Pictou County distiller wins awards for vodka, rum and gin
'There are some high quality sprits being made right here in Nova Scotia,' says Nova Scotia distiller
A Nova Scotia company made a big splash at a prestigious international spirits competition that drew more 1,500 competitors from over 60 countries.
Nova Scotia Spirit Co. of Pictou County won a gold medal and two silvers at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition held March 17 to 20.
"I knew that we had a quality product and for one of them to win a gold medal in an international spirits competition, especially with us being such a new company in having our products go to market six months ago, obviously it's a fantastic feeling," said general manager Evan MacEachern.
"Then to hear just a few minutes later that we got two silvers, it was a huge surprise and reaffirms the quality of the product we are putting out there."
Over 1,850 entries from around the world were judged by 39 industry-leading experts in the 16th annual competition.
Blue Lobster Vodka wins gold
Nova Scotia Spirit won a gold medal for its Blue Lobster Vodka. The company won silver medals with Willing to Learn Gin and Fishermen's Helper White Rum.
"Hopefully for people who haven't tried it yet, I hope the award will draw their attention to the fact that there are some very high quality spirits being made in Nova Scotia," MacEachern said.
"It will allow people the opportunity to try something new and realize that there is something else out there other than the same spirits they've been drinking their whole lives."
MacEachern says the company plans to include the awards in its marketing plan and will be changing how it packages its products.
Expansion plans
"I'm really excited to get the stickers on the bottle and get some neckties on the bottle to promote these three awards," he said.
"I think that will draw a lot more attention to our bottles and it will hopefully get a lot more people trying it."
The success of the company means it will likely be expanding and moving into a new facility elsewhere in Pictou County.
"We are looking for a bigger building because we definitely need more storage as we start to send out a lot more volume from our building," MacEachern said.
Nova Scotia Spirits Co. came to market in October 2015 as the first local spirits producer in the province with products in the $30-and-below category for 750-millilitre bottles.
Their products are now sold in most Nova Scotia Liquor Commission stores and several boutique wine and beer outlets.