Distillerie du Quai
Jean-François Rhéault is like everyone else, he has many passions, and as his professional life began to bore him, he decided to combine some of them : gin and music!
Two years ago, during a trip to London, the distillery project was conceived and his idea was founded the following year by visiting a distillery in Kelowna, British Columbia. In July 2019, in collaboration with the promoters of the nearby Ô Quai des Brasseurs micro-brewery, his project, the Distillerie du Quai, was established in the building previously occupied by Caisse Populaire Desjardins de Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval (Bécancour). Originally from this area, Jeff wanted to contribute to the revitalization of his childhood neighbourhood by moving there once again.
As a vivid music lover, the first gin was named after a song by the group Oasis (Supersonic) in which the following lyrics are found: “I’m feeling supersonic. Give me gin & tonic”. It is a London Dry produced from a hand full of ingredients such as juniper berries, coriander, orange, lemon, kaffir lime leaves, cassia buds, seeds of paradise, angelica and iris root, sapote and one unrevealing secret ingredient. A slow and gentle distillation produced in a 500 liter automated Polish G-Still still provides a distinctively silky texture for a smooth mouth feel.
Of course, considering his passion for music, Jeff has brightened the distillery with images of various musical groups and whenever possible, he organizes intimate shows on site for up to thirty spectators. More so, each batch of distilled gin is embossed by music in the form of a playlist that is played during the distillation process. This specifically chosen music is grouped and identified on Spotify, and each bottle of the batch in question is provided a QR code guiding you to this one-time-only music list. The consumer can therefore achieve the ultimate experience by enjoying their gin and listening to the famous playlist corresponding to the creation of the product in their glass.
Because of the current pandemic, a partnership was forged with the micro-brewery “Ô Quai des Brasseurs” for their role in fermenting sugar, yeast and malt to produce an alcohol base that was then distilled to produce 94% pure alcohol at a rate of about 20 liters per day. The Tonic company of Montreal used this to produce antiseptic liquids.
A project for the expansion of the micro-brewery, already on the banks of the river, was submitted for approval. This would allow the micro-distillery to be transferred in this location.
In the meantime, a single exclusive batch of gin should be ready around mid-October, followed by a third regular batch the following month.
It should be noted, Lot #065 has been soothed by a DistilleriesCanada music list composed entirely of Canadian artists! Part of this batch will also be used to make the first aged Supersonic. The plan is to make it sleep for 1 year in bourbon barrels that were also used to produce the “Perle Noire”, a beer from the micro-brewery Ô Quai des Brasseurs.
Crédit photos : © Nemo [ photographe ] pour Distilleries Canada