Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you and your current job?
We are Richard Klaus and James Lester, the distillers, janitors and delivery drivers behind Sons of Vancouver, a little distillery on Vancouver’s North Shore.
What was the inspiration behind your Distillery?
We are both big beer guys but also bartenders, around five years ago Richard and I were living in Vancouver and making delicious beer and drinking delicious beer but serving and bartending the same the same old cocktails that have been made for 20 years. We wanted to join the community of independent distillers in BC and get in on the ground floor changing how we drink cocktails.
Can you give us a tour of your Distillery scene?
We were the 25th distillery to open in BC and just celebrated our second anniversary. Today there are over 40 with at least ten we can name on the way and probably whispers of another ten. Last summer 43% of beer sold in Vancouver was brewed locally in the province of BC. That’s wild, right now craft spirits have to be less than 1% but that number is about to explode. We get calls and emails every week from new guys wanting to get into the industry. Its great we always try and help them out.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a Distillery?
Oh man, I don’t say this to discourage anyone, it’s a great industry you’re going to love it but making good spirits is really easy, I will gladly teach you. What is hard is making a product people want to buy. Also, floor drains put them everywhere.
