02 - Tasting Bespoke Distillery and chatting Vancouver Island Gins

Glen and Em are amateur gin enthusiasts who live in British Columbia. We discuss our recent motorcycle roadtrip that involved tasting gins at some great BC distilleries on the way.
For this trip, we started in Langley and went up to Bella Coola, then took the 10-hour ferry down to Port Hardy and had the fun of travelling around Vancouver Island camping and stopping at a few of the many distilleries on the Island.
In this episode, we highlight Bespoke Distillery, located in Parksville and owned and distilled by Shelly Heppner, an entrepreneur who departed from her 'regular job' to pursue making delicious spirits. Her abundant creativity is obvious in the range of products she has out already, despite being one of the newest distilleries in the province (as of this original podcast publication date). Shelly is also one of the few female distillers in BC, and we had the benefit of chatting with her when we visited.
Shelly is very knowledgeable and we had lots of fun stopping my her shop to enjoy everything from her classic Jezebel Gin, her citrusy Summer Solstice Gin and her creative and not-too-sweet liqueurs including: Creme de Cassis, Coffee and Candied Fig and her fan favourite, Limoncello.
We look forward to her Winter Gin - coming soon - that highlights notes of pomegranate and spice. Another creative idea to keep the gin train running all year long!
Find Shelly and Bespoke
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bespokespiritshouse/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BespokeSpiritsHouse
Website: https://www.bespokespiritshouse.com/
On our trip we stumbled on to a copy of The Distilleries of Vancouver Island: A Guided Tour of West Coast Craft and Artisan Spirits by Marianne Scott, published by TouchWood Editions. It's a delightful book that gives some background on the people behind each craft distillery, as well as their distilling process, products and awards. It also shares some context about BC's craft distilling culture as a whole and we reference this book frequently when talking about Island distilleries. We highly recommend finding a copy of your own at an independent bookstore!
Website: https://www.touchwoodeditions.com/book/the-distilleries-of-vancouver-island/
This episode was recorded on the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the Kwantlen, Musqueam, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, Qayqayt and Kwikwetlem peoples.