Long Table Distillery Raises Spirits in Vancouver
Craft distillery is the city’s first in decades
This February, Long Table Distillery officially opens to the public, making it the first distillery to operate in the city of Vancouver in decades. Long Table handcrafts small batch, premium quality spirits that will feature locally sourced and foraged ingredients. At opening, the distillery’s product offering includes a London Dry Gin and Texada Vodka.
“Our vision for Long Table Distillery is to build a culture around craft spirits in Vancouver,” says Charles Tremewen, founder and distiller, Long Table Distillery. “Our passion for distilling runs deep, and now it’s finally time to share our excitement for craft spirits with the city.”
A lifelong interest in sustainability and natural, handmade products, combined with a visit to Portland’s Distillery Row inspired Tremewen and his wife Rita to pursue a local venture of their own. Tremewen began studying Artisan Distilling at Michigan State University and searched for the perfect location to house the operation, which led him to Long Table’s home at 1451 Hornby Street.
The desire to develop a sense of community around the micro-distillery drove Tremewen’s vision when it came to fitting the building’s interior. In the centre of the large tasting room is a 14-foot live-edge Sequoia Redwood table that was cut from a locally sourced reclaimed tree and finished by Tremewen and friends of the distillery. It ultimately became the inspiration for the distillery’s name.
“Our long table is a place where people will gather, be social, and explore the variety that’s possible with craft distilling,” continues Tremewen. “Using Long Table as our name embodies our mission and reflects what we’re about - sharing our love of local, handcrafted, and small batch spirits with the community.”
At the heart of Long Table’s operation is the 300-litre handmade copper still made in Germany by Christian CARL. Once the equipment was in place, Tremewen spent the next three months working with the system and refining his spirit recipes.
Long Table’s current offerings are a London Dry Gin, filled with robust juniper and citrus notes, and a Texada Vodka, which is passed through a filter of limestone sourced from Texada Island, B.C. When the snow thaws and foraging for botanicals on B.C.’s coastal mountains begins, Long Table will introduce a West Coast Gin made with locally foraged juniper and botanicals.
Distilling the spirits in small batches allows for better flavour control than with large-scale production. The small size of the operation also means Long Table has the ability to develop a unique range of seasonal spirits. In the future, Tremewen plans to feature a daily fresh sheet of new infusions, and a variety of apothecary spirits such as limoncello, an aquavit (an unsweetened caraway based liquor), and eventually whisky.
Currently the product is available to both the public and wholesale accounts through Long Table’s tasting room, with plans for the product to be available for purchase through the BC Liquor Distribution Branch in the spring.
Tasting room hours of operation are currently Friday and Saturday from 10:00am to 6:00pm, and Monday through Thursday by appointment (visit www.longtabledistillery.com for seasonally adjusted schedule).