New Distillery Opens in Vancouver

The Liberty Distillery, Vancouver’s first craft distillery to create spirits from organic wheat, will opened the doors to its Granville Island location today, an event four years in the making.

“It has been a long road to opening, with construction setbacks and financial challenges,” says Lisa Simpson, co-founder with her husband Robert. “Life is about challenges, and if it were easy than everyone would be doing it.”

“We are passionate about food, wine and spirits,” she continues. “We love people, learning and growing. So what better way to live your life than opening a distillery to share our passions with people from all over?”

At the distillery today, spirit aficionados will be able to sample Liberty’s hand-crafted Truth Vodka, view the beautiful custom-made CARL copper stills and hear the antique BC steam donkey whistle blowing to signal a new spirit batch. Guests can also shop for unique merchandise while enjoying a signature cocktail at the prohibition-era bar.

The Liberty Distillery is a true artisan craft distillery operating under the British Columbia’s Craft Distilling policy, meaning every step from grain to glass is performed by hand with 100% BC-grown ingredients. While some distilleries start with an already-distilled neutral grain spirit (NGS), The Liberty Distillery uses organic BC wheat and barley to produce its own mash on-site. This is then carefully fermented and triple distilled in their handcrafted CARL stills to the highest standard under the careful stewardship of international award-winning Master Distiller Laurent LaFuente. In addition to its vodka, Liberty will also soon have a white whiskey and a gin.

“We are dedicated to making the best spirits we possibly can. We will not compromise on quality by taking short cuts – this is why I joined the Liberty team,” says Lafuente.