Odd Society Spirits

Should You Visit Odd Society Spirits?

Getting into Odd Society Spirits is not a battle. This East Vancouver distillery and tasting room operates without the reservation anxiety of the city's cocktail bars, making it a practical choice when you want something more considered than a bar crawl stop but less orchestrated than a seated cocktail program. If you've been once and left thinking it was a pleasant afternoon, the question is whether it earns a return visit — and for most people who care about craft spirits, it does.

The Space

Odd Society sits at 1725 Powell Street in East Van, in the kind of industrial building that suits a working distillery. The production equipment is visible from the tasting area, which gives the space an honest, functional quality you don't get at hotel bars or dedicated cocktail lounges. It reads less like a designed experience and more like a place that actually makes things. The outdoor area is the detail worth knowing: when weather permits, the patio at Odd Society shifts the whole register of the visit. East Van in summer, patio seating, locally produced spirits poured directly from the source — this is the version of the visit that justifies coming back. If you went on a grey afternoon the first time, a warm-weather return changes the experience enough to count as a different outing.

What to Know Before You Go

Because Odd Society is a distillery with a tasting room rather than a cocktail bar with a back-bar of local spirits, the focus here is on what's made on-site. That's the reason to come. If you want elaborate cocktail technique or a deep list curated from global producers, Botanist Bar or The Keefer Bar will serve you better. Odd Society earns its place for people who want to drink closer to the source, in a room with fewer pretensions and more breathing space. Booking is easy, walk-in access is generally direct, particularly outside weekend peak hours, so this is a low-friction addition to a day in East Vancouver. Check hours before you go, as distillery tasting room schedules can vary from standard bar hours.

How It Compares

Relative to the broader Vancouver bar scene, Odd Society occupies a specific and useful position: it's the right call when you want the distillery experience without leaving the city. For cocktail-forward evenings, Laowai or Meo offer more program depth. For a special-occasion bar with serious design investment, Prophecy competes in a different category entirely. Odd Society's appeal is simpler and more direct: local spirits, accessible pricing, an honest room, and a patio worth using. It belongs in a different decision than those venues, not a lesser one.

For more on where to drink, eat, and stay in the city, see our full Vancouver bars guide, Vancouver restaurants guide, and Vancouver hotels guide. If you're building a broader trip, the Vancouver experiences guide and Vancouver wineries guide are worth a look. For comparison with craft-focused bar programs in other Canadian cities, Atwater Cocktail Club in Montreal and Bar Mordecai in Toronto are useful reference points. If the Pacific-facing craft spirits category interests you beyond Canada, Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu operates in a comparable spirit-focused register.