A Niagara College student-made honey spirit has earned some sweet recognition in the U.S. Open Whiskey and Spirits Competition.

Ambrosia, created as a Captsone project by Nic Burton, Jeremy Shantz and Lucan Wai before they graduated from the College’s Artisan Distilling program last spring, won bronze in the Specialty Spirits category in the recent competition that judges submissions from craft distillers in Canada and the U.S.

It’s the first time a student Capstone project from the Artisan Distilling program has received such accolades.

“It was competing in one of the most diverse categories in the U.S. Whiskey Open and receiving a bronze medal is a testament to the high quality of work being done by our students,” said David Dickson, NC’s head distiller. “I am very proud of all of the Captsone projects from the 2021 graduates.”

Just as notable, Ambrosia, which is part of the College’s Spirits 101 lineup of student-made alcohol, is one of the few honey-based spirits made in North America, Dickson added.

Burton, Shantz and Wai said the recognition for their first attempt at designing their own spirit is a boost to their confidence as they embark on their careers in the industry.

“It’s amazing the quality of the program at Niagara College, and that students could come up with something that would win an award at a competition speaks to the quality of the teaching staff and the program,” Wai said.

Shantz, who discussed his interest in distilling honey products with Dickson early in the program, said so few do it because it’s an expensive endeavour. However, Ambrosia, which means food or drink of the gods, was made possible thanks to a collaboration that resulted in a donation of 100 kilograms of honey from the College’s Commercial Beekeeping program.

“We’re definitely very grateful to the beekeeping program, which had honey,” Shantz said. “That was wonderful.”

Even with the access to the raw ingredients, the gods weren’t always smiling upon Ambrosia. For starters, honey is antimicrobial, making fermentation challenging. The pandemic, which limited on-campus work, also meant the students relied on others, including Dickson, to keep tabs on their project when they couldn’t.

Given how rare honey spirits are, no one knew what the end goal should be unlike with gin or whisky, for example.

“We had a vague idea of where we wanted it to go but never having worked with honey before and David not having worked with honey before, we had no idea how it would turn out,” Shantz said.

The end result is a spirit distilled like rum to bring out the honey’s floral notes. Ambrosia was back-sweetened with additional honey to create mouthfeel and further accentuate its flowery traits.

“A big thing we were hoping for is that floral characteristic common in honey,” Burton said. “But it ended up tasting like honey, which was very neat.”

Given the hurdles and the triumphs in producing Ambrosia, winning bronze at such a significant competition speaks to the abilities of all who had a hand in making it, said Steve Gill, general manager of the Niagara College Learning Enterprise Corporation (NCLEC).

“The future of craft distilling in Canada is clearly in good hands when you consider our students are creating spirits that can compete against other established distilleries,” Gill said. “This award speaks to the calibre of student our Artisan Distilling program attracts and to David Dickson’s ability to bring out the best in his students. I’m proud of everyone involved.”

Ambrosia is available for sale, along with other student-made spirits, at the Niagara College Wine Visitor + Education Centre or online at ncteachingwinery.ca. Sales of the spirits support student education.

Niagara College’s Teaching Distillery is a 2,500-square-foot facility equipped with six stills, four mash tuns and 10 fermenters. Home to the College’s Artisan Distilling (Graduate Certificate) program, students produce a variety of distilled products including vodka, gin, brandy, rum, whisky and other spirits. It opened in September 2018, completing the trifecta of beverage fermentation sciences at NC’s learning enterprises, following the footsteps of its Teaching Winery and Teaching Brewery, which were also the first of their kind in Canada.

Niagara College offers more than 130 diploma, bachelor degree and advanced level programs; as well as more than 600 credit, vocational and general interest Part-Time Studies courses. Areas of specialization include food and wine sciences, advanced technology, media, applied health and community safety, supported by unique learning enterprises in food, wine, beer, distilling, horticulture and esthetics. For more information visit niagaracollege.ca.

Photo caption: David Dickson, head distiller at Niagara College, holds up a bottle of Spirits 101 Ambrosia, a honey spirit created entirely by students in the College’s Artisan Distilling program. Ambrosia won a bronze medal at the 2021 U.S. Open Whiskey and Spirits Championship.