Agrius bartender Adam Bonneau makes the “Seasonal Diversion.”
co-creator of the gin — "Our Ampersand Gin is a take on the classic London dry gin, but with a contemporary twist.” The Schachts wanted a versatile gin for martinis and negronis that is juniper forward with coriander, lemon peel and cardamom tones. Ampersand uses its own spring water, and has fewer botanicals than generic gins. Jeremy Schacht summed up his philosophy, saying, “I needed a job after graduation so I combined my chemical engineering and my parent’s love of organic farming, and the distillery was born. Everything we do is organic.” • Phillips Fermentorium Distilling Co, located in central Victoria, began producing spirits in 2014 using a 100-year-old 2,700-litre still and a new 500-litre still. “We chose ‘Fermentorium’ because we wanted a whimsical name,” said Matt Phillips, the owner and driving force behind the distillery. “I’m also the chief drinker,” he added with a smile. “We got into distilling because it’s a natural extension to beer, which we’ve been making for 15 years.” Fermentorium nominated its Stump Gin. “Gin traditionally was an Imperial expression,” said Phillips. “Wherever the Brits went, they brought back exotic herbs and botanicals for their gin. We’re exactly the opposite, remaining as local as possible. Juniper grows here. Citrus notes come from grand fir. Coriander is grown by my wife. Of course, we have hops since we’re a brewery. We also use bay laurel and lavender from the Saanich Peninsula.” • Victoria Distillers, which has been making spirits for a decade, moved to an attractive location on the waterfront in Sidney in 2016. 80
About 2,000 cases are produced each year using two pot stills of 200 and 900 litres capacity. The main spirit is Victoria Gin, but they nominated Oaken Gin for this project. Master Distiller Peter Hunt explained, “We had some whisky barrels, so we tried aging gin in them, and it tasted really great. Oaken Gin has a light brown colour and, furthermore, no one else on Vancouver Island makes it. Since it has whisky elements, it’s good for a Manhattan and an Old Fashioned.” Hunt, who has a Masters degree in molecular biology, feels being a distiller is a nice blend: it requires scientific rigour, but also creativity.
THE BARS, MIXOLOGISTS AND COCKTAILS
I was delighted to enter Agrius, a French-cuisine-influenced restaurant, for it was recently chosen as the fourth-best new restaurant in Canada by en route magazine. Head bartender Adam Bonneau greeted us and his enthusiasm, almost obsession, bubbled forth for seasonal, local ingredients, such as beet and carrot juice, apple cider and wild foraged sumac. “I work closely with the restaurant’s chefs, who have taught me how to bring flavours forward by using acids, fats, creams, heat, cold, etc.” He has also developed a flare for presentation. I watched him prepare his special cocktail, Seasonal Diversion: 2 oz Ampersand Gin 0.4 oz Moderna Vermouth 0.6 oz wild foraged Sumac 2 Dashes of Scrappy’s Orange bitters