Vancouverscape, a Vancouver based blog covering travel, tech, and lifestyle

The Liberty Distillery has two great reasons to celebrate this week: the Granville Island distillery turns one and just launched its Endeavour Old Tom Gin. Liberty is at the forefront of offering hand-crafted, premium spirits made from 100% BC grain.

At a small gathering at the 110-year-old saloon bar and tasting room, friends and media were gathered to sample from the newly-launched gin, one that begins with Liberty’s base Endeavour white gin that’s then aged in barrels.

The party also gave us a chance to sit down and chat with Master Distiller Laurent Lafuente, who aims to create spirits with enough complexity to be enjoyed on its own. The Old Tom’s infused with locally-sourced botanicals; its toasty character comes from a three-step process — distillation, maceration, and barrel aging in American oak.

The gorgeous, customized handmade copper stills in their distilling room are crafted by German Master Christian Carl.

Toulouse native Laurent’s been with the company for two years now, having previously worked in Switzerland, Antigua, Senegal, and both French and British Guyana. Between stints in the rum distilling industry (British Guyana, French Guyana, and Antigua), he trained as a winemaker.

[Pouring Honey’d Sours]

A good percentage of the wine-making process involves many of the same steps as distilling. Laurent studied 75% theoretical distilling knowledge, picking up the rest via experimentation.

[The star of the evening: The Mascotte]

Meanwhile over at the busy bar, seven cocktails were offered to guests, including the feature of the evening: The Mascotte. This delightful sipper is created with Endeavour Old Tom, blackcurrant cordial, fresh apple juice, macerated cranberries, lemon zest, and a cinnamon stick.

[Honey’d Sour: Railspur No. 2 Wildflower Honey Whiskey, fresh lemon juice, honey syrup, egg white, bitters]

[The Gem: Endeavour Origins, fresh lime juice, muddled blueberries, tarragon, soda]

[The Basford: Endeavour Gin, rosemary-grapefruit cordial, fresh lemon juice]

[The Whistle Punk: Truth Vodka, ginger cordial, fresh lime, basil, soda]

If you’d like to order The Mascotte, it will be available along with Old Tom Gin tastings on November 29 (Liberty’s official birthday).

The Liberty Distillery is located at 1494 Old Bridge Road on Granville Island.