Victoria's brewery scene gets most of the attention, and for good reason. But the distillery scene is quietly growing into something worth chasing on its own. From a waterfront tasting room in Sidney where you can sample single-malt whisky while watching float planes come in, to a family-run operation in Shirley that harvests local botanicals from the coastal bluffs, craft distilleries in Greater Victoria are producing spirits that hold their own against any city on the continent. Here is where to find them, what each one does best, and how they fit into the neighbourhoods around them.
Why Distilleries and Breweries Are Different Animals
Breweries need volume and taproom traffic to survive. Distilleries need patience, because most of what makes a spirit good happens in barrels over years, not weeks. That means distillery tasting rooms tend to be quieter, more deliberate spaces. You are not there for a pint and a quick flight. You are there to sample something that has been aged and blended with care.
The other difference is the raw ingredients. Local distilleries pull from what grows around them. Sheringham uses seaweed and shore pine from the west coast. Macaloney's uses Island-grown barley. Victoria Distillers sources water from the Saanich Peninsula aquifer. What you taste in the glass is a direct expression of where you are standing.
Victoria Distillers: The Waterfront Tasting Room at Sidney's Marina
Victoria Distillers at 9891 Seaport Place in Sidney is the distillery you bring visitors to when you want to impress them without trying. The tasting room sits right on the Sidney marina, with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the water toward the Gulf Islands and Mount Baker on clear days. They produce gin, vodka, and single-malt whisky, and they run scheduled tours and tastings.
The location makes it a natural stop on a Saanich Peninsula day trip. Hit the Sidney waterfront for breakfast, walk the pier, then do a tasting before heading back down the peninsula. The drive from downtown Victoria is about 25 minutes, and the scenery along the Patricia Bay Highway is part of the experience.
For locals on the peninsula, having a proper distillery tasting room in their backyard is one of those small luxuries that makes living in Sidney or North Saanich feel like a cheat code. It is the kind of amenity that does not show up on a real estate listing but adds to daily life more than you would expect.
Locals Know
Victoria Distillers fills up for weekend tastings, especially in summer. Book ahead if you are making the drive from Victoria. The Sidney waterfront has plenty of parking, but the spots closest to the distillery go fast on sunny Saturday afternoons.
Macaloney's Island Distillery: Award-Winning Single Malt on the Island
Macaloney's Island Distillery operates a tasting room in Victoria and has earned a reputation for single-malt whisky that competes with Scottish and Irish benchmarks. Their core lineup includes An Loy (a peated single malt) and Kildara (a lighter, fruit-forward expression), both made from Island-grown barley and aged in oak.
The tasting room is a serious whisky destination. The staff know the product and can walk you through the aging process, the peat levels, and the cask types without sounding rehearsed. If you care about how whisky is made, this is the stop that will occupy most of your afternoon.
Macaloney's products are also available at private liquor stores across Greater Victoria, but the tasting room experience is worth the trip on its own.
Sheringham Distillery: Seaside Spirits From the West Coast Road
Sheringham Distillery is located in Shirley, about 45 minutes west of Victoria on the way to Port Renfrew. The drive along West Coast Road is part of the draw, but the spirits are the reason locals make the trip. Sheringham produces gin and vodka using locally foraged botanicals, including seaweed and shore pine, that give their products a distinct coastal character.
Their Seaside Gin has won national awards and is stocked in bars and liquor stores across Victoria. But visiting the distillery itself gives you a sense of where the flavours come from. The building sits close to the coast, surrounded by the same forest and shoreline that supply the ingredients.
Combine a Sheringham visit with a stop at the Sooke Potholes, a hike at East Sooke Park, or lunch in Sooke. It makes for a full west coast day that shows off everything this side of the city offers. For people considering a home in Sooke, Shirley, or elsewhere on the West Shore, this kind of local producer is exactly the community anchor that makes rural living feel connected.
Ryes and Shine Craft Distillery: The West Shore's New Neighbour
Ryes and Shine Craft Distillery opened in early 2025 in the Langford area, bringing a dedicated spirits-focused tasting room to the West Shore. They focus on whisky, gin, and cocktail-ready spirits, with a community-oriented space designed for tastings and events.
