Strawberry Fields Gin

“How can we relate our spirits to music and give back to the community?” distiller Chris Ferg wondered. Turn to musical song titles and partner with local organizations, he thought. Durham’s Wheat King’s vodka, made with Ontario organic winter wheat, alludes to the 1992 Tragically Hip hit song. Two dollars from each bottle supports the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research.

Ferg’s and co-founder Mike Deegan’s seasonal Strawberry Fields Gin, a tribute to The Beatles, uses strawberries grown by Durham College agriculture students. The dehydrated berries are steeped in wheat spirit, then macerated with other botanicals, redistilled, then soaked a third time at 43.5% abv with more strawberries. Tart fruits merge with peppery spices and citrus peel parting ways with a healthy punch of juniper. Sales support a bursary for new agriculture students.