Memramcook Distiller Opens To The Public
MONCTON – Memramcook’s first distillery is officially open to the public and is aiming to become a destination in the bucolic community east of Moncton.
Crooked River Distillery celebrated its grand opening on Aug. 7, marking the start of free tours and tastings and the opening of an outdoor bar and terrace overlooking the Petitcodiac River.
This official opening comes almost two and a half years after the distillery first opened and started distilling its barrel-aged vodka.
“It was definitely challenging just to get the paperwork right, the equipment right, and the ingredients, but we were able to make it through,” said Crooked River co-founder and spokesperson Guylaine Gauvin.
“We actually were hoping to open officially in summer 2021, but obviously Covid played a few tricks on us and we decided to wait – and we’re glad we did.”
The family-run distillery is part of a 72-acre farm – Crooked River Farm – owned by Gauvin and her husband and co-founder Guy. Many of the ingredients they use to make liquors and liqueurs are harvested from that 5,000-tree haskap orchard, vegetable, and fruit gardens.
Crooked River, which employs seven full-time staff in the summer, has won both critical and local acclaim for its Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Vodka; the spirit earned the distillery gold at the 2022 Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition.
“Receiving those esteemed awards from this renowned Canadian Spirits Competition is a true testament to Crooked River Distillery’s expression of the New Brunswick terroir and supporting local farm products,” said Guy Gauvin.
Crooked River has best-in-class recognition in the infused vodka category and bronze for its haskap gin and molasses-based vodka.
Crooked River uses a trio of stills – a 400-liter, 200-liter, and 100-liter model – to distill its liquors, which include vodkas, three varieties of gin – including its famous purple Butterfly Pea Gin – brandy, rum, and whiskey.
Gauvin noted they are working on a new honey brandy, sourced with honey from local hives, and an apple brandy with apples sourced from the Belliveau Orchard.
Right now, Crooked River is also distilling vodka to make more of its garlic vodka – a smash hit that has already sold out a couple of times, Gauvin noted.
Crooked River’s first batch of whisky ageing in barrels at the distillery will be ready for sale and tippling in 2024, after it passes the requisite three-year period in the barrel that it needs to legally qualify as whiskey.
“The next big thing will be more product collaboration and the whiskey,” said Gauvin, noting her husband is the chief distiller with Crooked River.
“Whiskey, in the distillery world, is the level everyone wants to reach, and it’s exciting to be able to create a hundred percent New Brunswick whiskey from grains that are a hundred percent, basically, from New Brunswick. We’re looking forward to that.”
Gauvin noted Crooked River makes the vodka with garlic picked from their farm and that they just completed a recent harvest of about 12,000 bulbs.
Gauvin said the aim of opening Crooked River was to add another stop for tourists looking for destinations to eat and drink in the Memramcook Valley, noting that Crooked River joins already-established the Domaine Latitude 46 Estate Winery and the Belliveau Orchard.
“We wanted to complement what was already there and create a route in the valley in Memramcook. In 20 minutes, there are three different stops where you can taste and take advantage of the agricultural, artisanal and craft businesses,” said Gauvin.
“Our barrel-aged vodka is a true representation of aging taste profile and pays homage to the New Brunswick terroir at its Canadian maple heritage,” reads an Aug. 7 media release from the distillery.
Crooked River uses more than 5,000 liters of water per day in its distilling process. To accommodate this the distillery uses a water recycling system, allowing it to achieve net-zero distinction. The distillery also supplies local farmers with food for its livestock derived from the material it discards from its distilling and spirit making.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas at [email protected].