Sparking memories of Strathcona
About ten minutes south of Campbell River, an eye-catching wood building sits among golden fields of barley, tall trees, and the coastline adjacent to the Oyster River. Once the site of UBC’s Experimental Farm and then the Evans farm, today it is the home of Shelter Point Distillery. For a time, the locale alone drew visitors seeking a unique day out. But in the last five years or so, the distillery has emerged onto the global stage through a series of Gold Award wins at the World Whiskies Awards and San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Shelter Point is also the first Canadian distillery to have their whisky bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The hard work, ingredients, quality, and location that make up such a fantastic flavour profile are being recognized.
Sitting down on Shelter Point’s flower-adorned patio with Brand Experience Manager Chris Read—and lucky for me, a taste of a limited edition Whisky Club release—I’m immediately immersed in a feeling deeply tied to the setting, one that goes far beyond just the sip itself.
“Whisky is about an experience that fosters a connection—it taps into your soul,” Chris affirms. “[It has the] robustness to carry a feeling home. Its compounds and flavours are familiar enough to conjure up experiential memories.” The taste and smell of the whisky enjoyed again at home will conjure up the memory of that first try.
Just how whisky achieves this transportive quality is best discovered in the process of making it. “The chemistry of spirit interacting with wood is the same anywhere, but the influences depend on where you are located,” notes Chris. “It’s the soul of a region—the warm, vegetal aroma of the barley field, the forest, low tide on a hot day, winter storms, the ocean … all being brought into the atmosphere where our barrels are ageing … adding to the barrel, and therefore the whisky.”
True “island” whisky
The Montfort, a personal favourite of mine, is perhaps the fullest articulation of a true “island” whisky. Everything that makes up this most delicious of drams, except the yeast, is sourced within a two-kilometre radius of the distillery. As if to prove a point about the nuance of the flavours that naturally infuse each barrel, the team previously tested making a Montfort from other parts of the property. “It was noticeably different,” says Chris.
He continues, “Exploring, playing around, is a huge part of the farm.” This playfulness gets a real shot at expressing itself in the distillery’s editions of Evan’s Reserve. Each iteration of this series of limited expressions of Shelter Point’s finest single malt is in rotating select casks. “The Evans Family range is the playground where we can dip into our barrel warehouse,” says Chris. “Every six to nine months a new Evans comes out—rum finish, sherry finish, wine finish … even if it’s a wine finish again, it’ll still be different.” It’s also a way to keep things interesting for those who have already tried and chosen their favourite whiskies during a day at Shelter Point.
Whisky Club
Then there’s the rather fun Whisky Club, with three releases a year, usually one or two exclusives of cask strength before they become Evans Reserve or another expression, and one more experimental variety.
A case in point is their current foray into using tequila barrels. Chris explains that there was a boom in tequila which resulted in an excess of tequila barrels they could easily source.
Unlike wine barrels, where staff can infer what the flavours may be influenced by based on the barrel’s origin location, they don’t necessarily know where the tequila barrels came from. “It’s the barrel’s story,” says Chris, “The Whisky Club allows us to get a bit geeky about the whole thing. We have a few hundred people who are willing to trust us. We’re on the journey with them—trying things and being pleasantly surprised.”
Whether you’re a seasoned whisky connoisseur or an intrigued first-timer, the warmth of Shelter Point—from its people and sun-soaked fields to the salt on the air and the heating feeling in your chest after a wee dram—is ready to welcome you. Pull up a seat and experience one of the truest tastes of our coastal region.
