Distillerie Cap-Chat has the wind in its sails
Entrepreneurs and businesspeople are often the ones behind great stories, the kind we want to tell and share. While we often hear unhappy tales when businesses go wrong, other people's successes are worth taking the trouble to bring into the open.
Carl Bourget and his family's story is just such a tale. For years, he owned a vineyard, a cidery, and a distillery in Lévis's Pintendre sector, in the Chaudière-Appalaches region. He wanted to expand his operations, but space was limited at his existing location. Today, after more than three years of effort and approximately $3 million in investment, Distillerie Cap-Chat holds a prominent place in Gaspésie.
A Fruitful Venture
After more than 25 years in business and solid results, Carl Bourget began looking for a new site in the greater Québec area and on the South Shore. After several unsuccessful attempts, his son's suggestion steered his search in a new direction: why not relocate to a tourist destination? Having grown up on the Îles de la Madeleine and in Gaspé, Carl naturally looked first to Gaspésie.
In the spring of 2021, Carl and his son Pierre-Étienne set out to explore together. Their first stop was in Haute-Gaspésie, in Cap-Chat, where, as it turned out, they never needed to look any further for the ideal site. A visit to the municipal office to explore the potential of the location led them to a large warehouse, a former shrimp processing plant now used as an automobile storage site.
As soon as they stepped inside, they could see it was exactly what they had in mind: right on Route 132, facing the sea, just steps from a municipal rest stop, in a hub of the wind-power industry, at the gateway to a vast tourist region that is popular and sought-after in every season. The final advantage for their project, and not the least, was Cap-Chat's groundwater: fed by mountain springs in the nearby Chic-Chocs, it is of remarkable quality and nearly inexhaustible. The distillery's raw material was thus assured.
Negotiations with the owner moved quickly. And so, in May 2021, they took possession of the premises and began renovating and installing the distillation equipment. Meanwhile, Carl Bourget completed the sale of his Lévis facilities, to finally dedicate himself fully to his new baby. In a crowning stroke of good fortune, one day while he and his son were measuring the building, the owner of the neighbouring house mentioned that he was interested in selling, which did not fall on deaf ears.
Shortly afterwards, the Bourget family also became the owners of a sturdy, handsome residence right next door to their distillery. They say luck often attracts opportunity, and here was another eloquent demonstration of it.
The Wind in Its Sails
After more than a year of construction, installation, testing and planning, the first customers were able to purchase Distillerie Cap-Chat products in December 2022. The distillery produces a diverse range of spirits and liqueurs made from herbs and aromatic plants, several of them harvested in Gaspésie, such as flowering dune pepper, wild rose, thuja and balsam fir.
Since then, the company has kept growing and adding new products, all in 375 ml and 175 ml sizes. A fortunate marketing move, says Carl Bourget, that lets customers buy two or three different products instead of just one in the standard 750 ml or 1 L size. “It's also a product that fits well in the gift category,” he adds.
As it marks its second anniversary in December 2024, there are 13 products available, with a 14th, a strawberry liqueur, coming out for the holidays. Meanwhile, Distillerie Cap-Chat is awaiting a decision from the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) to market three of its products: Gin Pin Gris, Limoncello and Liqueur de framboise.
For the past year, Pierre-Étienne Bourget, vice-president of production, has been producing educational videos in English and French for the distillery's Facebook page, covering the distillery, its processes and other aspects of production and product development. He has also developed on-site cocktail-making workshops with a mixology expert, a format that will eventually be offered again.
Visitors can stop by Distillerie Cap-Chat for a product tasting or an interpretive tour. There's also a room available to host groups or local events such as cocktail parties, book launches, or other activities.
The company employs seven full-time staff, and production and sales run year-round, seven days a week, with varying hours.
Distillerie Cap-Chat
distilleriecapchat.com
16, rue Notre-Dame Est
Cap-Chat (Qc) G0J 1G0
418 575-7899