Get to Know: Sons of Vancouver

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Photo Credit: Katie Huisman

SONS of VANCOUVER – Really Really SMALL Batch – Written by Anne Ladouceur

When I saw the name ‘Sons of Vancouver – Really Really Small Batch’, I was immediately intrigued and the first thing I asked Richard Klaus was how the name came about and what it meant.

“We wanted to give some love to the city where we live and work”. Richard went on to explain that the name also reflects the fact that SoV uses as much locally produced/processed product as possible. Not only are they a small distillery, they like to work with small producers.

Richard Klaus and James Lester are ‘sons’ of British Columbia who met when they were in Junior High. While working as bartenders, they started experimenting with unique cocktails, which led them to discovering the craft distillery industry in the U.S. This interest resulted in their spending some time in the States, learning the craft and developing their own skills. Conception to the official opening in March 2015 took 3 years.

Setting up a craft distillery is a little more complex than opening a craft beer business in that there are more security and insurance issues (alcohol levels in beer are rarely above 10% but can reach 94% in liquor). This is a relatively new industry in BC (about 31 distilleries vs 100’s of craft beer brewers) so regulations are still a bit complex.

Because most craft distilleries are producing vodka, this is the ideal product for consumers to taste and compare distilleries. James and Richard’s interest in ‘spicing’ up cocktails influenced their decision to offer a spicy Chili Vodka and to add the “underutilized and unappreciated in cocktails” amaretto to their inventory.

Sons of Vancouver will be happy to offer serving suggestions for their vodkas and BC blackberry honey sweetened amaretto at the Coquitlam Farmers’ Market on September 6 and October 18, and then at the Port Moody Winter Farmers Market.

Summer Farmer’s Market Haul

This past Sunday Salma from The Write Balance visited market and wrote a posting about what she picked up! We loved it so much, we decided to share it here.

If you follow my blog, you know that I love the Farmer’s Market. And what is not to love? You are supporting local businesses and farms by shopping local, you are reducing your carbon footprint by buying produce and goods that don’t have to travel from so far away to get to you and you’re getting delicious, organic, pesticide-free goods. Plus, it’s a lot of fun! This past Sunday, I visited the Coquitlam Farmer’s Market and filled my bag with lots of goodies, enjoyed the entertainment and also got to support some kid entrepreneurs in the process.

Here is my latest Summer Farmer’s Market Haul:

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1. Lemonade – Of course my kids had their requests. My son asked for Kics Lemonade so I bought two flavours, the Original and the Mango Lemonade. I love that it started as a family recipe and that it uses only natural ingredients. Especially perfect on a summer day.

2. Kettle Corn – My daughter asked me to buy Cravings Kettle Corn. From the first time we tried it, we’ve been hooked! We never leave the market without a bag.

3. Local Organic Blueberries – We all love blueberries. But we love them even more when they are organic and pesticide-free. That means we can eat them right after we buy them and not have to worry!

4. Organic Carrots – The first time we bought organic carrots from the market, the disappeared so fast and they kids wanted me to buy more! For some reason, they are so sweet and super delicious!

5. Local Corn – And of course we picked up some local corn because what goes better with a summer meal than sweet corn on the cob.

6. Pao de queijo or Cheese Puffs – My husbands father lived in Brazil for a long time and could never say enough about these cheese puffs. I was really excited to try them at the market and they did not disappoint. They were so good and they are even gluten-free which is perfect for my hubby, so he can enjoy them too.

There was also a Kids Market on Sunday where young entrepreneurs got to sell what they made and it was really great. I picked up a couple things from them as well.

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7. Bird Feeder – There were some great little handmade bird feeder’s in different shapes. I picked up one so the kids could hang it in the backyard.

8. Handmade Earrings – I also picked up a pair of rock earrings made buy a young lady. She was selling lots of great jewelry that she made but these particular earring really caught my eye so I had to have them!

Vendor Spotlight: Real Meals

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SPOTLIGHT FEATURE SALE: This Sunday at the Poirier Street Farmers Market Real Meals will be offering a special deal! Stop by their tent on Sunday and ask for the SPOTLIGHT DEAL: Save $5 on any purchases $50 or more.

Q. What was the motivation behind starting “Real Meals”?

It began with a change in lifestyle and becoming aware of what was in the food I was feeding my family. I was appalled with what I learnt. We started eating primarily organic and I started making everything from scratch. After talking to parents at school and functions I found many had the same concerns but with busy work and family schedules did not have the necessary time to cook “clean” meals. We believe everyone should be able to eat clean healthy prepared meals so we started Real Meals. We aim to make comfort food that is familiar, delicious, good for you and convenient.

Q. What is your most popular menu item?

We would have to narrow this question to category as well these answers are based on market trends not online sales.  Our most popular soup is the Carrot Coconut Curry The most popular Stew or Chilli is the Veggie Chilli.  Our most popular Casserole is the English Cottage Pie.

Q. Do you have a personal favourite?

I love the 3 Bean + Roasted Chicken soup, Granny’s Chicken Pot Pie and 3 Bean Beefy Chilli.

Q. What makes your meals different from what shoppers can find else where?

We make everything from scratch, our meals are not processed as they are handmade, we don’t add any preservative or additives.

Q. Why do you think farmers markets are important in the community?

Knowing where you food comes from is imperative. When you go to a grocery store you can’t get to know the tomato farmer or the chicken farmer. Building relationships with you food suppliers not only gives you piece of mind about what your eating but it creates an amazing sense of community. We love sharing our products with our local Farmers Markets and cherish the communities that we are becoming part of.

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