History
Mad Laboratory Distilling was founded by Scott Thompson with the idea that passion, hard work, creativity, and a strong sense of community could help realize the dream of a hands-on whisky distillery — even without large startup capital.
Production
Mad Lab focuses on being as hands-on as possible throughout the process. From equipment design, production engineering, packaging, and quality control, they will be mindful of how everything progresses from grain to glass.
-
100% BC-grown malted barley is used in the mash.
-
Fermentation takes place with their continuous yeast culture (house champagne yeast), delivering a rich malt flavor and consistency.
-
The distillation takes place in a direct-fire, pot still with a thumper; an unusual design in a commercial distillery, delivering maximum flavor and purity.
-
Careful cuts are made of the output, and the spirit is either double- or triple-distilled.
-
After distillation, new spirit is aged in American oak ex-bourbon casks; starting with 1-2 years in quarter casks and moving on to a full barrel for aging and a smooth, flavorful single malt.
-
Spirit that does not go into wood is carbon-filtered and bottled as vodka, or infused for gin and redistilled for gin production.
-
The team includes Scott Thompson (founder and distiller), Ahmet Ulker (professional engineer and contributor), and Faye Ulker (master bottler and quality control).
Products / Whisky Series
Mad Laboratory releases several single malt whiskies. The first releases are described as unfiltered, color-free, and are often issued in small packages and in special campaigns (Indiegogo campaign) to ensure availability. Prototypes and subsequent releases are based on BC 2-row malted barley, aged in ex-bourbon quarter casks and finished with Willett/full barrel finishing in some releases. Some releases are cask strength and single barrel. The alcohol content typically ranges from around 40% and higher. All descriptions mention unfiltered and without added color. Earlier releases have received positive reviews and medals at Canadian spirits awards.
Visits / Experiences
There is no explicit information about tours or tastings in the provided text.
Philosophy
Mad Laboratory promotes a hands-on approach and a continuous focus on design and quality control from grain to glass. All barley is 100% BC-grown malted barley. Fermentation occurs with a house champagne yeast culture, and the distillation is conducted with a direct-fire pot still with a thumper, delivering powerful flavor and purity. They do not pursue chill filtration or added colors; they want a spirit that is close to the taste of the wood. Energy use is partially optimized through heat reuse to be as energy-efficient as possible.