Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery is toasting some major wins on the international stage. It picked up 11 gold medals and five silver medals at the World Spirits Awards in Germany last Saturday. And its whisky took home the world prize for the whole gala.
“It’s like going to the Cannes Film Festival and taking best in show, you know, taking the top award there,” said Tyler Dyck, the CEO of the company, which has its main location in Vernon and another distillery in in Kelowna.
But its gold-medal-winning whisky isn’t available in government liquor stores. That’s because B.C. craft distilleries are treated differently than B.C. wineries, and Okanagan Spirits would actually lose money selling products there.
“If you’re a B.C. winery, for a $40 bottle sold at the government liquor store, you’ll keep $33 in your pocket as a producer,” said Dyck.
“A B.C. craft distiller, take a $40 bottle of whisky that just won the World Spirits Awards, they are only giving us back $13 a bottle, because we’re not allowed access to the same by ‘Buy B.C., Support B.C.’ agriculture program.”
Dyck doesn’t understand why that agricultural subsidy for B.C. wineries isn’t available to craft distilleries, which also create products with B.C. ingredients.
“They basically are being prejudicial against anyone that doesn’t use grapes,” said Dyck.
The vast majority of hard liquor in B.C. is bought at government liquor stores. By not being on the shelves there, Okanagan Spirits can’t take advantage of the recent “Buy Local” trend.
“They want to support B.C., but they go to the government liquor store and they see empty shelves where all of these beautiful B.C. products from 85 distilleries, products made from 100 per cent agricultural product could be on the shelves,” said Dyck.
“They’re excluded from that, because of this economic cliff that they can’t get past.”
In an email, the ministry in charge of the liquor distribution branch said it will be adding more made-in-B.C. products to shelves left vacant when American liquor was removed, and its reviewing the distillery sectors’ request to have its own subsidy similar to what’s offered for made-in-B.C. wines.
“All they need to do is allow other B.C. producers the same access to this program, and we will power the economy the same, if not more, than what wineries do. And British Columbians will finally have the chance to celebrate and see that celebrated product that is winning gold and coveted on the world stage,” said Dyck.
With no end in sight to the trade war and the desire to buy local products gaining steam, he wants that to happen now.
“If this government’s going to stand behind a backdrop that says buy B.C. and stand strong for B.C. and put B.C. first, well they have to put actions behind those words,” Dyck said.
“We just want equity, and we want it last week.”
