Jeff Roberts first set foot in Ottawa’s bar scene 20 years ago. Since then, Jeff has established himself as a connoisseur of spirits and cocktails, successfully launching his cocktail catering company Urban Barchef in 2012. Urban Barchef has been making clients’ visions a reality, offering unique ingredients and avant-garde cocktail designs for weddings, sports events, private parties and other special occasions. Urban Barchef has since expanded, designing cocktail menus for bird establishments and partnering with Forty Creek and Campari as a cocktail architect. As Jeff puts it: “Our cocktails will make your night one to remember.” The success of Urban Barchef inspired Jeff to launch The Urban Barrel Company, Canada’s official distributor of hand-made premium oak aged barrels specially designed and crafted for aging spirits and cocktails. The American white oak barrels feature an interior charring similar to those used at a distillery — but with a speedier aging process. Aging spirits and cocktails can take years at a distillery but are guaranteed to take just a few weeks or months in the small white oak barrels, depending entirely on your personal flavour profile and desired taste. The Urban Barrels are equipped to age a variety of spirits including whiskey, scotch, rum, bourbon, wine and even tequila and come in 1L, 2L, 3L, 5L, 10L, 20L and 50L options. Barrels can also be customized with a logo and/or engraving.