grain crop country and we’re completely locally-sourced, except for our sugar. Is it discernible; is there a difference in terms of taste and aroma – the experience? LB: Our corn vodka is a little different. It definitely has a sweetness to it, but it doesn’t overshadow its full aroma. It also doesn’t smell like rubbing alcohol like NGS-based vodkas or have that alcohol burn. We’ve created a beautifully clean, smooth, not overly complex vodka from local organic corn. It’s a win- win because our superior product helps to promote local
farmers not far from the distillery. We know where our corn comes from, how the farmers grew it, what kind of seeds they were using. We get a lot of visitors to the distillery who drink their vodka straight; some people like it on ice. This is definitely a vodka for them. We’ve created this vodka that is so smooth, is so delicate, and has a beautiful mouthfeel – it has a lot of clean- ness to it. If cocktails are your thing, it blends so smoothly – there’s nothing harsh about it. What has allowed the “craft culture” that you men- tioned earlier, Laura, to flourish so much since Provin- cial restrictions have been loosened, somewhat anyway, over the last five years or so? LB: We watched wine go through this transition where people realized that you didn’t have to be a big company; you can make great wine locally. It created a subculture of people who not only loved locally- grown wine, but they wanted to be educated about the process and take tours and really experience the product. Craft beer took off 15 years ago or so because wine really set a precedent. With craft beer, even more so than wine, people were opened to a world, a plethora of tastes. It also helped break people away from the two or three brand only mentality. Mind you, craft distilling is still very small compared to brewing; we’re still in our infancy and waiting to take the next step. Educat- ing the public as much as we can is the best way to help craft distilling grow. People need to know that great products don’t have to come from overseas or foreign lands.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2017
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