Son's of Vancouver Distillery

When Sons of Vancouver's Richard Klaus and James Lester say that they work in “really, really small batches,” they aren't kidding. But don't let their size fool you; since their March 2015 opening, the North Vancouver distillery has already attracted serious local and media attention for their unique craft spirits — a vodka, a chili vodka and what is likely the first craft amaretto in North America.

“We always knew we were going to make an amaretto,” Richard explains. “We'd been talking about opening this place for more than three years, and we've been committed formally for at least two — making various iterations of the amaretto recipe. So, when it says on the bottle that it's 'No. 82 Amaretto,' it's because there were at least 81 variations before that. Probably more. We started very simply, with almond extracts and vanilla extract bought from Save-On. It started there, and it's developed into what we have now.”