Okanagan distillery doing just fine as U.S. ban on Canadian alcohol takes effect

Two years ago when you ordered an old fashioned at the bar you probably hoped for real Kentucky bourbon, but these days you might be hoping for something local to the Okanagan.

As the trade war with the U.S. goes on and on, Okanagan Spirits CEO and president of the Craft Distillers Guild of BC Tyler Dyck said the president’s latest move is actually helping producers like him.

“For any true Canadian brand, we have definitely seen very positive effects from the trade war,” Dyck said. “Their banning of Canadian alcohol had the exact opposite effect than what they thought.”

President Donald Trump officially banned Canadian alcohol products including beer, wine and spirits such as whiskies, vodka and gin on Sept 29. But Dyck said most of the companies who export those products to the U.S. aren’t Canadian owned, and Canadian craft distilleries do most of their business in Canada.

Empress Gin is owned by a company based in Texas even though it’s distilled in B.C., Canadian Club is owned by a Japanese company with distilleries in Ontario and Crown Royal Whiskey is distilled in Manitoba but it’s owned by a British Company.

“Trump has shot his supporters in the foot by banning a product that people misbelieve is Canadian and it absolutely is not,” Dyck said.

With the buy Canadian movement going strong, Dyck said people who want to support Canadian brands should pay attention to the labels because some products that are “Made in Canada” might be largely made in the U.S.

For a product to be “Made in Canada” it only needs to have 51 per cent of it made in Canada, while a “Product of Canada” has to be 98 per cent made in Canada.

“They’ll have a Canadian flag on it in the liquor store… it’s this crafty workaround and they allow for it to happen. I don’t think that’s in the best interest of Canada or the consumer,” Dyck said.

It has been months since provinces across the country pulled American booze off their shelves, and Dyck said restaurants and private liquor stores have turned to local distilleries to help fill the gap.

Okanagan Spirits makes a bourbon-style whiskey, called BRBN, that Dyck said is becoming more popular now that Canadian bars and restaurants don’t want to support distilleries in Kentucky.

“It’s definitely seen a massive uptick with bars, restaurants, private liquor stores and individuals replacing their southern choice of bourbon with this sort of bourbon of the north,” he said.

There are around 400 craft distilleries in Canada and 85 of those are in B.C., so in most cases you can pick your poison from a Canadian distillery.

There are some types of booze that can’t be made entirely north of the border.

“For tequila, agave doesn’t grow here in Canada. So, a true farm to bottle tequila, it’s just not possible,” he said. “In British Columbia, we don’t grow sugar cane, so you can’t make rum. People make creative alternatives to it, but to make actual rum, that would be extremely tricky.”

Many industries around the country are suffering due to the trade war, but Dyck hopes that Canada will come out the other side of it stronger.

“Obviously, not everyone is a winner in a trade war,” he said. “This fight that’s going on right now is making people reassess their values of what they want to support as Canadians and we’ve seen them come out strong on wanting to support Canada.”

Click here for a list of Canadian alcohol brands.