The Spirited Chef Blog & Recipe SMOKE POINT WHISKY

SHELTER POINT DISTILLERY, Oyster River, BC

"EPHEMERAL SWEET, SALT & SMOKE"

Embarking on the first post of this blog adventure means choosing only one from a world of amazing artisan spirits – that’s a tough thing to do when I love the creativity and passion shown by so many folks who in our driven and often indifferent world have chosen to lead with their hearts and carefully craft unique flavour experiences to contribute to the enjoyment of our everyday lives.

Just down the road from me in Oyster River on Vancouver Island is Shelter Point Distillery, a brilliant example of how one man’s passion for farming and innovation has come full circle and is now shining on the world stage while remaining a fiercely beloved ‘friendly family distillery’. Patrick Evans purchased the 380 acres of oceanfront fields and forest in 2005, and with fields full of two-row barley, in 2011 founded the distillery as a way to sustain the farm. With head distiller James Marinus, they sourced the beautiful copper stills (featured in the blog header) and designed the space that houses the production and experiential heart of Shelter Point.

If a quintessential distillery could be plucked from Scotland and set down by the Pacific Ocean, one couldn’t get much closer to authenticity than Shelter Point. The glacier-fed aquifer that waters the fields of barley and is the base of their spirits is a stone’s throw from the ocean, the salt air that pervades the grain and surrounds the casks as they age is cleansing and crisp, and the huge trees that surround the property are a haven for the wildlife that live in harmony with enterprise – bears, geese, deer and eagles form part of daily life on the farm – and they get to feast on the warm ‘porridge’ from the mash tun when it is hauled out to the fields to fertilize the soil and become part of the agricultural cycle.

The current expression of Smoke Point is a delicate brush with a smoldering cedar branch rather than a wallop with an aged plank from an Islay pier that might one expect. There is only a hint of last night’s campfire by the ocean and cigar tobacco smoke on the nose, along with the oak and signature sweet Shelter Point barley malt. There is an interesting dance of salty, iodine seaweed with the dark baking cocoa and toffee-dipped dried currants on the creamy palate…then the ‘Point’ comes on the swallow – wisps of the charred local driftwood, applewood and hickory float above the foundational flavour provided by the Islay barrels, tickling the back of the throat and nose, blooming on the exhale and into the short but lovely finish of toasted oatmeal cookie s’mores over campfire embers.

This is a ‘Tuesday Whisky’ for me (more on the Spirited Chef’s whisky rating system in a later post) light and delicate, with enough guts to engage my squirrel-brain into analyzing its’ nuances, yet beautifully simple enough to be enjoyed, sip by sip, as the smoke dissolves over my tongue, seeking the sweetness tickling the insides of my cheeks and dancing up through the back of my nose. This is Yummy. Uncomplicated. Lovely.

Dissolve to Sunday morning. Someone has to make breakfast…or brunch, by now. My jacket smells like campfire as I take Whisky the puppy out for his morning constitutional. Visions of double-smoked bacon dance in my head along with the back-of-tongue remnants of the Smoke Point and the anticipation of crisp potatoes, hollandaise, creamy egg yolk and back bacon – so here is the Smoke Point Hash recipe – Enjoy!

Flavour explosions, salt bliss, mouthfeel, perfect temperatures at service and attractive plating are things that take time to develop and hone…sometimes we don’t have the luxury of time, and sometimes we want breakfast for dinner. This recipe is just as delicious heaped into a noodle bowl without beautiful presentation. All YOU need to do is add love – the secret ingredient in all of the food created by The Spirited Chef!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

My gratitude to Chris Read, the Brand Experience Manager at Shelter Point Distillery - www.shelterpoint.ca - who met with me to discuss the Smoke Point, its’ characteristics and provenance, and how it fits into the vision and goals for the distillery. It takes many dedicated and visionary people to bring excellent whisky into being and then to send it into the world… Patrick Evans, James Marinus, Leon Webb and Jacob Wiebe are highly respected by the Whisky Fabric for what they have created, and for what we have the privilege to enjoy!