Our Story

Urban Distilleries is the brainchild of master-distiller and owner, Mike Urban. An engineer by profession, Mike created the vision for Urban Distilleries in early 2007 and has spent the last four years bringing that vision to reality. Mike's journey has taken him to Arizona to be fully trained in the science of premium distilling, and to France and Germany where the traditions and art of distilling were infused in to his knowledge.

The signature product of Urban Distilleries is the Spirit Bear line.

The Spirit Bear is the "official animal" of British Columbia. Spirit Bears are an endangered and protected sub-species. They are a wonder of Mother Nature. Unlike most bears (Grizzly Bears, Brown Bears, Polar Bears etc) Spirit Bears are not a species in themselves. They are a rare subspecies of the American Black Bear that are only found on Canada's West Coast. Approximately 10% of Black Bears born in this area carry a genetic trait that gives them White Fur.

Protecting the species is very difficult. You can't simply breed a male and female Spirit Bear and see Spirit Bear cubs. There's a 90% chance their cubs will be regular American Black Bears!

Only 400 Spirit Bears remain in the world and part of the mission of Urban Distilleries is to help protect the Spirit Bear.

That's why partial proceeds from every liquor store sale and the $2 from all tastings goes to fund the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition