Our StoryHow did an Icebreaker Captain and a Professor of Organic Chemistry come together to form a distillery?
An ancient Alchemist, believed to be from Egypt, first discovered the distillation process. He thought it was some kind of revelation from God. Early Settlers to North America were quite comfortable with their use of distilled spirit. To them spirits were their only source of stimulant, anaesthetic, disinfectant, vitamins, tranquilizer and cleaning fluid. We value a more modern outlook at Island Spirits. It is our belief that the best uses of distilled spirit are to promote conversation and help define who you are. The first is obvious. The second is less tangible.
If you care enough to do a bit of research into the quality and purity of the drink you enjoy, that makes the statement you are a discerning and informed individual.
We have a history of experimental distillation spanning many decades. We got together to pool knowledge and experience about seven years ago. This fuelled some innovative new processes and some friendly rivalry.
One of the prototype stills made during
the 'scale up' phase.
We scaled up, did some more inventing and formed Island Spirits Distillery after friends insisted we market our elixirs. An impressive array of stills now produce uncommonly good products. For example, we have developed the use of a 480mm Vacuum still to finish our products. This is equivalent to transporting the still 3,000 feet above the peak of Mount Everest. We call it retrieving the Angels share.
We have learned a lot. People ask: How many times do you distil? Well, contemporary thinking doesn’t really apply to us anymore. Our differential back pressure still is calibrated to circulate the vapours a hundred times or more, before finally escaping into the bottle – crystal clear.
We have learned that highly refined clear spirits are better for you. The colloquial wisdom of no hangover the next day is one proof. People allergic to regular commercial gin and vodka enjoying pHROG products is another proof. The final proof is provided by liquid chromatography and a GC/MS test (Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry) conducted at the University of Toronto indicating uncommon levels of purity.
We have learned that with a judicial mixture of Science, Art, Skill and Patience, it is possible to make an absolutely superb product. There are lots of periodicals advertising the World’s best Gins and Vodkas. We buy these and blind taste them against ours. We invite our friends to participate. This has resulted in quite a stock of ‘World’s Best’ products no one wants to drink.
We learned that the character of Gin can be improved if allowed to age. The complex compounds in the botanicals need time to evenly diffuse into the liquor.
We learned there is a time versus quality balance. High quality fermentations need lower temperatures and take longer. Very high quality distillations need to exceed a ninety percent reflux ratio under precisely controlled temperatures. Computers are handling that task for us now.
We learned what gives you a hangover. It is trace amounts of Propanol, Isopentanol, Methyl Butanol and Iso Butanol. We also learned how to get rid of them.
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ENJOY!
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DISTILLERS COMMENTS - Summer 2010.
Some of our loyal followers have asked me to say a few words on this site. This section may turn into a blog eventually.
The Distillery is under new management. It is now run by myself, (Pete Kimmerly, Distiller), Naz Abdurahman (Chemist), Verna Kimmerly (Sales and Accounts), Daniel Kimmerly (Engineering) and Sarah du Plessis (Sales). This change created a slow period last spring but we are back up and running. Supply lines to Alberta and BC are now seamless. The short interuption from February to May demonstrated to me what a firm strangle hold we have on the niche market of aromatic Gin. The computer lit up with requests for Phrog Gin's availability. While we are talking computers, an interesting thing happened July 17th. CBC North by NorthWest aired a program about the distillery. Normal bandwidth of the site uses around 50,000 bytes per second of Bandwidth. We hit over 400,000 bytes per second and crashed the site. That won't happen again.
The Distillery is open for Tours Thursday, Friday and Saturday 12:00 to 4:30 during July and August. The reason for only three days is I need the other four days a week to keep the supply lines moving. I have challenged everyone who comes to the Distillery to come back and complain if they get a hangover, after 'significant moderation'. No one has complained yet. Two more stills are under construction to help supply the growth of demand. One interesting new one is a vacuum evaporator, which operates under 5/8 atmosphere of Vacuum. Superheaters, heat recovery loops and all. Once that neat little machine is perfected, it will assist greatly in the initial stages of purification. Available from the Distillery: Vodka, Gin, Vanilla Vodka, Aquavit, and Black Jelly Beam Sichuan Pepper Vodka. There have been so many requests for Aquavit, we are planning to ramp up production, and once that is achieved, approach BC Liquor about a release into stores before Christmas.
Going back to work now.
Cheers
Pete Kimmerly
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