The West Shore has been mostly brewery territory until now. Having a craft distillery in Langford changes the dynamic. It gives residents of Langford, Colwood, and the surrounding communities a local option for spirits without driving into Victoria or out to Shirley. That matters for the same reason a walkable coffee shop or brewery matters. It is a signal that the neighbourhood has the density and the local spending to support independent producers.
Ryes and Shine is new enough that their product lineup is still finding its rhythm. But the early reception from the West Shore community suggests they will be around for a while.
The Victoria Distilleries You Might Not Know About Yet
Beyond the big names, a handful of smaller distilleries operate in and around Victoria. Some are brewpub extensions, others are standalone operations with limited tasting room hours:
- Phillips Fermentorium Distilling Co. (Victoria). The distilling arm of Phillips Brewing produces Stump Gin and other spirits. Available at the Phillips taproom on Government Street.
- Moon Under Water Distilling (350B Bay St, Victoria). The brewpub also operates a distillery on-site. German-Canadian approach extends to their spirits.
- Spinnakers Spirits (308 Catherine St, Victoria). The historic brewpub produces its own line of spirits alongside the beer. Available at the pub.
- Best Coast Distillers (Saanich Peninsula). A smaller operation focused on small-batch spirits. Check current hours before visiting.
- Devine Distillery (Saanichton). Grain-to-glass approach with a focus on local ingredients.
How the Distillery Scene Ties Into Where You Should Live
This is the part where it connects back to real estate, and the link is simpler than people think. Independent craft producers, whether breweries or distilleries, are a reliable signal of a healthy local economy. They need disposable income in the surrounding population, reasonable commercial rents, and community buy-in to survive. A neighbourhood that can support a distillery or brewpub is a neighbourhood with solid bones.
Sidney has Victoria Distillers and a walkable waterfront that makes the distillery a destination. The West Shore now has Ryes and Shine, alongside a growing brewery scene that includes several independent operators. The rural coastal stretch from Sooke to Shirley has Sheringham, which draws visitors from across the region and anchors a local food-and-drink economy.
If you are looking at homes in any of these areas, the presence of a craft distillery within a reasonable walk or short drive is a detail worth noting. It usually means the community has the density, the foot traffic, and the local spending to support other independent businesses too. That is the kind of neighbourhood that holds its value and gets better over time.
How to Plan a Distillery Tour Without Overcomplicating It
You do not need a bus or a designated driver if you plan it right. Here is how locals do it:
The Peninsula route: Start at Victoria Distillers in Sidney for a waterfront tasting and lunch on Beacon Avenue. Head back toward Victoria with a stop at Best Coast Distillers or Devine Distillery in Saanichton if their tasting rooms are open.
The West Coast route: Drive out to Shirley for a Sheringham tasting. Stop at the Sooke Potholes or East Sooke Park on the way back. End with dinner in Sooke at a spot like the Wild Mountain Food and Drink or a fish-and-chips takeout.
The downtown walk: Walk between Phillips Fermentorium, Moon Under Water, and Spinnakers. All three are within a walkable loop through downtown and the Songhees/Esquimalt corridor. Add a brewery stop at Whistle Buoy or Herald Street along the way.
Each route takes advantage of what makes this region work. Compact distances, good food, distilleries that reflect their surroundings, and a pace that rewards taking your time.
The Bottom Line on Victoria's Distillery Scene
The distilleries of Greater Victoria are less celebrated than the breweries, but they are producing spirits that stand up to anything on the continent. The setting matters as much as the product. A tasting at Victoria Distillers with the marina in the background or at Sheringham with the west coast forest outside the window is not just a drink. It is a sense of place.
If you are exploring where to live in Greater Victoria and want a neighbourhood with independent producers, walkable amenities, and the kind of local economy that supports craft businesses, we can help you find the right fit.
Or browse our neighbourhood guides for Sidney, Sooke, Langford, and the communities where these distilleries call home. Our brewery guide pairs well with this one if you are planning a full craft-beverage weekend.
About the Author
Anna Hakim & Perry Fanthorpe, Happy Homes Team
Anna Hakim and Perry Fanthorpe are AI Certified Agents helping people build lives on Southern Vancouver Island. We know the neighbourhoods of Greater Victoria not just from market data, but from living here and helping families find the right fit.
