Fair Victoria

As if I needed another luxury fetish (leather, cashmere and diamonds were bad enough!), I spent a lovely evening at the launch party for handmade, family owned, Canadian premium spirit: Victoria Gin. There's no going back now. It's worth the price.

To explain gin simply, it's like a natural vodka that has been infused with herbs and flavors and then redistilled. (I think the technical term for this is “London dry gin”, as opposed to Plymouth gin or compound gin.)


The most prominent flavor in gin is juniper and the berries are responsible for spirit's name, which is a shortening of the Dutch word: genever. Juniper berry often accompanies quail, pheasant, veal, rabbit, venison and other gamey meat dishes.

Conceptually, I find gin to be a charmingly attractive alcohol option because of all the different aromatics and infusions. One of the lovely people I spoke to at the launch event, Kato Wake, said she saw gin as a more refined alcohol, free of the drab and loaded associations of other hard liquors. I tend to agree.

Vic Gin is hand made in small batches from a wood-fired still on Vancouver Island. I don’t know a great deal about stills, but this still is reputed to be particularly attractive: handmade, wood-fired and copper. Only the middle part of each run, known as the hearts, is saved for bottling. The result is a gin with more flavor and complexity, earning it the premium title.

I first tried Vic Gin on the rocks while in the backyard of the company’s creative director, Mia Hunt. I don’t drink a lot of alcohol straight on ice, but I was impressed by the array of flavors I noticed in addition to juniper: lemon and orange peel, anise, even rose petals. The sheer appearance of Vic Gin has a look of luxury about it, coating ice cubes with a pleasant viscosity.

For a comparison, Mia gave us a shot of Bombay Sapphire to try after our Vic Gin. Compared to heavenly Victoria, it tasted flavorless like rubbing alcohol and swirled around with the thinness of water.

The launch party was held this past Wednesday night at Camera Bar on Queen West, which is attached to the Stephen Bulger Gallery. I was told by a charming crossed-dress incarnation of young Victoria that the Queen used to drink gin as a tonic for her flatulence.

It certainly is pleasantly aromatic.

Maybe it’s my witchy ways, but I’ve always been drawn to elixirs. The botanicals from Victoria Gin were laid out in tidy little vials for the guests to examine.


Amongst them, the secret ingredient was also displayed and my friend’s superior nose accurately sniffed it out. I won’t say what we think it is, but it’s a well-known herb long renowned for its beneficial properties.

Anna Hunt, Culinary Consultant at Victoria Spirits and Chef at Victoria’s Paprika Bistro, produced a number of hors d'oeuvres that were inspired by Victoria Gin. The menu included:

Pork & duck terrine with Gin gêlée
Gin-infused Gazpacho of cucumber and tomato served in little shot glasses
Gin-marinated Venison canapés on a slaw of apples and cabbage
Gin-cured gravlox on a bed of rolled cucumber and lemon tea sandwiches

The Gazpacho was wonderful, but the terrine was a close second. I generally don't opt for terrine or pâté so that's saying quite a lot. For more lovely gin-infused recipes, click here.

Handsome and charming Frankie Solarik from barchef played mixologist extraordinaire for the evening. I had a drink with kiwi, mint, grapefruit and Victoria Gin. Other fabulous concoctions included egg whites and nutmeg plus variations of fresh rosemary, mint and basil.

Curtis Elson, sommelier for One Restaurant, attended with his girlfriend Amy Milligan. My brother’s ex-wife’s mother’s cousin-through-marriage was also there: Saul Rubinek. Most impressive of all, however, was the presence of the kind and personable Kevin Brauch, who foodies might know better as The Thirsty Traveler. (He also works the floor on Iron Chef America.) What a gem of a human he is.


All in all, it was a charming night for a fabulous product. Victoria Gin retails $49.99 for 750 ml at the LCBO. Right now, the quantities are limited for this season so check the LCBO website for stock at your local retailer.

Get ready for a new luxury habit.