New distillery aims to make Parkland County known for world-class whisky and spirits
A new distillery hopes to put Parkland County on the map for its quality spirits.
Anohka Distillery, Alberta's newest farm to flask spirits production site, opened on Friday. According to the owner, the name, derived from Sanskrit, means strangely wonderful and uncommon.
"That's everything that we're trying to do," said Gurpreet Ranu.
Ranu himself is a bit uncommon. He's still working toward completing a master's in brewing and distilling through a Scottish university.
He also has a degree in physics and until recently practiced corporate law.
"I was a litigator primarily practicing insurance defence law," Ranu said.
Everything needed to create a high-quality spirit is available within Parkland County, Ranu says.
"We have the resources. We have the grain. We have the ability to make world-class whisky right here," he added.
The first batch of whisky has to age in a barrel for at least three years, so the only product available so far is their gin, called Tempest.
"You get a lot of the big citrusy notes off this one," Adam Koziak, Chateau Louis Liquor Store manager, told CTV News Edmonton. "It's very well balanced."
Tempest is already being sold at dozens of liquor stores in Alberta. Koziak says tons of craft distilleries have opened in recent years, with the trend catching up with the local craft beer scene.
"The best part about it is everyone is doing their own unique thing," he added.
Ranu credits the problem-solving skills he learned as a physicist and lawyer for his early success as a distiller.
"I am all in on the distillery business," he added. "I'm going to keep my legal license.
"I will continue to practice, but I will be in-house counsel, so my only client will be the distillery."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Halifax police say Walmart employee's death wasn't suspicious; no details released
Police in Halifax say the death of a Walmart employee who was found inside an oven in the store last month is not suspicious, but they are refusing to release any additional details.
Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy as financial losses pile up and debt payments loom
Spirit Airlines said Monday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will attempt to reboot as it struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel and a failed attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue.
Father, 2 children missing from northern B.C may be travelling to Alberta: RCMP
Mounties in B.C. are asking the public for help locating a father and his two children who have not been seen since Friday.
Trudeau says he could have acted faster on immigration changes, blames 'bad actors'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government could have acted faster on reining in immigration programs, after blaming 'bad actors' for gaming the system.
9 injured, including 2 critically, after stolen vehicle collides with TTC bus in Toronto: police
Nine people were injured, including two critically, after a stolen vehicle collided with a TTC bus in North York early Monday morning, Toronto police say.
Moscow warns U.S. over allowing Ukraine to hit Russian soil with long-range weapons
U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied long-range missiles was met with ominous warnings from Moscow, a hint of menace from Kyiv and nods of approval from some Western allies.
Ottawa family heartbroken after being scammed out of more than $22K on fake Taylor Swift tickets
A few weeks ago, they learned the tickets they booked last August were never real.
Two men accused in fatal border crossing to stand trial in Minnesota
Two men are to stand trial on human smuggling charges this week, almost three years after a family from India was found frozen to death on the border between Manitoba and Minnesota.
Australian senate censures Indigenous lawmaker who yelled at King Charles III
Australian senators on Monday voted to censure an Indigenous colleague who yelled at King Charles III during a reception in Parliament House last month.