Liquor Canada Magazine - Newly established distillery

Newly established distillery

Newly established Prince Edward Distillery has laid claim to producing Canada’s first and only potato-distilled vodka and Prince Edward Island’s first wild blueberry vodka.

The distillery, founded in 2007 by Arla Johnson and Julie Shore, produces artisan-distilled spirits from the province’s renowned potatoes, local grain and wild blueberries in Hermanville, Prince Edward Island.

The small distillery, which also produces a rye whisky, has plans to extend its range of spirits in the future to include bourbon, gin, rum and Scotch whisky.

Prince Edward Distillery won a Gold Medal for the Prince Edward Potato Vodka from the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a Silver Medal for the Prince Edward Wild Blueberry Vodka from the 2009 U.K. International Sprits Challenge in London, England.

Sales for the first year of the facility have been quite satisfactory, according to the company, with heavy traffic in the on-site retail facility and consistent sales through the PEILCC. Currently, export negotiations are in place with a Japanese distributor along with one in Spain.

At press time, Prince Edward Distillery was in the process of submitting applications to each of the provinces.

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Blue Ice Idaho Potato Vodka is Better and $40.00 Less Expensive.	Bob \| 18/12/2009

Blue Ice Idaho Potato Vodka rates 94 Points BTI and retails for US$19.99 finewinehouse.com on special US$17.00 at winechateau.com Prince Edward PEI Potato Vodka rates 92 Points BTI and retails for US$60.50 Blue Ice Idaho Potato Vodka is better and US$40.00 less expensive.
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Not in any other Canadian province and Swedes spit it out.	Tom \| 18/12/2009

I travel across Canada, Europe, Nordic, Asia etc. a lot. At your next press time, check and you will see that none of the Canadian provinces other than PEI are selling this vodka. I have not seen it in any Canadian province. The liquor boards know PEI vodka is overpriced. If you read the BTI notes you will see BTI say the PEI vodka is rustic, which is a polite word for home-made, rough and unsophisticated. Like Bob said, Blue Ice Idaho Potato Vodka at US$ 19.99 is US$40.00 less expensive and rates higher at 94 BTI points. I travel a lot across Canada, Europe, Nordic, Asia etc. and believe me, its like any other tourist product, more hype than substance and always overpriced. I gave my Swedish friend a taste of this vodka. He spit it out and started laughing real hard, and said to me in typical Swedish humor: "Tom, I thought you were a friend, are you trying to kill me ?" We used it as candle-fuel, having a couple of beers out in the snow after Swedish midnight saunas, and it worked well for that. I got the bottle from a Nova Scotia friend, he got it from from a Newfoundlander friend because none of them would dare open it: saying, something like, "are you kidding me ?". The Newfoundlander said, "I don't drink anything made from PE." Cheers from Hong Kong, Tom.
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You see you can never trust those awards they are too high on the horse	Jane \| 18/12/2009

Interesting, I was just looking in on liquorcanadamagazine to see what's new. I tasted this vodka with my Japanese friends. We both did like Tom's Swedish friend did. Good thing the Japanese are so polite...their eyes widened, they looked at the bottle and started laughing, saying, American joke, yes ? I thought that was so cute. So in a way it was worthwhile. By the way, they received the PEI vodka as a gift from a Nova Scotia a friend too...ouch. Bottoms up from Tokyo, Jane.
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Could this be Canada's first and last potato vodka ?	Sven \| 18/12/2009

This is a nice little tourist vodka, for a nice little tourist island, right ? You do know that high priced vodka, is dead in Canada, don't you ? I would go with Blue Ice Idaho Potato Vodka, simply because you can get three bottles of better vodka for the same money as that PEI vodka. Sven from Stockholm.
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Idaho sound great !	Brad \| 18/12/2009

Idaho, sounds great. Prince Edward Island, sounds uptight. I agree with that Newfoundlander. Brad from Idaho.
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Idaho sound great ! Prince Edward sounds uptight.	Brad \| 18/12/2009

Idaho, sounds great. Prince Edward, sounds uptight. I agree with that Newfoundlander. Brad from Idaho.
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I'm in Australia with Canadian friends this evening...wow this stuff is horrible...	James \| 19/12/2009

Funny how news travels... I'm in Australia and a friend of mine knows a friend, who knows a friend...who got some of this stuff when she was in the Canadian Maritime provinces, some time ago and was saving it for a special ocasion. Here comes the sad part. Well, here we are this evening tasting this stuff and its bloody awful. Aussies would really give these guys the shove off if it were sold here. Aussies don't like fakes or fakers. The stuff is very harsh and bitter to start, with a taste like wet cardboard and green bitter stems that only gets worse the longer you have it in your mouth. The residue sticks to the roof of your mouth and is unpleasantly sour. Its reminds me of that sour taste you get just before you vomit. If you drink about 3 oz, it still burns your tongue with bitterness. Even the worst booze fades, but this stuff keeps on reminding you of the mistake you've made drinking it. No wonder the Swede spit it out (like Tom said). And you know when a Japanese laughs (like Jane was talking about) in an awkward moment such as bad food or drink its a sign, that they are trying hard to save the host and themselves the loss of face. The Canadian said she will be using the other bottles she has back home for windshield washer, when she gets back to Toronto. One bloke here said he doubts this is a real serious Canadian effort: he said any other CA$25.00 average priced Canadian vodka like "Iceberg" from Newfoundland or "Polar Ice" is better,this PEI vodka is over the US$60.00 price. When I mentioned it was awarded silver and gold medals, he said, "so why in reality does it taste like ==it ?". Folks believe me, real Aussies don't lie. I think this stuff is giving me some sort of headache, right between the eyes. James from Sydney.
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No wonder Canada has never made potato vodka...	Lars \| 03/01/2010

I think this is the first and last potato vodka Canada will ever make. Most vodka will taste good cold, not this PEI vodka. I tasted this PEI vodka, since a Newfoundland cousin got some last summer while in Canada. As a Swede I find that this vodka tastes terrible. Iceberg vodka from Newfoundland, it is much better. This PEI vodka tastes like bad potatoes. Lars from Stockholm.
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Please don't make any more Canadian potato vodka...I beg you...its terrible...	Johan \| 14/01/2010

Prince Edward potato vodka is sour, burns and has an awful vegetal taste like bad potatoes and plant material. Johan from Stockholm.
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Potato Vodka	Alan \| 07/02/2010

As importer may I suggest Karlssons Gold from Sweden - 7 varietals of baby potatoes - hints of sweet nutiness and vanilla. Smooth finish..distilled ONE time. Available in Alberta only at this time. cheers
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Canadian potato vodka	Tyler Schramm \| 04/03/2010

Pemberton Distillery in BC produces Schramm Vodka an ultra premium, certified organic potato vodka. Made with famous Pemberton potatoes. A true sipping vodka.
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