Shhhh!   It’s a Secret

Hidden away at the foot of Hornby Street in Vancouver, just south of Pacific, is the unassuming Long Table Distillery.  Opened just about a year ago, by Charles Tremewen, former Mount Robson National Park Ranger, it has a line up of hand crafted, small batch and locally sourced organic spirits, including vodka, several gins, Marc (brandy) and Akvavit.

 

 

In addition to the spirits, Charles has teamed up with Cole Benoit (owner of Vancouver Apothecary Bitters and now Long Table’s bar manager), who has created a line up of over half a dozen custom made bitters made from ingredients including apricot, spices, cherry, cedar, pear, smoky teas, lime, cacao, coffee and other botanicals.  You can buy them at the shop and will find them at several local lounges and bars. Now, in addition to their famous Gin and Tonics, Cole is serving up cocktails made from spirits produced on site.  These are exciting concoctions, such as the Velvet Sunset, made from blood orange puree, tea infused London Dry Gin, Langbord Akvavit, lemon juice and orange bitters.  The Escobar features cucumber gin, lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, honeydew syrup and Latin lime bitters.  Getting thirsty?  Drop by and see what else they have to offer.

 

 

Opened in October of this last year, Long Table Distillery is new on the Vancouver scene, but it’s already causing a ‘stir’.  Vancouver’s first micro distillery and has already been written up in Enroute magazine.  Be sure to drop in and see their gleaming copper kettles and try one of their unique cocktails or signature G&T’s.

 

 

Think Long Table is an unusual name for a distillery?  When the micro-distillery was in the planning stages, they envisioned a comfortable tasting room for people to gather in and socialize so a long table seemed to be perfect.  They began a search for the ideal lumber to suit the project.  They found just the right person who found them just the perfect timber.  Now they have a fourteen-foot, four foot wide, four-inch thick slab of sequoia redwood plank cut from a locally recovered urban tree.

Long Table spirits, made from neutral grain spirits are distilled five times, and are available at your local BCLDB, private liquor stores and in Alberta and Ontario.

 

Here are some quick and dirty tasting notes on the samples I tried: Texada Vodka – $44

Clean and classic, good mouthfeel.  Made with lemon grass and limestone from Texada Island which helps with softening and providing a bigger mouthfeel as well as lowering pH.

Cucumber Gin – $49

9 botanicals, 2 peppers, black pepper, grains of paradise, cucumber (from the Sunshine Coast), juniper, citrus and lemon grass.  Try this in your next Martini.  Great with oysters.

London Dry Gin – $49

8 botanicals, juniper forward, classic, delicate and smooth.  Best in Show award winner.  Mr. Bond would approve.

Bourbon Barrel Gin – $35.95

Aged for 3 to 4 months in 30 litre, once used, honeycombed American oak whisky barrels from Woodinville Washington.  Surprisingly delicate, unique quality – juniper with subtle flavours of citrus, spice and vanilla.

Marc (Pomace Brandy) – $39.95

Clos du Soleil winery (Keremeos) provided the organic merlot pomace from 1200 litres of wine.  Hungarian oak / American oak / Sherry barrels / new light toast.  Creamy with vanilla and caramel.  Great for a cheesecake glaze.  Innovative, creative, think outside the box

Langbord Akvavit – $46.90

6 botanicals, caraway, fennel, star anise, coriander, Seville orange peel and cardamom.

 

The tasting room, open from 1 – 6 pm every day with longer hours Thursday thru Saturday, offers tastings of it’s products as well as a modest offering of unique cocktails.  Join them from 5 – 9 for Gin and Tonic Fridays.  You’ll find a rotating schedule of local food trucks parked conveniently outside.

See you soon at the Long Table.