The first batch of farmer Beattie family’s potato vodka hit LCBO shelves in Alliston Thursday.
The Beattie family has been farming in Alliston for century and the special vodka blend is made from locally grown potatoes.
“My youngest son Barry is the fifth generation and he is on the bottle,” said Beattie.
The Beattie family got the idea from another potato producing province – Prince Edward Island.
“We were so impressed by it we thought this is something we can do here,” said Liz Beattie.
The first few batches were distilled and bottled in Oakville, but production will soon be more local. Construction of a new distillery is already well underway on the Beattie farm.
Half a dozen jobs will be created locally once production gets going later this year, but that number is expected to grow.
It will be the first farm crafted potato vodka in the province.
“It’s high end vodka, but not priced at high end,” said Peter Dixon at Beattie’s Distillers. “ We are able to do that because we are so close to our inputs – we are able to keep our price down for our consumers.”
The distillery will also contribute to the community with 50 cents from every bottle sold being donated to five local charities.
The Beattie’s potato vodka retail for $34.95 and was shipped out to more than 100 LCBO locations across Central Ontario and the GTA. It is expected to be on store shelves by this weekend.
