B.C. distillery first in Canada to join prestigious Scotch Malt Whisky Society

A distillery on Vancouver Island is the first ever in Canada to be welcomed into the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

A distillery on Vancouver Island is the first ever in Canada to be welcomed into the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Making a good whisky is a long game, taking years to see the benefits of ones work.

"You make it, you put it in a barrel and you wait," said James Marinus, head distiller at Shelter Point Distillery in Campbell River, B.C.

You let it age for five years, then give it a taste and hope your efforts have paid off. That’s exactly what Shelter Point Distillery began doing in 2011.

"Then five years later, we bottled it and released it," said Marinus.

It was good, just not Scotch whisky good.

"Well, the whisky that we’ve put together in the last few years have been great," said the head distiller.