Red Bridge Distilling

Tucked into a tidy industrial bay off McGill Road in Kamloops' Sahali neighbourhood, Red Bridge Distilling holds the distinction of being the city's first craft distillery. Founded by longtime friends and former construction-industry colleagues, it's a genuinely small-batch operation where the people pouring your tasting are often the ones who distilled the bottle. The lineup centres on smooth, flavour-forward vodkas and gins – think a velvety vanilla vodka made with organic vanilla beans, a cold brew coffee vodka, and characterful gins like the Devil's Flower Garden. The spirits are crafted to drink clean and crisp, equally at home sipped neat or built into a Caesar, a G&T or a martini. The vibe here is unpretentious and personal. Drop in during tasting hours (generally afternoons) and you can sample the range right at the source, chat with the makers about how each spirit comes together, and pick up bottles to take home. Larger groups are welcome with a little advance notice, so it's an easy add to a Kamloops day out. Set in the heart of the sunny Thompson Valley, Red Bridge makes a natural stop on a craft-beverage crawl through a region better known for its big-sky landscapes and ranch country than its distilleries – which is exactly what makes discovering one here feel like a find. If you're exploring Kamloops' growing food-and-drink scene, this is the spot to taste where the local spirits movement started. Come curious, leave with a couple of bottles and a story about the duo who decided their hometown deserved a distillery of its own. Hours can shift, so it's worth a quick check before you go, but the welcome is reliably warm.