No more American bourbon on liquor store shelves? One B.C. distillery has the solution

Tyler Dyck’s bourbon-style whisky took gold at the World Spirits Awards five years ago, but the sales boost from that recognition was nothing compared to what happened in the hours after the Canada-U.S. trade war prompted several provinces to clear Kentucky bourbon off of liquor stores shelves earlier this month.Sitting at the bar in his Okanagan Spirits distillery in Vernon, B.C., Mr. Dyck was dwarfed by the stack of boxes loaded with bottles of BRBN (bourbon is by definition made in the U.S., so this Canadian version carries a different name), ready to be shipped to customers. Sales are up 2,200 per cent and Mr. Dyck should be celebrating – the unhappy circumstances of the trade dispute provides an opportunity for Canada’s craft distilleries to capture new markets.