Just across the Brooklyn Bridge in a former Navy Yard is a small craft distillery called King’s County, the first in NYC since prohibition. We visited in 2018, so given its history has now doubled since then, i’m sure some things have changed, but i’m sure it’s still worth a visit. The founders were Kentucky born, but moved NYC and began hobby distilling, going legit … Continue reading King’s County Distillery, Brooklyn, NYC
A former member visited the Spring Mill Distillery back in early 2020, very early on in its history before they’d even released a fully aged whisky, and in 2024, John Sleeman and his sons Cooper and Quinn invited a busload of whisky lovers to the distillery for a tour, tasting and dinner. Having family in the Guelph area, and an uncle-in-law that actually did some … Continue reading Spring Mill Distillery – Dinner with the Sleemans
Burwood Distillery in Calgary is a little different, making honey-based “whisky” as the founders have a passion for honey and beekeeping.. Founded by Croatian brothers, they’re in a historical building which also houses the Vaycay brewery and an on-site restaurant. They also host classes where attendees can learn distillation basics on little alembic stills! Our tour was short, and the tasting was just a small … Continue reading Burwood Distillery, Calgary, AB
Portugal is known for its hospitable people, amazing seafood and gorgeous tiled buildings – not known for whisky, though Jay at Venakki is trying to change that. We visited the country in 2023 when our son was about 8 months old and as expected, absolutely fell in love with the culture and food. When I messaged Jay beforehand to see if we could visit the … Continue reading Venakki Distillery, Alpiarça, Portugal
West coast, best coast. I love the Maritimes, don’t get me wrong, but BC hits differently, and Vancouver Island may be my favourite place in Canada. I’ve been a few times, and one time back in 2019, I managed to convince my wife and some friends to drive up to Campbell River to visit Shelter Point Distillery. Why am I posting this now instead of … Continue reading Shelter Point Distillery – Vancouver Island, BC
Driving through Montreal in the spring is a frustrating experience – there’s construction happening on every other street, the traffic is backed up as you wait for the same stoplight for 3 cycles, and a single accident on the highways will have you sitting in stop and go for a very long time. But it’s incredible just how quickly all of that changes as soon … Continue reading Distillery Spotlight: Côte des Saints Distillery, Mirabel, QC
Diony Distillery from Red Deer Alberta reached out recently asking if we’d be interested in trying their whiskies and of course, we said … of course! The whiskies recently arrived and we gave them a shot, so here’s a little about the distillery, their core expressions, and our thoughts on them. Diony refers to Dionysus, the creator of wine from Greek mythology, which we aren’t … Continue reading Distillery Spotlight: Diony Distillery
In September, TWS members visited the Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, Ontario. This wasn’t the first time for some of us, as the TWS founders visited in 2017. We toured the grain receiving, fermenters, the stills, the Pike Creek warehouses and then had a blending session with Dr. Don Livermore where we applied everything we learned (and tasted) to make our very own blends. Fueled … Continue reading Hiram Walker Distillery Visit 2023
Visiting Black Fox Distillery was a real treat, as we had tried their spirits in the 2018 Canadian whisky awards where they won in the under-aged spirit category! Compared to the industrial/roaring 20s feel of Lucky Bastard, Black Fox was quite the change – this is a huge, legit farm! Gorgeous grounds, stone building, rolling hills, farm activities for kids. It had it all! John … Continue reading Black Fox Distillery – Saskatoon
Shortly before the pandemic, I left the company I had been with for about a decade for a new job, but a project that was underway needed to be finished before I left. Finishing that project meant accompanying a customer to our plant in Saskatchewan, one of the only provinces I had yet to visit! So of course before heading out there, I called up … Continue reading Lucky Bastard Distillery – Saskatoon
