Parker Crook
Morning Star Staff
A black car pulls up to a door on an unmarked side street. Men dressed in all black with fedoras tilted to cover their eyes exit and glance down the street. The coast is clear. Approaching the sizeable metal door, a small hatch opens, revealing a pair of eyes staring into the street.
“Password?”
Put on by Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery to launch their aptly named bourbon, the speakeasy style BRBN Prohibition Launch Party hits the distillery, Friday, March 31.
“We wanted to expand on the heritage of bourbon,” said Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery CEO Tyler Dyck.
Dyck thought it would be a fun throwback to hold a speakeasy as bourbon was a drink that was smuggled during prohibition.
“What better than to launch it in an era specific type (theme),” he said. “We wanted to bring (speakeasies) back around.”
Speakeasies, common during prohibition-era U.S., largely fell out of practice with the legalization of alcohol in 1933.
Event goers can expect a blast from the past, with swing music by Canadian musician C.R. Avery playing in the background, flapper costumes, mobster fedoras, and a burlesque show all found within the dimly lit distillery.
“We thought it was only fitting to bring in flipper era (costumes),” Dyck said.
“When they come in, they’ll be surrounded as if they stepped back into (the) Gatsby era. It’s the nostalgia you get from watching those old movies.”
The first to be produced in Western Canada, BRBN is the star of the show, with period specific bourbon cocktails and a bottle conditioned bourbon beer.
In addition to the bourbon, spirit-infused appetizers will be served by Vernon-based Gumtree Catering as well as bourbon-filled chocolates from Armstrong chocolatier Chocoliro Finest Chocolate.
“It’s going to be a party like no other: something Vernon hasn’t seen before,” Dyck said. “I think they’re in for something quite special. To be in a speakeasy right where (the alcohol) is made, it’s the ultimate speakeasy.”
For the event, Okanagan Spring Craft Distillery will be sporting a “secret side entrance.” But don’t forget the password emailed out to participants the day before, or chances of gaining entry past the bouncer are slim.
The BRBN Prohibition Launch Party will be held at Okanagan Spring Craft Distillery on Friday, March 31, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $75, and are available for purchase online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brbn-prohibition-launch-party-tickets-32454165282