Nestled in northern Vancouver, B.C., Sons of Vancouver Distillery (SOV) has made its mark on the Canadian whisky scene. What once started as a small setup making liqueurs and vodkas in 2015, founder James Lester, along with his best friend, built SOV from the ground up.
Although their team is still small, it feels like quite the change from the two people that started the distillery. “They started from scratch – laying the floors, building the tasting room. It all started with elbow grease,” said Jenna Diubaldo, whisky program manager at SOV. “It’s the smallest budget I’ve ever seen anyone operate a distillery with.” Starting with a 1,000-litre mash tun, they’ve now grown to 8,000 litres.
“We started out being known for our liqueurs, the amaretto in particular,” Diubaldo said, noting that the Chili Vodka was also quite popular. “Now people know us for our whisky. A few awards for our whisky line really brought that to light.” The move to whisky came consciously in 2021. When Diubaldo joined the distillery, she managed production, working with the team for a few years and eventually buying into the company alongside Max Smith. Lester is one of the original founders and general manager, while Smith is the lead distiller and Diubaldo manages spirits production overall as well as the whisky program.
In 2023, SOV received the title of Canadian Whisky of the Year from the Canadian Whisky Awards. This drew national attention to their whisky program, which at the time was only on its fourth limited release, cementing its success. “We were the first independent craft distillery to have won that award in its history,” Diubaldo said. “It was like a rocket ship…. All of a sudden, everyone wanted our whisky, and we certainly did not have enough to meet the demand, which made for an interesting challenge.”
Balance became key moving forward. SOV amped up its whisky production, focusing on not only making more whisky, but ensuring it met its high standard of quality. Distilled from B.C. grains, 90 per cent of SOV’s production is whisky, with their mash bills being 100 per cent rye and wheated rye.
Mainly limited releases, their whisky program started with their numbered series, which ties in unique names that try to evoke a feeling or memory. Palm Trees and a Tropical Breeze won Canadian Whisky of the Year in 2023. The SOV team recently released its core whisky, Sons of Vancouver Wheated Rye, which is 75 per cent rye and 25 per cent wheat. SOV wanted this rye to be approachable and accessible, with the main goal of changing people’s perception of rye. They use a column still, allowing them to make both whisky and neutral spirits from the same still. “The adaptability is key,” said Diubaldo.
All mashing is done on-grain, and they don’t remove the grain from the mash during the first distillation. Production runs on a two-week cycle, from grain into mash, before moving to the final distillation. From there, spirits are proofed down to around 60 per cent alcohol by volume and go into barrels, either ex-bourbon or new American oak, which are mainly sourced from Kentucky. Depending on the type of barrel and the product it’s making, SOV has a three-year barrel minimum for whisky, but can go anywhere from four- to five-plus years before being bottled.
It was like a rocket ship…. All of a sudden, everyone wanted our whisky.
Jenna Diubaldo, Sons of Vancouver Distillery
Overall, SOV produces four-and-a-half barrels of whisky for every mash. “A lot of distilling practices serve to maximize the amount of alcohol out of production, and we aren’t about that,” said Diubaldo. “We want to make a lot of whisky, but we aren’t willing to sacrifice flavour and quality for more production.” While it is still a young distillery, so much of its stock is still aging, the SOV team is looking forward to watching their whisky continue to mature and eventually offering older age statements.
“We do a long fermentation period. That’s something that has really contributed to our style of really flavourful whisky,” said Diubaldo. “I would say the industry standard is a 48- to 72-hour fermentation length. We do a seven- to eight-day fermentation, akin to a primary fermentation in beer. That allows for flavour development and to really make sure that [we] are ending [our] fermentation with a lot of those esters and flavour components [coming] through. It lends all the flavour to [our] whisky.”
It is a flavour that was celebrated at the 2025 Canadian Whisky Awards, where SOV won Rye Whisky of the Year. The distillery took home many other awards as well, including:
- Rye Whisky of the Year for Realms of Rye Release No. 01 Citrus & Botanicals
- Award of Excellence in Product Innovation for the Realms of Rye series
- Best Cask Strength Whisky for Whisky No. 10 Palm Trees and a Tropical Storm Heavy Rum Cask Rye
- Best Whisky Aged 8 Years or Under for Whisky No. 8 Homemade Upside Down Apricot Cake Amaretto Cask Whisky
In addition, the distillery earned gold medals for:
- Realms of Rye Release No. 01 Citrus & Botanicals
- Realms of Rye Release No. 02 Dark Fruit & Cacao
- Whisky No. 8 Homemade Upside Down Apricot Cake Amaretto Cask Whisky
- Whisky No. 10 Palm Trees and a Tropical Storm Heavy Rum Cask Rye
Silver medals were awarded to:
- Whisky No. 9 Rolling Hills in the Morning Mist Islay Cask Rye
- Whisky No. 11 Sipping Sherry at the Jazz Club PX Sherry Cask Single Malt Whisky
- Whisky No. 12 Last Call at the Dive Bar Peated Cask Single Malt Whisky
“Whisky blending is probably one of my favourite aspects of the job,” Diubaldo said. “Certainly, making liqueurs is fun and creative, but whisky [blending] is our main passion. It’s really what we all have a drive to continually get better at…. It’s a hard skill to learn because it’s largely passed-down learning. You can’t really go and buy the book on it – it’s very much an art of the craft. That’s really been one of the main things that sets us apart from [other] whisky distilleries in Canada. We focus very clearly on blending and try to stay away from the single barrel aspect. We don’t believe single barrels are superior, but we believe blends are the best demonstration of whisky-making.”
Besides whisky, their two biggest products are their No. 82 Amaretto and their Quadruple Sec, an orange liqueur. “I find whatever makes you unique is the easiest thing to sell,” said Diubaldo. “Not everyone has an amaretto, so the amaretto outsold everything else two to one.”
The distillery is always releasing new limited blends. Moving into 2026, the SOV team will be looking at rolling out their second mainstay whisky and are aiming to do a special re-release of their Palm Trees and a Tropical Breeze each year. With its cornerstone rum finish, the makeup will be the same, but the rum barrels the distillery sources will always be different, allowing different characteristics to emerge with each release.
SOV’s products are available throughout the lower mainland of B.C., primarily in private liquor stores around Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver area. The easiest way to purchase the distillery’s products is to order through its website.
Sometimes, the limited releases can be difficult to find, so SOV recommends signing up for its mailing list to be in-the-know on its sought-after releases. Shipping is available across Canada. Originally from Winnipeg, Diubaldo hopes to one day have SOV’s products on shelves in Manitoba liquor stores, too. For now, the mailing list is the best way to stay informed.
