Our Story
Our Story
AND WHO WE ARE
Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery is Western Canada’s original craft distillery, dating back to 2004. The distillery sprung from the idea of using 100% locally grown fruits and grains to make premium, world-class spirits just a tractor ride away from the orchards and fields where the base ingredients were grown. BC’s original farm-to-flask distillery now offers a selection of more than 30 internationally awarded spirits ranging from Single Malt, BRBN Bourbon-Style, BC Hopped, and BC Rye Whiskies, to Gins, Vodkas, Fruit Liqueurs, and Brandies, to Aquavit and even Taboo Genuine Absinthe.
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Tony Dyck
President of Okanagan Spirits craft distilleries
Our “El Capitain” is the reason why Okanagan Spirits is what it is today. Tony’s passion for the family distillery and his unsurpassed work ethic are the secret ingredients behind Okanagan Spirits becoming Canada’s most internationally awarded craft distillery. He’s also been the driving force behind Okanagan Spirits’ commitment to local, part of the reason for having two independent operating distillery locations.
Tony might credit the occasional dram of Poire William in his morning coffee, but his dedication to excellence inspires not only his family but also the broader Okanagan Spirits team, made up of the best talent in the distilling industry. Tony and his wife Pat live in Vernon, as do their daughter, Melissa, and her two little girls. Their sons, Tyler and Jeremie, as well as two more grandchildren and two granddogs, live in Kelowna.
Tyler Dyck
CEO of Okanagan Spirits craft distilleries President of the Craft Distiller’s Guild of BC
Tyler has been working alongside his father Tony, as one half of the father & son team to boost awareness of the art of craft distilling and the opportunities it provides to BC farmers and orchardists. Apart from mixing a mean cocktail, Tyler also inherited his father’s tireless energy and has worked with local and provincial governments as the head of the Craft Distiller’s Guild of BC to support the burgeoning craft distilling industry while positioning Okanagan Spirits as a leader in North America and on the world stage. Under Tyler’s watch, Okanagan Spirits’ success on the World Stage has been expanding from Gin, Vodka, Eaux-de-Vies, and Liqueurs to include a place at the table among the top international Whisky producers for each of Okanagan Spirits’ four lines of Whiskies. To this end, their five-year-old Laird of Fintry Single Malt and Final Proof Whisky releases won gold and silver medals, respectively, at the 2015 World Spirits Awards in Demark. Tyler lives a short bike ride away from Okanagan Spirits’ Kelowna distillery.
Peter Von Hahn
Master Distiller
Peter is the alchemist at Okanagan Spirits. He is Canada’s most awarded Craft Distiller and the only distiller in North America to achieve not only Master Class but also World Class Distillery designations from the European Based World Spirits Awards (WSA). In 2013 and again in 2015 Peter was instrumental in Okanagan Spirits being awarded Distillery of the Year and also Spirits of the Year from the WSA in Klagenfurt Austria and the WSA in Køge Denmark. Based in Vernon, Peter is a pioneer in his profession and can often be found in his lab concocting a new recipe or further refining some of his tried and tested favourites.
Chris Burke
Senior Distiller
Chris joined Okanagan Spirits in early 2015 to help drive their whisky portfolios forward and to help expand and develop the more than 25 spirits in production at both distillery locations. Chris has a degree in Brewing and Distilling from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and is currently in charge of Okanagan Spirits’ expansion into a BC Bourbon-style of grain-corn whisky (“BRBN”) and the further development of their much celebrated Final Proof, Master Distiller Series beer-based line of whiskies. We are always eager to hear what Chris will propose next for our 100% BC Whisky release.
Heidi Astin
Distillery Bookkeeper and Administrator
Heidi works closely with CEO Tyler Dyck in the accounting department and helps manage the operation of our back and front ends at both Distilleries to ensure everything flows smoothly.
Melissa Duncan
Director of First Impressions
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Mike Chisholm
Kelowna Tasting Room Manager
Papa Mike is the calming presence that gives Kelowna such a wonderful feel. Mike is in charge of the smooth operation and functioning of our Kelowna Distillery’s front end and communicates daily with Craig and the crew in Vernon to ensure that both operations work together as one entity.
(Note: we have been secretly cloning his DNA in Pete’s lab to develop our own clone army of Mikes!)
Awards
RECENT & NOTEWORTHY
Okanagan Spirits has won Artisanal Distillery of the Year at the prestigious 2022 Canadian Whisky Awards, in addition to 3 GOLD medals, and 2 SILVER. We were also honoured to be named Distillery of the Year at the 2020 World-Spirits Awards.
Okanagan Spirits was awarded “Distillery of the Year” at the 2013, 2015 and 2020 World Spirits Awards (Klagenfurt, Austria in 2013, and Køge, Denmark in 2015, Austria in 2020). In 2013, we also became North America’s only World-Class rated distillery, a distinction we still hold proudly today.
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