Not Bitter At All

This time last year, Jeremiah Soucie and his wife, Sarah Waterson, alongside her brother, Michael, and his partner, Maria Hristova, took over 66 Gilead Distillery, which sits on an 80-acre heritage farm in Bloomfield, Ont. Rebranded as Kinsip House of Fine Spirits, it is more than just a craft distillery, producing grain-based spirits — vodka, gin, whisky and shōchū. Soucie and his partners have been busy carefully creating new recipes for their growing line of bitters — the alcohol-based, botanically infused flavouring agents that were historically used for medicinal purposes. Designed with the bartender in mind, Soucie has also come to appreciate that “there are no rules when it comes to playing with bitters, but there are a few guidelines.” Well-suited for light and dark spirits, Kinsip’s house and orange bitters are what Soucie calls a “bartender’s salt and pepper.” Perfect for the home bar, just a dash makes every cocktail better (not bitter) and more complex. Just don't call it medicine.

Kinsip House of Fine Spirits
kinsip.ca, 613-393-1890

Find it at: 66 Gilead Rd., Bloomfield, (PEC) and in Toronto at Labour of Love, Cheese Boutique, Gourmet Diem