Distillerie Shefford’s Vodka d’erable
Quebec’s Distillerie Shefford could have cruised Easy Street when they opened in early 2017. The Mont Shefford maple groves surrounding the rustic metal-roofed barn are an ideal draw for Eastern Township tourists with a ken for novelty maple spirits.
However, distillery founders Gérald Lacroix and Josée Métivier took a different path. Their muse was still Canada’s National Tree, but their drive was to put Quebec terroir into the national glossary. Rather than reap the profits of yet another tourist-country, souvenir-stand, maple-flavoured spirit, Distillerie Shefford has pioneered an entirely new spirit called acerum. By fermenting and distilling real maple syrup, the distillery itself became a destination.
About 550 meters down the road, the Bourassa brothers operate their La Cabane à Boubou. Maple syrup is Patrick’s, Hugo’s and Charles’ muse as well. For two decades, they have tended a garrison of over 45,000 taps drilled into an army of maple trees. The Bourassas also follow the same aesthetic as Distillerie Shefford down the street. Their organic maple syrup’s flavour imparts that exceptional zest to a diverse range of products from savoury terrines and tourtière to traditional maple butter, tarts, and taffy.
From Acerum to Maple Vodka
So, in the spring of 2020, when Lacroix and Métivier decided to sell their distillery, the Bourassa brothers acquired it, adding spirits to their extensive range of maple products. Among these is a maple vodka that keeps the distillery on that innovative path. This is no boring vodka made by drowning neutral spirit in maple flavour. That’s not the Shefford way, and neither is it Bourassa’s.
Acerum begins in January with the winter sap harvest. For four months, the Bourassa work nonstop among the trees making maple syrup. Then they dilute it to 25% sugar, ferment it, and distil it. Often, when distillers make alcohol, they add the spirits cut from the beginning and end of the distillation run back into the next batch to be re-distilled. When Quebec maple syrup is distilled into acerum, though, the heads and tails are blended, then Hugo re-distils that blend separately into 95% alcohol. Once it has been lightly cold filtered and proofed down to 40% for bottling, this alcohol earns the name Vodka d’erable.
Tasting Shefford Vodka
Vodka d’erable transports your olfactory system right into the middle of the Bourassa brother’s maple forest. Damp earthy soil, mild mushroom, tangerine zest and a smidgen of vanilla accent the vodka’s aromatic nose. And, singing beneath this woodland layer, the arrival of spring brings balanced sweet maple mineral notes and a hint – just a suggestion – of sotolon. The buttery and silky palate amazes and delights as mineral nuances of maple sap tease with just a splash of maple sweetness. A white pepper flicker on the finish complements fresh bready notes. There is nothing else quite like Vodka d’erable, and it is worth seeking out.
What all began with Gérald Lacroix and Josée Métivier’s common dream to shake the foundation of what can be done with maple sap has led to a protected geographical indicator for a new spirit – acerum. And with the Bourassa brother's first full season as distillers under their belts, that dream lives on, expanding the world of spirits from acerum into unchartered territory. Just as the proof is in their maple pudding, this vodka confirms that Canada’s National Tree has a lot more to offer than crimson leaves and maple syrup.