D I S T I L L E R Y P R O F I L E
“But I said, ‘If we can focus on connection, create a space
where people can be together and if everything is organic and
as sustainable as possible – if I can use beet juice, bee pollen
and other weird things, or make drinks sugar-free and you let
me make cocktails out of nut milk – then sure, we’ll do it.’”
Inspired by literally everything, including the vegetables
in her garden and customer requests, Candice has done things
like juice parsley and combine it with Copper Spirit’s house
tonic in a parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme cocktail that was
an absolute hit. Then there was the zucchini margarita last
summer that even she thought was weird, but patrons kept
coming back and asking for it.
“I have no bartending experience at all, but I’m a bit of a
witch, I guess. I love cooking and I love flavours. Ever since I
was little, I would mix three kinds of cereal in one bowl or four
tea bags in one cup because I’ve always been interested in what
is more flavourful,” she said.
Meanwhile, Miguel focuses on making the spirits, which
are all 100 per cent organic with locally sourced grain from
Armstrong, B.C. There’s Verity Rye, an unaged rye, Presence
Vodka, based on an old Russian vodka recipe and made with
organic wheat and, their most popular, Harmony Dry Gin,
made with their rye vodka with juniper and 13 organic foraged
botanicals, including Douglas Fir tips straight from Bowen
Island. Soon, Copper Spirit will be adding whisky, which is
currently aging. Plus, liqueurs are in the making.
As for the distilling process, whole organic grain is ground
on demand for each batch and because Miguel uses organic
yeast, which is gentler, he can accomplish an extended seven-day
fermentation with temperature control. Thanks to a closed
pipe system, Miguel’s able to transfer mash from the fermenters
to the column still without any contamination.
“We know all our suppliers by name and the people we
buy from share our passion for organic, clean and non-GMO
ingredients. People that are into craft local distilleries have
a different mindset. It’s more about quality over quantity,
and they expect the product to be pricier, which serves our
conscious consumption mandate,” said Miguel.
That mindset has translated incredibly well among the
locals on Bowen Island as well as international craft spirits
connoisseurs and tourists from as far away as Japan. Since
opening their tasting room on Canada Day – which, remains
their biggest sales day – they have been operating at capacity
for the entire year, even in winter, and have only had to slow
down a bit due to COVID-19.
“All of our business has been word of mouth and a bit of
social media, but COVID really inspired us to get our online
sales going,” said Candice. “We ship out now and we’ve got some
distribution to two liquor stores, one in Horseshoe Bay and one
at the Park Royal Mall in West Vancouver and two restaurants
– L’Abattoir and The Pointe at the famous Wickaninnish Inn on
Vancouver Island – so the pandemic really inspired us to start
selling outside of our tasting room.”
“When we opened in 2019, we were overwhelmed with
success, so I was just making spirits as fast as I could and
other things went to the side like actually selling to bars and
restaurants. We didn’t even have a website,” said Miguel.
Now, with the pandemic upon them, Bowen Island residents
have made a point of supporting local businesses. Other than
Photos courtesy of Copper Spirit Distillery
Miguel and Candice Kabantsov, owners of
Copper Spirit Distillery
WINTER 2021§ POURED CANADA § 9