The "B" Word Living (and Distilling) in Canada means accepting other peoples’ weird. So when it comes to our Trading partners, we have accepted a number of odd ideas like: “Some words are owned and must not be said”. There are many of these forbidden words and we grow up knowing what they are. We speak them in dark rooms and dare to write them on walls as a rite of passage. The most famous of these words is of course (C********). The reason we must not use this word is, essentially “Sparkling Arrogance”. Then there are more common words with several meanings each that must be avoided sit ..read more

A Whiskey Club (or 2) between friends... So we have a Whiskey Club . That is to say, we have 2 whiskey clubs, sort of. The first is the sort that you are familiar with, where we send you out a curated box 2 times a year with whiskey, whiskey goodies, recipes and swag. We charge you a reasonable amount plus shipping, and you are happy. Membership in the club gets you certain perks like free tastings at the Distillery, tours with the Distiller and a chance to purchase shares in your own barrels of whiskey etc. If you like you can join the club here: BCWHISKEYCLUB just send your name, mention ..read more

This Just In: Things have Flavour... To recap: We are now in #Qualicumbeach making #bcwhiskey and other #artisanspirits which we try to celebrate every day of the week but especially on #whiskeywednesday We are open for tastings 7 days a week now and also are attending #erringtonmarket and #summerbythesea market all summer long. Feel free to visit us there! Now to business: As you know, we make an Award-winning low oak “Irish Whiskey Style Spirit” known as #54-40 . I see you nodding your head. Good. Now…we have tried a number of ideas to extend our #Whiskey Catalogue, and what we have co ..read more

a proud tradition of Pride... The word Pride has had many meanings. There is a Pride of Lions… Pride of Place… Stupid/Damned Pride… Pride and Prejudice, just to name a few. None has had the lasting impact of the modern term Pride. No modifiers (not anymore, anyways) just Pride with a capital P. Pride stands for survival. Pride stands for inclusion. Pride stands for so many things that are important and necessary. Most of all, Pride stands for social progress. Some people think it’s all about sex, but I think it’s mostly about people. All of the people. Not just the few with money who run ..read more

West Coast Spirits Hello Blog readers! It is Whiskey Wednesday once again. This week’s Blog is a follow up to #11(last week). We have finally managed to get all of the ducks in a row, and they are standing at attention! We moved all of the liquor several months ago, but did not have a Sales Agreement with the Province for the new location until recently. There had to be a review. So we had our review, and we passed! We also had to have Inspectors Inspect, and Permit Officers Permit, Fire Marshals Approve, etc etc. You get the idea. In the midst of all of this, the Town of Qualicum Beach ha ..read more

A New Home, A New View, Some New Whiskey! Hello again! So it has been a while. After my long (Covid inspired) break from writing I am back at it and I have a few things to tell you all! First the BIG NEWS…we have moved to a new location in Qualicum Beach, BC. New Address: 103-680 Berwick Road South, Qualicum Beach, B.C. V9K 1R1 Phone and Fax and Email unchanged. Our old lease was up and we needed more space and amenities so we needed to re-home the Distillery. I though re-homing pets was hard!  There were lots of options, but we were firm about what we wanted. Power, Drainage, High Ce ..read more

Fall is a trip... One of the things that we love most in this world is the idea that local tastes (preferences/manias/traditions) can become a part of anything.  Cumin in Cheddar? Blissful. Chocolate in milk? You Bet!  Hemp in Whiskey took some doing. But it had to be done, and we did it. Hemp in beer is too much like hops, so it gets lost. Wine doesn’t like it much. We knew that there had to be a liquor that it worked with. A liquor that Hemp could love. And would love Hemp back. This is the Left Coast after all. There is someone for everyone. Our signature Irish Whiskey Style S ..read more

Free Whiskey? Ask me how! We all know about Covid 19. We all agree that it sucks. Hand Sanitizer, Masks, face shields, Social Distancing, Bubbles of 6, Canceled Events, Lockdowns, closed schools and businesses, quarantines, Border Restrictions, shortages, Zoom and all manner of other inconveniences abound. The “New Normal” evolves daily. It is tiring, even exhausting. Everyone bakes their own bread, grows their own veggies, does their own cleaning, cuts their own hair… wow. That is alot. We at True North were quite overwhelmed at the start, like most folks. We shifted over into making Han ..read more

Personal Choice is not a 4 letter word... So Whiskey Wednesday is a popular hashtag, and that is a great thing. The problem with popular things is that not  everyone seems quite clear on what they are all about.  Whiskey Wednesday has many meanings to as many people.  A lot of people just think it is a reminder to drink Whiskey on Wednesdays. And it is of course, but only in part.  There is a whole other side to this idea, and a pretty important one. Whiskey Wednesday is an attempt to break through centuries of bad attitudes, to get at the essence of a simple idea… Whis ..read more

More of an Opportunity than a Problem, really... As I sit here drinking my Whiskey Wednesday Scotch (that was definitely not made in Scotland), I reflect on my Canadian Whiskey and soda with a rock and how tasty it is, but how very unlike the Whiskies that I grew up around.  Very tasty, very enjoyable, but not really Scotch, b/c “made in Canada”. Somehow calling it Highland Whiskey just seems like an awkward compromise. We talked a bit about the Big 5 Whiskeys in Episode #4. What about all the rest? Not every Whiskey is made the same way they made it 400 years ago. Regional Style Whis ..read more