WAYWARD DISTILLERY

COMOX VALLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

The original impetus for this project was Dave’s desire to made top quality spirits without removing valuable calories from BC’s food system. He discovered that the honey from mobile apiaries, used to pollinate sustianably farmed crops, was often wasted. With the help of Laura (their head distiller with a Masters in Distilling) and Sara (the actual boss), they continue to find ways of giving back while making the most delicious spirits in the province. They were the first certified living wage employer in alcohol in Canada, they've been recognized by Canada's Queer Chamber of Commerce, they made hand sanitizer during the pandemic, they only work with pollinator safe farms, they donate 1% to protecting the bees, we could go on forever.

BC CRAFT GIN

The base for this gin is winter wheat grown in Invermere. Since most grains end up in a wheat pool, it’s incredibly hard to guarantee pollinator-safe practices so Dave pays double the market price to buy direct from a no-spray farmer. The ground wheat has its starches converted to sugars via enzymes before inoculating for fermentation. The resulting beer is then distilled in their custom pot still with five plates in the head, and an additional twenty in the column. The botanicals (juniper, clover flowers, rose, spruce tips, and dehydrated cucumbers from a farm in the Comox Valley) hang in a basket for vapour infusion. The spirit is then diluted from 96% ABV to 43% ABV for bottling.

UNRULY GIN

This spirit uses the same base as their Unruly Gin, made from reclaimed honey produced while pollinating sustainable farms. During distillation, a basket is suspended in the still for vapour infusion of the botanicals (juniper from Latvia, coriander from the Commox Valley, foraged cedar, lavender, etc). It is based loosely on the original London Dry recipe. After a short settling period, it goes through a cellulose filter and bottled without any additives. It takes roughly 1L of honey to produce each bottle. 43% ABV

UNRULY VODKA

Mobile apiaries are brought from farm to farm to aide in pollination. Since bees are so sensitive to pesticides and herbicides, the crops need to be virtually spray free. The honey they produce was considered a byproduct, and as Dave is extremely concerned about not removing calories from our food system, it provided the perfect ethical base for a distillate. Additionally, Bee's require 1/4000th the amount of water as grains do to produce alcohol. The only crux is that it's fifteen times more expensive than industrial alcohol, and three times more expensive than local grain alcohol. The honey is diluted before inoculation. Since honey is so stubborn, yeast hulls or DAP are often added to help the mead get dry. Laura then distills it on their custom pot still with a 5 plate head and 20 plate column to roughly 96% ABV. After a short settling period, with is ran through a cellulose filter and bottled without any additives. It takes roughly 1L of honey to produce each bottle. 40% ABV

DRUNKEN HIVE RUM

Details coming soon…

RASPBERRY GIN

This liqueur is made by infusing their BC Craft Gin base with plenty of extravagantly expensive freeze dried raspberries from a farm in the Fraser Valley. They sweeten it with just a pinch of their honey and it sees as extra helping of botanicals. It is only lightly filtered to preserve mouthfeel and has no preservatives. 25% ABV

DEPTH CHARGE VODKA

Dave took a fourteen hour bus ride from Cusco, Peru to get to the matriarchal indigenous farm that tends to these non-hybridized cacao plants. The roasted pods are infused into their spray-free grain vodka. The vanilla he uses also comes from Peru, a two acre plot operated by nine women producing some of the most aromatic pods on the planet. At $1100/kg, it's worth it. The coffee comes from a Fair Trade farm in Costa Rica, cold infused directly into their vodka. It is bottled unfined, unfiltered, without preservatives, and with just a pinch of honey for balancing sweetness. 

BEE’S KNEES ROSE GIN

The base of this liqueur is their BC Craft Gin, distilled from spray-free winter wheat grown in Invermere. It was infused with foraged Nootka Rose petals from Comox and north Vancouver Island, as well as hibiscus and lemon. It was sweetened with a little of their honey before a light filtration and bottling without preservatives. 25% ABV

CONTACT ORDERS@JUICEIMPORTS.COM FOR VANCOUVER ORDERS