Field Report 006: The Tender Side of Spirits
Written & Photos By Reece Sims
Overview: Fruit that doesn’t make it to grocery shelves finds new life at Spirit in Niagara. Here, bruised peaches, plums, and pears become crisp eau de vie, silky vodka, and even Canadian “Brrrbon.” It’s distilling with purpose, reducing waste while raising spirits.
Date: July 29, 2025 [9:30 am - 10:45 am]
Location: Spirit in Niagara Small Batch Distillery, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
The People & Places: Founded by fourth-generation farmer Arnie Lepp, Spirit in Niagara is built on 200 acres of orchards and a history of fruit farming. The ethos is simple: reduce waste with incredible taste.
Flavors in Focus:
Eau de Vie Collection – Apricot, peach, pear, plum, nectarine: pure orchard character, distilled crisp and clear.
Juiced Up Vodka – Distilled from fruit to neutrality, leaving a soft, creamy texture and subtle orchard whisper.
Canadian Brrrbon – Corn, wheat, and barley aged three years in virgin oak; bourbon-like richness at a Canadian craft price of $45.
Reflections: Spirit in Niagara shows that what the market rejects, the still can redeem. By distilling fruit at its ripest, they bottle the region’s abundance with a sense of playfulness and purpose.
Driving into Niagara-on-the-Lake, the orchards announce themselves before the distillery does. Rows of peaches, pears, and plums catch the late summer light, the air carrying a sweetness that feels almost heavy. Spirit in Niagara sits right in the middle of this abundance, a distillery built not just on copper and barrels, but on the conviction that waste can become wonder.
The story begins with Arnie Lepp, whose family has been farming in Niagara for four generations. With over 200 acres of tender fruit under care, the Lepps know the heartbreak of farming as well as its rewards. Grocery stores demand perfection, but orchards rarely deliver it — fruit bruises easily, ripens unevenly, or arrives too soft to ship. That fruit, often discarded, became the seed of a new idea: why not distill it?
Inside the distillery, copper stills hum quietly as crates of fruit are unloaded. It feels less like a separation of farm and factory, and more like a conversation — the orchard speaking through the still. The motto painted on the wall, “Reducing waste with incredible taste,” reads less like marketing and more like mission.
Eau de Vie
Our tasting began with the eau de vie collection. Apricot, peach, pear, plum, nectarine — each spirit distilled in traditional copper pot stills, each a snapshot of the orchard. Unaged and unapologetic, they captured fruit in its raw, fleeting brilliance. The peach carried a sun-warmed juiciness, the pear was clean and precise, the plums layered in richness. Without oak, these spirits feel like postcards from the farm, bottled at their peak.
Juiced Up Vodka
Next came the Juiced Up Vodka, distilled to 96% neutrality. Technically flavorless, it still carried something unusual: a soft, creamy texture that set it apart from grain- or potato-based vodkas. The high sugar content of the fruit lent it a subtle plushness — like vodka with better tailoring. It was easy to imagine it elevating a martini, understated but distinctive.
Canadian Brrrbon
Finally, we tried the Canadian Brrrbon, distilled from a mixed mash of corn, wheat, and barley, then aged three years in virgin oak. This was the closest thing we’ve tasted to a Canadian dupe for bourbon: butterscotch and candied fruit on the nose, a wave of toasted oak on the palate, and a sharp, bourbon-like finish. The kicker? It retails for just $45 — an everyday sipper with serious character.
At Spirit in Niagara, fruit isn’t wasted, it’s reimagined. From eau de vie that tastes like a bottled orchard breeze to a Juiced Up Vodka with unexpected softness, to Canadian Brrrbon punching above its weight, every bottle tells the same story: Niagara’s tender fruit has more to give than the grocery shelf allows.
This Field Note is part of a series as we explore whisky producers in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada.