We’re Sweet on Victoria Spirits Twisted & Bitter

Victoria Gin twisted & Bitter label

Queen Victoria? A definite resemblance!

One of our best discoveries at this year’s Taste Victoria was Twisted & Bitter (Orange), the latest from Victoria Sprits. It’s a new ‘twist’ on the old theme that bitters can be not only stomach settling but seriously bump things up a notch when it comes to a few drops in your favourite concoction.

We did just that when we recently broke into a bottle of Phrog that had been too long neglected. Don’t get us wrong: we’re huge fans of both Phrog (and Victoria) as sipping gins. But we have to admit that few drops of Twisted & Bitter took things to an even higher level, with added smoothness and a nice, almost orange blossom note for extra complexity. Plus, in a drought year, it did save some water …

Twisted & Bitter is already making its way around the ‘serious’ bartender crowd, including the likes of Shaun Layton at Vancouver’s newly unveiled l’Abattoir, which we checked out the other night.

We also love the package, a handy 100 ml., very apothecarial looking bottle, adorned with a wonderful salute to Queen Victoria by Toronto’s Miss Conception.

All power not only to Victoria Spirits but to all of BC’s small distillers who have overcome  more than the usual impediments of the liquor bureaucracy to flourish in their new-found field.

Now if we can just convince the politicians to smarten up and let them all ship directly to restaurants (like the wineries) and make a decent return, maybe we’d be at least approaching the 21st century.

Find more info on Twisted & Bitter at Victoria Gin.