Jessica Schacht brings her arts background to the world of spirits and distilling
The theatre artist, dramaturg, and writer is co-founder of Vancouver Island’s Ampersand Distilling Co.
Jessica Schacht, co-founder of Ampersand Distilling Co., uses her theatre skills regularly at the Cowichan Valley spirits producer.
AMPERSAND DISTILLING CO. made headlines recently for the awards it amassed for Nocino! , its Italian-style green-walnut liqueur, including Spirit of the Year at the 2021 Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition. The craft distillery in the Cowcihan Valley on Vancouver Island is family-owned and -operated by Stephen Schacht, a former engineer; his wife, Ramona Froehle-Schacht, who assists with sales, bottling, and farming; their son, Jeremy Schacht (who’s also an engineer by training); and Jeremy’s wife, Jessica Schacht.
Jessica is a theatre artist who handles sales and communications and who’s largely responsible for recipe development. Her lifelong background in the arts has proven remarkably useful at Ampersand, which also produces Per Se Vodka (winner of the 2020 World’s Best Varietal at the World Vodka Awards) and its flagship Ampersand Gin.
“I’ve been doing theatre since I was about five years old,” Schacht tells Stir. She went on to study at the University of Victoria’s theatre department, where she specialized in production and management. She has also trained at the Banff Centre and in programs like Theatre Replacement's New Aesthetics Intensive. After university, Schact worked as a stage manager for a few years, cultivating a love for process-based practices and script development.
“Now I work primarily as a dramaturg with a focus on Indigenous and new work and collaborative processes,” she says. “I help artists develop scripts and working processes that fit them as an individual. I’m also a writer. I love imagining new worlds with folks and finding ways of expressing the cultural, personal and environmental experiences that shape us.”
Schacht’s latest artistic project. a combination of sci-fi and documentary called the Apocrypha Chronicles, is available as a podcast.
“I am so grateful to have worked with the incredible team of artists Re:Naissance Opera brought together over this last year,” she says. “I certainly bring my skills as a stage manager and my collaborative ideas into my work at Ampersand. I’m a big believer in the power of transferable skills. I also get to use my creativity in writing cocktail recipes and developing new spirits.”
Distilling itself is an artistic endeavour, in Schacht’s view, “a wonderful split between science and art”. There are creative decisions in design, she explains, in creating a sensory experience, and in expressing the history and new ideas involved in spirits like gin and vermouth.
While women remain underrepresented in the world of distilling, Schacht is hopeful that is changing.
“It’s been challenging at times to have my expertise doubted,” Schacht says. “I’ve even had someone attribute an entire interview that I did to Jeremy. That said, there are many amazing women in this industry, and I’m grateful to follow in their footsteps and also make space to amplify new voices.”
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