Our Story

It was in the fall 10 years ago that we first fired up the stills at Ampersand Distilling Company. After three years of dreaming and developing we opened our doors and introduced Ampersand Gin to the world. The response was immediate and the welcome into the community was overwhelming. People loved our take on gin. It was a new concept to have spirits at a farmers’ market, and many folks remarked “is that real alcohol?” before stopping for a sip. 

It’s been 10 years of crafting spirits, stopping folks to taste our Ampersand Gin, Per Se Vodka, and Nocino! Green Walnut Liqueur. While finding Ampersand Gin, Per Se Vodka, and Nocino! at a Farmers Market may not be the novelty it once was, it has become an important part of the buy local experience. And we can’t thank you all enough for the support and joy you’ve shared with us over the last decade. As we celebrate our 10th year we have some exciting releases lined up. In honour of the late great Stephen Schacht, our first whisky will soon be finding its way from the barrel to the glass. And with those extra whisky barrels around we have finally created our take on barrel aged gin - perfect for the colder months. Stephen would’ve loved to see this milestone and we know he’s raising a glass with us as we celebrate.

In all the ways our family and business have changed and grown over the last ten years, our ethos has remained the same. And that is that good things follow a good foundation. We are committed to continuing the excellence you’ve come to know and love from Ampersand - using organic BC grown grain, organic and wild-harvested botanicals from all around the world, dedication to quality, and innovation to express the art & science of distillation. We hope you’ll enjoy the new things we have planned. And you can count on us to keep your favourites coming.

The stills are the heart of a distillery, and we designed and built ours from scratch. We make our spirits in a 1000L pot still and a 500L packed column still, fondly referred to as Dot & Dash. The column, unlike any other still in the world, is packed with tiny coils for maximum surface area and produces alcohol of nearly 97%. It fractions easily between the heads, hearts, and tails of the spirit run. With our batch distillation process, we remove all impurities for the highest quality and best tasting spirit.

Open by appointment only, we are happy to give you a tour and a taste at the distillery tasting room. Sidle up for recipes and stories at the bar, made from a slab of douglas fir from the property and the same type of iron pipes that power our stills. We bring our tasting room to the Duncan Farmers' Market every Saturday, as well as the Oak Bay night market in the summer (second Wednesday of the month June-September).