Okanagan whisky brand is a world-beater. So why isn’t it on B.C. store shelves?​on March 27, 2025 at 1:00 pm

There’s no question Canadian-made everything is having a moment, as Trump’s tariffs and trash talk have set off a wave of patriotic buying across the country.

But one burgeoning B.C. industry has been left out of the (cocktail) party. Walk into your local B.C. government liquor store and look around for the Canadian craft distillers’ aisle. See any boutique Canadian-produced whisky or vodka? Not a drop.

That’s something that has to change “last week,” says Tyler Dyck, CEO of Vernon and Kelowna-based Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery.

Dyck’s family-run company is fresh off a virtual sweep of the awards at the 2025 World Spirits Awards in Germany.

In a blind tasting of spirits from over 300 of the world’s best craft distillers from 50 countries, the B.C. maker of whisky, gin, vodka, brandy and fruit liqueurs picked up an unprecedented 11 gold and five silver medals and earned the “world-class distillery in worldwide whisky” designation.

The awards celebrate local, independent, terroir-driven spirits rather than big multinational producers, so Dyck likens them to the Cannes Film Festival rather than the big-industry Academy Awards.

A bourbon like Maker’s Mark wouldn’t even qualify because it’s got added colours and flavours and is mass-produced for consistency — whereas craft distilleries create their product from “farm to bottle,” including using only local fruits and grains and fermenting and distilling the product in house.

Each vintage is a unique experience with its own flavour profile, and that’s the point.

Dyck, who’s still in Europe touring craft distillers in places like Czechia, said it’s “really fantastic, just amazing to be able to come over here with some of the world’s best distillers” and win.

He says business is indeed booming in his Canadian sector thanks to Trump. Dyck is also president of both the Craft Distillers Guild of B.C. and the Canadian Craft Distillers Alliance. They represent over 370 Canadian distillers, 85 in B.C. alone, in an industry that barely even existed two decades ago.

“It’s had a major effect. As soon as the tariffs were being threatened, we saw an uptick. All our members said, ‘This is great, this is normally a slow time of year,’” says Dyck.

“When Donald Trump started insulting Canadians … the spike in interest all across Canada was massive, a resurgence in Canadian pride.”