Arbutus Distillery tasting room

Walking into Arbutus Distillery and Cocktail Lounge can feel a bit like walking into a wizard’s shop. Inside you’ll find hand-picked botanicals drying on racks along the walls, and mysterious designs adorning the bottles. But what makes this place truly magical is the products themselves, which are made with 100% BC sourced fermentables. You can try everything from their signature single malt Coven vodka to their Baba Yaga Genuine Absinthe to their Empiric blue gin (which performs some interesting tricks – I won’t spoil it for you!).

Some of their fine products

Of course, behind all good magic is a healthy mix of art and science, and Arbutus is no exception. Head distiller Mike Pizzitelli hails from a science and cell biology background and spent some time in Scotland, learning the art of brewing and distilling. Mike brings passion and knowledge to Arbutus and takes great pride in the products that he and his team create.

A site tour will allow the uninitiated the opportunity to sample their unique products, where Mike is all too happy to educate people on the work that goes into producing these tasty spirits as well as their history. We suggest pairing these products with food trucks, live music and good friends. You can visit Arbutus Distillery on our Taste of Nanaimo tour.