Most vodkas are made from fermented grains such as corn, rice, rye or wheat, but this local distillery is using potatoes. The Beattie family has been farming potatoes in Alliston for over 100 years, and is now giving their high-quality product a whole new purpose.
Beattie's is Ontario's first craft distillery to offer premium potato vodka and hope to expand their production to even more high quality spirits in the future. They operate under a "farm-to-bottle" system meaning all products are grown, distilled and bottled on site.
Harrison Torr works as the official distiller and shares a passion with Ken and Liz Beattie for always delivering the highest quality product. The process of distilling Beattie's vodka involves using the highest standard of potato, extracting the starch into sugar and blending with the richest yeast that can be sourced.
Torr explains that the finished product is extremely clean and pure as a result of prevision cuts on their 42 plate Still. He says, "I am very careful to ensure we keep only the Heart in our finished product, meaning sometimes I am cutting more out of our distillation to guarantee no impurities or harsh oils reach the bottle."
The Beatties state that like their family, their alcohol is "All Heart". The taste is described as creamy, citrus notes without the hollow "burn" towards the back of the palate.
The crafting techniques used at Beattie's Distillery are unlike those found at many other distilleries because of their use of potatoes. As the Beatties explain, "unlike grain based starch sources, the potato does not release its starches and sugars easily." For this reason, the Beattie's spirits offer a unique taste versus their competitors.
Beattie's Distillery is currently producing potato vodka, sweet potato vodka, poitin, and potato gin. To find out more about these products and where you can find them click here.
