Bridgeland Distillery Gewurztraminer Brandy

Reviewed on July 9, 2021

Bridgeland Distillery is aptly named after the community of Bridgeland in which it is located. It is owned by two engineers, Jacques Tremblay and Daniel Plenzik, who met at a distilling course in the Okanagan. They joke about calling the distillery Jacques Daniels!

They focus on European spirits - brandy, grappa, limoncello, amaro and whisky - they also make wine and bourbon (they spell it berbon due to proprietary laws). One thing they do that I have never seen before is that they make the Gewurztraminer grape 3 ways - as a wine, a brandy and a grappa. They source the grapes from St. Hubertus winery in Kelowna. They first make the Gewurztraminer wine by doing a cool ferment for 4 weeks and then bottling it (it is only available at the distillery). To make the brandy, they take the wine and distill it twice in their copper pot still and then age it in French or Bulgarian oak barrels for at least one year To make the grappa, they let the grape skins ferment in the barrel before distilling it twice in their pot still (named Louise after the Louise bridge). The clear spirit can be bottled straight away or aged in a barrel. It is fun to compare all 3 on a flight available at the distillery.

I gravitated towards their Gewurztraminer Brandy. It is golden caramel in colour. It is very fragrant with aromas of flowers, vanilla, peach and a bit of orange rind. I love how the warming sensation glides across my palate. No burning here!

Photo below - owners Jacques Tremblay and Daniel Plenzik