Jim Murray — author of the Whisky Bible and one of the world’s Kings of whisky connoisseurship — was in Victoria for the Victoria Whisky Festival this weekend and made time to visit our Distillery.

CTV was there to capture his first taste of our Craigdarroch Spirit.  Check it out!

To recap, Jim says:

Juicy… I’m salivating, beautiful. … It’s a part of the colour of the Island.

We say: Phew!  And, as the Brits say, we’re dead chuffed you came to visit us, Jim.  Cheers!

September’s Zoomer magazine features our own Bryan and Valerie.   That’s right, “He’s one!” and “She’s one!”… as they say.  Check out the full article here.

(No, no, that’s Jeff Bridges.  See Bryan below.)

Our Uncle Bob shares how the Distillery emerged, highlights the familial forces driving it all, and captures Bryan and Valerie’s zip and zoom.  He writes that they:

thought they were acquiring a hobby for their retirement, but the gods of drink had other plans…  So much for slowing down.

As an aside, it is probably fitting that the spotlight on Dr. and Mrs. Victoria Gin finds itself in the Health Special issue, no?  Here’s to your health!  See page 110.

Canada is abuzz with Will and Kate’s impending visit.  Love ‘em or hate ‘em, it’s a stimulating exercise to consider how you might encapsulate “the Canadian experience” in 9 days of travel and activities.

In last Saturday’s Globe & Mail, Beppi Crosariol presents his alternate (and more spirituous) Canadian tour for the royal couple.

I’d start them off on Vancouver Island for a visit to the splendid little Victoria Gin distillery on a pastoral country road just outside British Columbia’s capital. Royals like their gin, lord knows, and Victoria Gin is superb, with a prominent note of star anise and delectably viscous texture. You can find it in most provinces for about $50. At the very least, Will and Kate might be moved by the label’s photographic tribute to Will’s ancestor, Queen Victoria.

Thanks for having us on your tour, Beppi!

Read the rest of the article here.  And to stage your own Canadian royal tour, get Tom Tierney William & Kate paper dolls here!

Hey Ontario, have you seen the early summer edition of the LCBO’s glossy Food & Drink?

Our Uncle Bob got in there to wax lyrical about deluxe Gins and reveal why he became a member of the family.

After one sip I was infatuated, after the second I was in love. And after the third, I bought part of the company. Such is the story of my shotgun relationship with Victoria Spirits, the little engine that could from Vancouver Island.

… an elegant and nuanced gin that is only gently evocative of juniper berries, with easily identifiable notes of almond, star anise and rose petal on the remarkably smooth, long finish. The delicate spirit is the perfect drink for gin-o-philes as well as those who never imagined they would join the cult.

If Gin drinking is a cult, indeed, Bob Blumer may be the leader.  Cheers!

Did you know the Province of Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria?  No wonder Alberta has given Victoria Gin such a warm welcome.  It’s family!

Indeed, Victoria Gin is now in stores throughout Alberta.  We’ve compiled a list of current retailers here and will soon be highlighting mixologists making magic with Vic Gin here on our blog.

Albertans are taking notice.  We were recently highlighted by Nick Lees, in his “Gifts to Tickle the Palate” in the Edmonton Journal and also in The Tomato’s holiday wish list.  More specifically, Juanita Roos from the Crestwood Wine Shop writes that:

This handmade premium gin is a fabulous edition to Uncle Bob’s liquor cabinet! … a find gin indeed.

Bob is your Uncle too, Juanita?!  That seals it, we are family.  Cheers Alberta!

November was action-packed!  And this after an exciting October, including VIP cocktails at the Drake for TIAF, our participation as exclusive spirit at the TW&SF Beer Event, and our contribution to the Gold Medal Plates in Vancouver and Edmonton (plus Calgary in Nov).

The month began with a pouring at Roger’s Chocolate’s 125th Bday party at Vancouver’s Fairmont Waterfront.  We love chocolate and spirits and may have a collaboration brewing with the Roger’s team.  (Stay tuned.)

On November 10th we were at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto for the last Harvest Wednesday of 2010.  Thanks to Vanessa for welcoming us through the season and cheers to the remarkable local producers we met.

Still in Toronto, Trevor Burnett and his Tipicular Fixin’s Team mixed sustainable cocktails at The Green Connection.

They mixed Vic Gin and twisted & bitter with pear jam and pear honey made from their own fruit trees, then added a splash of cranberry juice, topped it with soda, and garnished it with fresh cranberries.  Trevor may be on to something for a holiday punch.  Are you taking notes?

November 18th – 21st we were at the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo, joined by our pals Bob Blumer and Kevin Brauch.  We challenged Toronto to drink Vic Gin naked – sans tonic, sans vermouth.

The crowd was responsive to the idea, dare we say uninhibited?  In his blog, Chris Schryer picked Vic Gin as his top spirit of the Expo.  He notes that it’s:

One of the nicest gins I’ve had the pleasure of consuming, it is much less piney/juniper tasting then your big brands, with a stack of botanicals to round out the flavour.  Leave the tonic or vermouth in the bottle, ignore Hogarth, and just enjoy this spirit that is as lovingly crafted as any local micro-beer.

