Thinking outside the box (or keg!)
W
hen you think of kegs, beer and frat parties come to mind. But Banff's Matthew Hendriks is turning that idea on its head. To be a start-up with any level of success in the competitive world of Alberta distilleries and craft breweries, you've got to have hustle. To make your way into a growing list of bars and restaurants, independent liquor stores, onto the golf course and at weddings, you've got to have hustle and a product people want. And to get your product into rotation at the world-renowned Calgary Stampede, you've got to have all the above and something like destiny. “It was an eventuality. Matt's one of the hardest working, most focused individuals I know,” says longtime friend, former colleague, and fellow Saskatchewan transplant Chris Bolt, who is also director of food and beverage at Banff Park Lodge and the first client of byHendo keg cocktails. “I've known him ever since he was making hooch in someone's basement. I'm not surprised at the success.” Meet Matthew Hendriks, who has called Banff home for some 20 years and parlayed that penchant for playing with flavour combinations behind the bar, and as master distiller with Banff’s Park Distillery, into his own fledgling cocktail company, byHendo.com. “It's been an amazing ride so far, to have a family, house and career here in my adopted hometown. We're all in,” says Hendriks who, with the blessing of his wife Sarah Schaefer and four-old daughter Piper, adds, “They know I've got a passion for this.” Earlier this summer, Hendriks and his small staff put on 15 pop-ups in big party bars in downtown Calgary, sharing the story about the local brand of keg and canned cocktails and getting, “liquid to lips. We're big on exposure,” he says,
24 Culinaire | September 2023
BY LUCY HAINES
adding the gig at Calgary Stampede was, “Crazy. A dream. Start-ups don't even get a seat at that table, so we wanted to take full advantage of it.” Though opportunity based on Stampede exposure is yet to be seen, the bread-andbutter of the business thus far has been the keg cocktail. Have you ever imagined a margarita on tap? Maybe a strawberrygin-type quick pour from the kegerator? As a pioneer of the cocktail industry in the province's premier tourist town, Hendriks has put an upscale twist on the casual appeal of a keg. It's out of the box (or the keg) thinking - a move beyond the ‘wine, beer and Jäger(meister)’ tradition of old that's taking the entrepreneur down new roads in the industry, inspired by his roots as a bartender. “We started producing our first kegs in late 2021, and it was a slow roll to start. I didn't know if keg cocktails could be a thing, but I wanted a tool for the hospitality
industry; something bartenders could put on for a happy hour to make their lives easier. Within a half a year, we knew we had something,” says Hendriks of a lineup that includes a couple of varieties of keg cocktails on tap, and a newer line of canned ready-to-drink offerings under the Highlights and el cocktails labels. Flavours like grapefruit, passion fruit, and lime figure prominently on the low sugar, low carbonated beverages, made with 100 percent real juice. That's key to the quality and taste, says Hendriks, admitting it has been a challenge to figure out how to keep the juice from settling, especially in the keg products. “We're still a start-up - so educating a bar about the benefits of using a keg cocktail or getting shelf space at the liquor store it's all part of creating brand awareness,” acknowledges byHendo mountain district sales manager Monica Bouius, who spends much of her time doing tastings at liquor
