Will your travels take you to Prince Edward Island in the near future? If so, as you are driving along the road heading towards PEI and getting near to the Confederation Bridge, keep your eye on the left side of the road for a large building with a blue steel roof. This is Blue Roof Distillery.

When I stopped in for a visit in early September, 2022 I learned that the team behind the distillery are actually potato farmers. I learned that the largest potatoes they grow are bought by McCain’s who cut them into french fries. Medium sized potatoes are sold to grocery store chains who retail them to consumers in 5 pound bags. The smaller and unevenly shaped potatoes are not so lucky. They end up (hopefully) getting sold at cheaper prices through other retail channels.

When a farming operation is growing near 1 million pounds of potatoes, it tends to be a shame when the smallest sized potatoes do not generate much revenue. So what to do?

The answer is – use the small potatoes to make Vodka. Buy some mash tanks. Buy a stripping still. Buy a packed-column still for rectification runs. Put an eye-catching blue roof on your building….and the next thing you know tourists will beat a path to your door for some of your Blue Roof Vodka. On the day I stopped by in early September, I was the only person at the facility. Tourism season was pretty much over. This gave me a chance to spend some time with the distiller who answered my technical questions. (and yes….it does take about 4 kgs of potato to make 1 liter of vodka).

This bottle will be making its way across the country in October to Kelowna, BC where I will be delivering another workshop to people eager to learn about distilled beverage alcohol.

If you are curious to try some of this Vodka and will not be in eastern Canada, fear not. The Blue Roof team tells me that if you order 3 bottles, they will ship them to you via UPS at NO cost!

So, skip the french fries. Consume your potatoes in liquid format. Give the Blue Roof folks a call. Order some of their vodka.