Long ago I discovered Provincial cocktails, a local brand of bottled cocktails in exciting real fruit flavours like lemon grass and blood orange. I liked that their collection always seemed to be rotating with new flavours coming out at my local private liquor store, regularly. I was sad to see them removed from the shelves, and suspicious to see Nice Life in the refridgerated section of Angry Otter instead. The stylized font and label colour was familar, and I wondered if they were a copy cat.
Therefore, when I saw the list of participating businesses in this year’s Taste of the Tri-cities food festival, I was sure to add Nice Life to my list, to learn the truth right from the horse’s mouth.
Located within a business plaza in Port Coquitlam the space is inviting with bohemian influences in their modern art pieces, collection of live viney plants, and hung golden mirrors decorated with branded decals.
We were able to speak directly with the distillery lead and learn that Nice Life was indeed once Provincial. That they changed their name and rebranded due to copy rights, plus this was also a direction they wanted to go after merging with Abbotsford’s local Field House Brewing. Nice Life’s flights are a nod to merger, using the same wooden stand and description cards that you can read and keep.
Nice Life is known for their vodka and gin based bottled cocktails. They have four core flavours: Gin and grapefruit, Peach orange lemon, Passion fruit orange guava, and Blood orange vanilla. Every month they release a new flavour like Ginger Beer vodka and Cherry Sage of most recent months. They sit on shelves and are poured out of taps until done.
Since the name change, they have also expanded their collection to canned bartender classics as well. Whereas the bottled fresh juices need to be refrigerated with a shelf life of 6 months and 6.9% ABV, the mini cans are 20-30% ABV. They have a sour apple martini, an espresso martini, and apparently their Aperol spritz has received many accolades. They don’t do whiskey (yet), but they do have a Gin Old Fashioned, where they barrel age their gin to give it and this can the oaky whiskey-like flavour desired. And best of all each can is easy to enjoy with room for ice, as the entire lid comes off to open.
They are also looking to add tequilla based fruit juice cocktails to their list of offerings and have given “Sunrise Hotel” its own name and label. During our visit they only had the one flavour available.
All the above are available for grab and go, and many locals came in and loaded up on their favourite flavours, during our visit. There are over a dozen, so if this is your first time, expect to spend time making up your mind.
If grabbing a drink in and enjoying the space you can order from their cocktail menu that mixes their juices with other premium spirits. This listing is also seasonally driven with features.
But best of all, you can try all the bottled juices mentioned above first as a flight, before you commit to a bottle of it to take home. We did just that, one flight for each of us to share, in order to be able to try them all.
And for the Taste of Tri-cities event now running from February 15th to March 15th, 2025 you too can get a flight as part of their promotion.
A flight, a mixed cocktail pack of four to go, as well as two vouchers for buy one get one free cocktail on tap for your next visit. All this for a total of $30, whereas when you break it down a flight is about $30, the mixed cocktail pack is around $30, and the four cocktails in house costs $50. This promotion is a great way to discover your new favourite spiked drink and support local.
Worth mentioning is that they do have a small bites menu, sadly it was not available during our visit, but word is that it will return in a few weeks, and like everything else, feature seasonal items and limited time only offerings.
The flights are 12oz total, four flavours, each a three ounce pour. They are as follows, split between lighter mixes more suited to spring and summer and heavier beverages with spices warming for fall and winter.
Immediately the Tamarind Peach Lime & Gin caught my eye, you don’t often see tamarind being offered as a flavour. Here, it was the star and effervescent with a sprite soda pop like fizz. This would especially pair well with Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, basically anything that could use a sweet tang in contrast.
The Apricot Almond Vodka Sour was truly unique. It smells more like almond than it tastes. You get almond on the nose, but none of the sweetness in the drink. It actually had the body and finish of a sour beer with the finish of light apricot.
Gin & Grapefruit juice is their orginal flagship drink. They will actually be expanding their Gin & Juice line to include other fruits like gin and black currant and gin and raspberry. It was sweet and honeyed on the onset, but ends tart. With this one you can tell the quality of the real juice used, making it like a very approachable punch. This was spring time in a glass and I am sure a popular one to have on their patio out front.
Like the sour, the Hazy Passion Fruit & Vodka had the nuance of a hazy pale ale, thanks to a thicker in-mouth feel from the use of coconut. However the coconut flavour was only but a whisper. You could faintly smell the tropical fruit, and it was mostly used as a low light. Overall, it felt like this cocktail was missing something and I would have liked it more mixed into a margarita with a salted rim.
I was excited to see the Thai Tea & Vodka, but thankfully was warned ahead of time that this would not be like traditional Thai Tea. The expectation was set that this lacks the sweet milk of the traditional version, thus drastically changing its taste. It might be more accurately renamed “black tea”, although would be less attention grabbing as a result. If you don’t know what Thai tea is, this is a unique offering with a more spirit-forward face. Not sweet, botanically driven with a lot of tannis from the tea coming through. I got Chinese herbal medicine with the menthol of a breath mint, great for those who like it slightly bitter. This too I would like to see mixed into a cream based cocktail. Speaking with the others visiting the bar, those who liked it liked it alot.
My favourite flavour and one that I am glad is part of their core line is the Blood Orange, Vanilla, Cardamom & Vodka. You can get this anytime of the year. An effervescent fizz in fragrant vanilla and ripe orange. A sweeter cocktail with the cardamon warming up the nose.
Passionfruit, Orange, Guava & Vodka. Guava. Guava is the focus as I had hoped. This is a tropical punch that would be ideal for any patio day or fun in the sun. My future summer drink.
Whereas the Ginger Beer Lime & Vodka Mule is the ideal cold season cocktail, where the ginger warms you inside and out. A classic Moscow mule, but more spicy and more gingery.
In short, if looking for a unique sport to grab a couple of fruit forward cocktails at, support local and check out Nice Life; especially during Taste of the Tri-cities for their amazing promotion.
NiceLife Drinks Co
573 Sherling PI #1170, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 0J6
604-474-1073
nicelife.ca
