paper for the bottle design and logo but we needed someone with the software expertise to make it all happen. That’s where our Director of Creativity came in. Adam has known Arkadiusz Andrzejewski since elementary school and he went on to become a graphic designer, so he was a natural fit for us. Did either of you have experience with distilling craft spirits prior to opening Polonée Distillery? Was it a family tradition in Poland, Adam? AS: Not at all. I am self-taught, so to speak. I for one had no background in distilling whatsoever; I didn’t know anything about the process. How it happened was simple: In the winter of 2012, I was buying gifts for my family for Christmas. For family dinners we would usually bring something with us, so I brought vodkas. At the time, craft spirits were nearly impossible to find – at least at your regular liquor store. I went for one of the big brands, one in a tall-necked bottle, we’ll say that, and I couldn’t help but think that it and the others next to it on the shelf were way overpriced consider- ing what you get. I wished something better existed. A few days later, I was watching an old Polish movie based in the 1940s shortly after World War II and in the movie these guys would go into a war-torn barn and they would make moonshine - basically homemade vodka. I said to myself, ‘Hey, back then there wasn’t a Home Hardware or a Home Depot around the corner – how are they able to construct a machine or device to actually be able to make vodka?’ I figured if they could do it back then, why can’t I do it now? Funny enough, that was my ‘Ah ha’ moment. I recognized that there was a need for something better and I found the inspiration I needed to make that happen. Andwhat about the vodka itself?What’s it been likebreaking into the relatively new world of craft distilling in Canada?
AS: I’ve heard a lot of people claim that you can’t make a good craft vodka. A lot of vodkas out there that you’ll see on the provincial liquor store shelves are made from purchased ethanol; these companies are basically pretending that they make vodka. That’s why you get that rubbing alcohol taste because so much of it is basically repackaged ethanol. My vodka recipe from the start is much different from other distillers and it results in a nice unique taste that’s all its own. All the grain, all the flour in my recipe is separated before it goes in the fermenter so that I’m getting nothing but the clear, sugary liquid at that stage. (Whisky, for instance, is distilled and fermented on the grain because you want those distinct, complex flavours.) Once Kannuk is fermented without any of the flour involved, the neutrality of the spirit really comes out. We distill and ferment off the grain and it makes all the difference, especially for discern- ing vodka drinkers. Kannuk is also cold- filtered and I really think the whole process, the whole vodka-only process, makes it Canada’s nicest vodka, which is our slogan. PS: We’re growing every week and we’re very interested in exploring the Canadian theme as time goes on. Like Adam said, there are a lot of Canadian provinces and cultures that lend themselves to the theme of reinvention and redesign in the world of craft distilling. The Polonée Distillery at 380 Vansickle Road in St. Catha- rines is open to the public for tours and tastings on Satur- days from noon to 5 pm.
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SEPTEMBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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