Meanwhile, on the Left Coast we were pouring at Rocky Mountaineer Station for Hopscotch: Vancouver’s Premium Scotch, Whiskey & Beer Festival.  Already familiar with Vic Gin, we poured our Oaken Gin and Left Coast Hemp Vodka for the local crowd — the former which “grabbed” Kim Werker.  Cheers Kim!

Finally, on November 20th we were a Silver Sponsor at Victoria’s Hospital Foundation ‘Visions’ at the Empress, where we helped raise almost half a million for ’smart beds’ for local hospitals.

After some admin delays we are happy to report that Vic Gin hit the LCBO again in November.  With our general listing, it is now there to stay.  Vic Gin has also been painting Alberta, town by town.  We’ll post a list of retail outlets soon.  In BC, our Oaken Gin and Left Coast Hemp Vodka are now in private stores.

Come on December, show us what you’ve got!  (Who said Gin was a summer spirit, anyway?)

In the October issue of Tidings Mag, Amy Kenny interviews Peter about the family biz and the new culture of spirits (pp. 44-45).  She also shares some of our favourite recipes.  (You can find them here as well.)

Kenny muses that

If the family that plays together stays together, it might stand to reason that the family that works together doesn’t, but that hasn’t been the case…

Indeed it hasn’t!  Perhaps it’s because our ‘work’ so often feels like ‘play’.  (It’s a good thing too, otherwise Peter’d be a ‘dull boy’ for sure.)

Whoa, there goes July!  Too many lazy days meant we didn’t alert you to our appearance in Canadian Living.

Vic Gin was “test driven” along with three other premium gins. The results?

This bold, sophisticated, small-batch gin from B.C. has sweet floral, citrus and pine notes, with licorice and spice in the finish. Best enjoyed in elegant cocktails… such as a French 75 or Vesper Martini.

Good thing the July issue will be in your Doctor’s waiting room well until November (so long as your Doctor’s not Bryan).  Hope you find us there — page 179.

Last Monday, we celebrated the creativity and community of Toronto’s bar scene & the LCBO’s special promotion of Vic Gin with a Shakedown!

Fourteen of Toronto’s most talented mixologists each shook love into two cocktails behind the beautiful bar at Böhmer on Ossington Avenue.

The fabulous Thirsty Traveller Kevin Brauch hosted with passion.

Kevin also joined the judging panel with Bob Blumer (Surreal Gourmet), James Chatto (celebrated writer and editor, seen here), Chris Johns (Globe & Mail) & Christine Sismondo (Toronto Temperance Society).

Our mixologists were Elan Marks (The Drake) & Trevor Burnett (freelance consultant)

Gavin MacMillan (Bartender One) & Renata Clingen (Böhmer)

Elizabeth Savage (Marquis at the Hilton) & Adrian Stein (Oliver Bonacini Cafe Grill)

Rob Montgomery (Miller Tavern) & Brock Shepherd (Burger Bar)

Dave Mitton (The Harbord Room) & Simon Ho (The Drake)

Moses McIntee (Sidecar) & Clinton Pattemore (Toronto Bartending)

and Nishan Nepulangoda (Blowfish) & Scott McMaster (Colborne Lane)

Competitors presented two version of the same cocktail: one “fit for a queen” and the other “so easy the queen could make it”.  As James Chatto noted in his recent blog post:

The standard of the competition was impressively high throughout and the powers of imagination shown were astonishing.

Congrats Moses McIntee whose ‘Olde Vic’ will be featured on an LCBO neck tag. Again, from James:

It was a fascinating cocktail, like a complex, full-bodied extrapolation of a Negroni made with gin, Campari, bittersweet earl grey tea syrup and served in a Martini glass topped with a creamy head of Earl Grey tea foam.

Congrats as well to Adrian Stein who received a special jury award for the cocktail that best showcased Vic Gin and to Rob Mongomery whose ceramic bathtubs, tea sandwiches, and hot gin punch won a special jury award for best presentation.

The mixologists inspired us and each other.  We were honoured to be a part of this… We say this because it did become about more than Vic Gin.  You guys were shaking love.  A huge thanks from the Vic Gin family!

All photos by Zach Slootsky of takemorephotos

In preparation for Victoria Day we got busy on a cocktail fit for a Queen… and fit for Adam McDowell, columnist at the National Post.

Imperial Splendour photo by Adam McDowell

Imperial Splendour

1.5 oz. Victoria Gin
2.5 oz. strongly brewed Earl Grey tea, chilled
0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
0.5 oz. Cointreau
2 dashes Twisted & Bitter orange cocktail bitters

Combine ingredients and shake on ice. Strain into your finest china.  Garnish with an orange slice and a frozen marmalade cube (heat marmalade with equal parts water to dissolve before freezing).

McDowell writes that our Imperial Splendour is:

smooth in texture with a tart and floral nose and nice tea tannins on the palate; it gradually sweetens as the frozen marmalade cube melts.

Not only was the drink featured in the National Post, but also at the First Annual Queen Victoria Lookalike Competition in Toronto — a collaboration between Victoria Spirits and the fabulous Fairmont Royal York Hotel.  (Outrageous photos coming soon!)