Page 43 - Beverage MasterOct Nov 2020

Craft Distillery
Chanel Turner—
Creator— FOU-DRÉ
Vodka
Once a government
contractor, Turner
spent more than six
months researching dis-
tilleries with the tech-
nology to produce the
quality of crisp, clean
vodka she wanted.
Today, her “lightning”
brand has robust Asian sales and a strong online
market. She’s also the founder of the Black-Owned
Spirit and Wine Festival in Washington, D.C.
Signature Spirits: FOU-DRÉ Vodka
1. I’m most proud that we’ve been able to sustain
in an industry that sees many brands come and
go. Looking back, I identified a problem that
many can relate to, with vodka being a spirit
that people tend to grow out of. At 25, I knew I
wanted a “better experience” when consuming
spirits without having to use sugary mixers. I
realized I would have to source the right distill- 1. There are two things I’m proud of: first, Mill
ery to bring my vision to life. It took months of
research, formula tests (87!) and market sur-
veys to come up with the infused formula that’s
found in a bottle of FOU-DRE today. We’ve not
compromised the unique taste or exquisite
packaging of FOU-DRE in any way—that truly
makes me proud.
2. I’ve learned to celebrate the small wins and
appreciate the journey. The older I get, this
matters more than ever before. Essentially, I’ve
grown with the business, becoming a proprietor
at such an early age. Outside of what it takes to
build a spirit brand, I’ve learned patience!
3. My advice would be to make the right alliances
early on. Though we’re seeing more women
come into this space, it’s still a male majority
industry. So it’s important that we unify, join
together and share moments of pains and prog-
ress. We can learn so much from one another
and get ahead of the game by tapping into each
other’s resources. When I first started, there
was a small percentage of women owners/dis-
tillers in the industry. Even more disheartening,
there was an absence of platforms for commu-
nity-building and very little visibility for women
in the field. We’ve come a very long way but
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still have far to go. I encourage women coming
in the industry to network, network and net-
work some more! Make your presence in the
industry known. When one wins, it’s a win for
us all.
Kaitlin Vandenbosch—
Head Distiller/
Brewmaster— Mill
Street Brewery
After earning a mas-
ter’s in brewing and
distilling at Heriot-
Watt in Scotland,
Vandenbosch started at
Mill Street in Toronto
in 2013, just when it
was expanding into
micro-distillation. She
advanced in many management positions since
then, helping Mill Street refine its line. In 2019, she
became the organization’s brewmaster.
Signature Spirits: Single Barrel Canadian Malt
Whisky, Tankhouse Bierschnaps, Small Batch Gin
Street brought distilling back to the Distillery
District in 2013, and I was the first head dis-
tiller. Spirits hadn’t been distilled on-site since
the mid-1980s! Second, during my time as head
distiller, I set down two barrels of whisky. Since
it was very small scale, I was able to take a lot
of time and care with the recipe design, aging
and blending. I am really happy with how both
turned out (released in 2017 and 2018).
2. It’s fairly technical, but one of the most use-
ful skills that I learned from my former boss,
Joel Manning, is benchtop trials. This comes
in handy when determining flavor additions,
final alcohol strengths, barrel blends, cocktail
designs, and so on. It’s extremely useful to dial
in on a small scale the flavor profile you’re aim-
ing for and then adapt it to a larger scale.
3. Network! I believe it’s really important, espe-
cially in craft distilling, to meet others in the
industry or similar industries. There’s also a lot
of overlap between brewing and distilling and
wine/cider making and distilling. Similarly, it’s
good to meet people who are the end-users
of your product—bartenders and customers.
Networking is a great way to share ideas, learn
about events, ask questions and make connec-
tions.
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