Fraud Scam Alert!

Have you recently gotten a large email or phone order for spirits from the purchaser for a big foreign nightclub (...or a glamorous event planner, or a local bride/groom/wedding party)? It might specify complex payment procedures, or a super-rush pick-up or delivery. Be aware of possible fraudulent activity or scams, as other distillers have had similar experiences that didn’t end well. Visit the ADC Facebook group [ADD LINK]—a great place for distillers to exchange knowledge and share experiences—for stories of four attempted scams and how businesses handled them.

Tariff Time

On October 1, a 30% tariff was applied to distillery equipment imports from China to the United States (HS code 8419.40). Victoria, B.C.-based Specific Mechanical, a manufacturer of Canadian-made brewing and distilling equipment, was one supplier that shared information with its clients through e-newsletters about the new tariff. The 30% in additional costs could end up being paid by either the reseller or end user, depending on the supply chain and shipping. The U.S. requires complete documentation on country of origin, and infractions can be subject to penalties up to the value of the goods.

As Speicific Mechanical (which manufactures equipment in Canada that is not subject to the tariff) says, “Knowing the total cost of ownership is the best way to an informed buying decision.”

Beverage Business Support

The Okanagan College campus in Penticton, B.C. will be home to a new $1.75-million B.C. Beverage Access Technology Centre, the only one of its kind in Canada. It will provide services to small-to-medium-sized businesses in the wine, beer, cider and spirits industry, providing services including consumer testing and sensory analysis; labs for microbiology, chemistry and food quality; sensory analysis and consumer testing; and research plus operational and brand support. Already in operation, it has received federal funding for a five-year period. The surrounding region is home to an estimated 19 cideries, 219 wineries, 24 breweries and 16 distilleries.

Industry News – October 2019

Great Northern Cocktails, a book by star bartender and consultant Shawn Soole, will be published in October, a round-up of more than 140 drink recipes, tinctures and infusion formulas, plus a handy glossary. “Canada has always been that big, snow-covered country to the north of the United States where people live in igloos and ride moose to school,” Soole says, only slightly exaggerating global perceptions. “Canada is rich in world cultures and in the last 10 to 15 years has slowly and apologetically become a cocktail culture powerhouse.” Soole co-authored the 2013 book Cocktail Culture, runs bcspirits.com, hosts a semi-weekly hospitality podcast and has consulted to various artisan distilleries  through soolehospitality.com.

Events

October 19 – Wine and Beyond stores host an Alberta craft spirits mini-festival at locations including at its Sherwood Park location, with sampling of products from local distilleries.

November 7 – The Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery Mixoff 2019 happens at Laurel Packing House in Kelowna, an annual cocktail competition that showcases the distillery’s products.

New Distilleries

• Romero Distilling • Calgary

Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition: New Categories

We listened to your feedback, and important changes are coming to CASC this year, including new category divisions for:

• Terroir Spirit: an exciting new award for spirits with a highly expressive sense of place

• Gin: now Classic and Contemporary (with a sub-category for Flavoured)

• Vodka: now Classic and Contemporary

• Liqueur: separated into Fruit Liqueur and Liqueur

• Whisky: new Single Malt and Single Grain options

• Bitters: small-batch Canadian bitters will have their own judges and rules

• Branding: similarly, a separate panel of pro judges will evaluation artisan spirits’ packaging and design

New Categories: Details

When registration opens August 8, here are the new category options that will be available:

Terroir is here!

• We are introducing a new “super-category” called Terroir Spirit. Medals will go to spirits that are not only artisanally made but highly expressive of sense of place, through the provenance of their ingredients and their taste and flavour profiles. You can enter any spirits in any category in the Terroir Spirit category as well (each category will have its own potential Terroir award).

Gin is now:

• Classic Gin: these adhere to a traditional taste profile, and are more closely aligned in flavour, aroma and style with big-brand commercial gins.

• Contemporary Gin: these gins fall further into the “craft” or “artisan” category, and may display some more unusual flavour and aroma characteristics.

• This is now a Flavoured Gin sub-category under Contemporary Gin, to allow you to highlight gins that have non-traditional fruits or botanicals (e.g. rhubarb, berry) or follow other global traditions (e.g. Japanese).

Liqueur is now:

• A second, specific Fruit Liqueur category.

• There remains a broad Liqueur category for all other flavours/styles.

 Vodka is now:

• Classic Vodka: these are more traditional, commercial styles of vodka.

• Contemporary Vodka: these intentionally have lots of character, and perhaps retain a greater sense of the raw materials.

Whisky is now:

• Single Malt Whisky: these are 100% malted barley whisky from one distillery

• Single Grain Whisky: these are all other grain whiskies (rye, unmalted barley, wheat, corn or other grains, and any mix of those grains) from a single distiller.

You’ve got a beautiful bottle … let’s celebrate it!

We are introducing a branding competition this year—look for details next week. This will be your chance to show Canada that your distillery is just as creative on the outside of the bottle as it is on the inside.

Bitters Need Some Love

Finally, we’re excited this year to be opening up the competition to Canadian-made artisan bitters. Our goal is to bring some attention to the amazing bitters made by distilleries and other small producers across the country. Bitters are an important part of the artisan spirits culture we’re building, and we want to get them some love. A separate judging process will be developed and announced soon.

Early Bird Registration For All Categories Opens Thursday, August 8.

News: What to Read, Sip and Know Now

Pouring it on: a new Canadian beverage alcohol magazine

Earlier this year, the inaugural issue of Poured debuted, billing itself as “the only magazine to target and directly reach the producers of beer, wine and spirits across Canada.” It’s produced by Lester Communications in Winnipeg, in partnership with Beer Canada, Spirits Canada and the Canadian Vintners Association. The latest issue had coverage of the artisan spirits scene, including stories on The Distillery School in North Vancouver and women distillers in Canada.

Other potential good reads for artisan distillers in Canada:

• Distilled, the Ottawa-based magazine celebrating “the craft and culture of fine spirits.”

• Artisan Spirit, the publication of the American Craft Spirits Association.

• SevenFiftyDaily, covering the business of beverage alcohol from a U.S. perspective.

Cocktails by Volume

In October, Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers in Beamsville, Ontario, will publish Craft Cocktails: Seasonally Inspired Drinks & Snacks From Our Sipping Room, by distiller Geoff Dillon and Whitney Rorison, the distillery’s hospitality manager. To be published by Penguin Random House Canada, it includes 100 seasonal recipes inspired by their wine-country location and ingredients. Pre-order a copy now from the publisher, or from online stores including Indigo, Kobo and Amazon.

Vodka 2.0

Following an industry consultation period between January and March of this year, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has expanded and revised its Food and Drug Regulations around vodka. It now allows vodka to be made from agricultural products other than potato and cereal grain (including fruits, dairy or honey), in line with other global jurisdictions; those products, however, must be disclosed to consumers on the label. It also permits vodka to be rendered neutral (“without distinctive character, aroma, or taste”) by material or processes other than charcoal. The new rules came into force on June 26, and distillers have until December 13, 2022 to implement new labelling requirements.

Meet Your New Colleagues

Welcome to the fold some of the most recent artisan distillers to open across Canada. We’ve got our eyes on another dozen or so that are almost ready to open their doors: drop us a note if you know about a new distillery opening in your area!

• Copper Spirit (Bowen Island, BC)

• Distillerie Mitis (Mont-Joli, QC)

• Latitude 55 Distillery (Grande Prairie, AB)

• Broken Oak Distilling Co. (Grande Prairie, AB)