Canada is home to North America's only in-airport distillery
Pubs are common at airports these days, but actual breweries are not. That's why Airbräu at Munich Airport (MUC) in Germany and Cigar City Brewing at Florida's Tampa International Airport (TPA) are rare — they brew beer on-site.
In-airport distilleries are just as hard to find. There are currently only two in the world, and one of them has been open less than a year.
The first one, called The Nicholas Culpeper pub and restaurant, opened in 2016 at London Gatwick Airport (LGW). It's named for a 17th-century botanist, herbalist and physician who once lived nearby. The pub still produces a London Dry Gin using a recipe initially created by master distiller Matt Servini and his team at the Craft Distilling Business; the team also designed and built a special still for the airport site.
Although it was closed for a while during the pandemic, this in-airport distillery has since reopened. It has been so successful that a larger still was installed in 2018 to meet demand, according to Vanessa Rapier, Craft Distilling Business' co-founder and director. She told TPG that “as long as the recipe and ingredients are consistent," distilling gin in an airport “should have no impact on [the gin’s] taste.” The distillery is located in the pre-security/landside section of the airport’s North Terminal.
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Canadian airport gets going with gin
Victoria Distillers, which has its headquarters in Sidney, British Columbia, had already been planning to open a distillery at Victoria International Airport (YYJ) in British Columbia before the pandemic started. And despite the decline in air travel and the implementation of travel restrictions, the company pressed forward and opened North America’s first airport distillery in September 2021.
The company makes a variety of highly regarded, handmade spirits, but it's best known for an indigo-colored gin inspired by the legendary Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria. The grand hotel opened in 1908 and serves a signature blend of black tea during its popular afternoon high tea service.
That hotel’s tea is one of the ingredients in Victoria Distillers’ Empress 1908 Gin; it also contains traditional botanicals as well as butterfly pea blossom, the trendy exotic herb that gives the gin its purple hue. The gin’s color changes to bright lavender, soft pink, or fuchsia depending on what mixer is added.
Victoria Distillers has set up a still and a shop in the recently expanded departures lounge of the airport.
“Our base spirit distillation is carried out at our parent facility on the Sidney Waterfront, about 10 minutes away,“ Tomas Dosil, hospitality and experience manager for Victoria Distillers, told TPG. “The manufacturing at our Victoria Airport location consists of infusing, blending and bottling with a custom blending and bottling unit that uses circle clad stainless steel and copper elements intended to mirror the stills at our parent Sidney distillery.”
Dosil said that although the shelves at the airport shop are well-stocked with the beautiful and recognizable indigo Empress 1908 Gin, customers can watch through the distillery’s floor-to-ceiling windows as their personal bottles are blended, bottled and labeled.
What's more, the distillery offers travelers complimentary half-ounce tastings of the Empress 1908 Gin that's produced on-site.
“We like to add a splash of quality tonic after the initial first taste,” Dosil said. “Our team focuses on how the gin is made, what botanicals are used and what flavors you might expect. We also tell the story of Empress 1908, from the inspiration to its inception and what makes the gin unique.”
If you want to sample the gin in cocktail form before committing to buying a full bottle, you can order from the menu at the Spinnakers Lounge across from the airport distillery. Dosil said a signature cocktail featuring the airport-made gin is in the works.
Travelers who want to go home with a bottle of the purple gin can easily do so. Right now, the airport distillery produces 50 to 60 bottles daily, but it has the capacity to increase production as passenger traffic grows. And here's a tip: Dosil said the bottle prices at the airport are lower than any you’ll find in local government and private retail stores.
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Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.Pros
- Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
- First checked bag free
Cons
- Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
- SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees