true ontario whisky quest
Our whisky is made from grains, water with the help of yeast and natural biological enzymes. Nothing else is added.
While our Whisky and Rum are aging in casks, we invite you to become a part of our exciting journey. There are numerous ways you can enjoy the Stillus whisky adventure. Please read below and get in touch.
Be part of our Whisky Journey
Ever wonder why, as Canadians, we often lean towards Scotch instead of embracing our own Canadian whisky? Don’t we have an abundance of natural resources, including fertile lands, the world’s largest reserve of pure water, and a community of hardworking, passionate, and knowledgeable people who can craft a whisky we can be proud of?
At Stillus, we see no reason why it cannot be done, but it requires a collective effort – your support and engagement.
it is part of our heritage – spirits filled with meaning
Spirits have always been an inseparable part of the cultural and culinary heritage of many nations. Their production and evolution reflect a deep connection with nature, cultural rituals, people, and traditions. We raise a glass during the best and brightest moments in our lives, socializing with friends, and celebrating meaningful milestones.
There has always been a great community effort in producing exceptional spirits. In every place where spirits were produced, they came from locally grown crops, pure water from local springs and rivers, distilled by local people, and enjoyed by the community.
We aim to revive this tradition because we believe it’s the only way to create great spirits filled with meaning.
We invite you to take part in the adventure of crafting our great Ontario whisky:
- Come to visit us, learn about the way we make it
- Order your cask (minimum 25% cask ownership is available)
- Co-invest in whisky production
- Join the Club or follow us on social media
- Spread the word, tell the story
Support local whisky production. Help us make our own world-class Ontario whisky a reality!
stillus way of crafting great whisky
Our spirit creation is a team adventure and a great community effort. We collaborate with a variety of local small businesses and professionals to craft truly artisanal products. Working with passionate individuals who share our vision, we aim to produce the best local craft products.
Comes from our Ontario land
Select grain from local farmers
Stillus spirit creation journey begins with the miller, Brian King from K2 Milling, whose family has been in the milling business since 1935. Almost a century later, K2 relies on personal relationships with farmers built over generations to ensure quality and consistency. All grains are sourced within several kilometers of Tottenham, Ontario, where the mill is located. Traceability has been a part of the daily grind, reminiscent of the old-fashioned way when every town had its own mill at the center of the community. We trust Brian to deliver the best-milled grains for our spirits.
Pristine limestone filtered well water
Good water has always been crucial for making quality spirits. Traditionally, water from clean, natural sources untreated with chemicals and retaining good natural energy was used in the distillation process.
In Kentucky, local water is held in the same regard for producing quality bourbon as corn or barrels. We use similar limestone-filtered water pumped straight from our artisan well located on the distillery property. It remains untreated by chemicals and is naturally rich in minerals required for the perfect mash and fermentation.
We use the same further purified water to dilute our spirits.
You can taste it in our cocktail lounge – our water has received numerous compliments for being delicious and ultimately refreshing.
Distilled with Passion and Purpose
Our vision of making world-class whisky and our mission to give Ontarians a good reason to prefer local whisky to Scotch guided us in building our distillery, choosing our equipment, and designing our still. It fills us with purpose and guides us in our spirit creation process.
All stages of spirit creation are equally important, and we make no shortcuts, ensuring the best results at each stage. We source the best ingredients, use pure limestone-filtered water from our artisan well, ensure unstressed fermentations, distill quality spirits, and age them in quality casks to perfection.
The Proper Whisky Still
Our still, named Siena, was custom-designed and handcrafted in Tuscany by Frilli Impianti S.r.l., one of the world's best manufacturers of industrial and craft distilling equipment. Frilli's stills operate in distilleries in Scotland, Ireland, and 58 other countries. Siena is a 2000-liter hybrid copper still, taking almost a year to make and traveling across the Atlantic in an open-top container. Its small size, by sizable distillery standards, allows us to produce refined high-quality spirits with good copper contact for removing sulfur compounds from the wash. The hybrid nature of the still provides ultimate flexibility, allowing us to produce any kind of spirits. It is easily one of the best stills in Ontario, matching the best in the industry. Our spirits are made in small batches to match our main still capacity. The grain is mashed and fermented in 2500-liter fermenters to produce low-alcohol wash. Our whisky and rum undergo two distillations to ensure superb quality and smoothness. The first run condenses wash into low wine, and the second distillation produces the final spirit – whisky, rum, or vodka.
Aged to perfection
It is impossible to put a hard number on the importance of barrel aging for the final quality of spirits, but certainly, it is substantial. Casks are crucial to adding character to whisky and taming and mellowing its taste. We source our casks from Joe Thomson at the County Cooperage, just a 20-minute drive from our distillery. We enjoy experimenting with barrels, choosing from fresh oak and second-fills. While our whisky is not ready yet, we are excited to see how the casks will tweak the whisky profile. We strive to source second-fill casks from smaller distilleries, which often come still wet, retaining more original spirit character and allowing it to mingle with the spirit we add to the cask.
It is often a matter of chance as it is hard to acquire “exotic” barrels such as mescal, port, cognac, etc. However, we are going to make every effort to source these casks to enhance the vibrant variety of our spirit product offerings.
join stillus true ontario whisky adventure!
Help us to craft extraordinary Ontario Whisky
