Page 47 - Beverage MasterFebMarch 2021_Update

International News

Licensees unexpectedly became a big market for local fruit and botanical spirits way more than any-
Dillon’s from day 1. “I was shocked by the amount one else.”
of attention and excitement in the licensee scene,”
says Geoff Dillon. “I was excited about making pure, One factor that has contributed to both the num-
real rye whisky, that was my big thing, that and gin; ber of distilleries and the increased variety of artis-
and the licensees’ [interest]...changed the whole anal spirits has been the launch of Niagara College’s
business immediately.” Teaching Distillery. Opened in 2018, it looks to have
an impact on Canada’s spirits landscape similar to
In the intervening years Dillon’s has added sweet that of the college’s successful Teaching Winery.
vermouth, absinthe, black walnut amaro, bitter Students in the college’s Artisan Distilling diploma
lemon aperitivo, cassis, peach schnapps and golden program are given the opportunity to put their
plum schnapps to their collection. Craft cocktail education to practical use throughout the eight-
culture continues to inform the product range at month-long course. They gain valuable hands-on
Dillon’s. “Bartenders are the ones who have their experience with every step of the distilling pro-
fingers on the pulse,” says Geoff. “That’s why Adam cess, whereas in other programs, students spend
D’Intino [Dillon’s Sales Manager] is so important. about one week in a working distillery. Here again,
He’s nicely dialled in with what’s going on in the Dillon’s stamp is indelible: Geoff Dillon helped to
scene, and it really is how we decide what we’re write the curriculum, Head Distiller David Dickson
doing moving forward. That’s probably where all was formerly Head Distiller at Dillon’s, and students
the amaros and fun things came from.” from the program tour Dillon’s Distillery every
semester.
The amaro that Geoff mentions is his Black Walnut
Amaro. It is something of a benchmark for the kind Although the Teaching Distillery is only two years
of progressive local spirits that Ontario is starting old, it is already bearing fruit. In 2019 they released
to produce: an old-world style, made unusual and their first student-made spirits, including an eau
new by focusing on locally sourced ingredients. de vie made with grapes grown by the college’s
“We try to use stuff that we have. My house next Teaching Winery. And last year, they released their
door’s got a bunch of big walnut trees,” says Geoff. first barrel-aged spirit, a dark rum, followed by an
“We’ve got all these walnuts that fall and we want escubac (a long-forgotten type of botanical French
to get rid of...The community gets together and liqueur). Graduates of the program have also start-
picks up all the walnuts, and dumps them,” he con- ed to pop up at other distilleries and to start their
tinues. “I love walnuts. My dad [Peter Dillon, now own ventures, with the Teaching Distillery acting
Head Distiller] is obsessed with bitterness and he as an incubator for new product ideas. Greg Junop,
loves that pith of the walnuts. So maybe six years one of the team who developed that escubac, is
ago, we told our neighbours to drop them here if now Head Distiller at Niagara Distillery in Niagara
they want. We threw them in 95% ethanol on the Falls. Craig Mann, previously a coffee roaster and
pith and let them sit there for two years, and what café owner, recently graduated from Niagara
came out was this incredible bitter, pithy, pitch College and is set to open Manns Botanical Spirits.
black liquid.” They blended it with their sweet ver- His inaugural product? A white tea gin made with a
mouth base and, after some trial and error, hit on a tea he was familiar with from his previous career,
unique liqueur that tastes smoky, herbal and bitter- based on a recipe he experimented with while
sweet – clearly an amaro, yet unlike anything else. studying at the Teaching Distillery.

Local ingredients play a critical role in everything Still, there are barriers to new spirit producers
Dillon’s makes. Its Unfiltered 22 Gin is distilled from that are inhibiting growth in Ontario, and forcing
locally grown grapes, and their other spirits are dis- the province’s distilleries to focus primarily on the
tilled from 100% Ontario-grown rye. Their Cherry most profitable products. The most obvious is the
Gin, Peach Schnapps and Golden Plum Schnapps taxation of spirits. For a bottle of gin that retails
are all made with locally grown fruit too. Nemeth, at $40.00, $18.37 is paid as tax to the province.
reiterating Dillon’s importance in the early days, Another $9.46 is paid to the Federal Government,
says, “Other [local] craft distillers 66 Gilead (now leaving the distillery with $12.17 to pay its bills and
Kinsip) and Still Waters...were really only focused turn a profit. It is no wonder that micro-distilleries
on whiskies, whereas Dillon’s was working with have been reluctant to make more niche products

BEVERAGE MASTER February - March 2021 45

BM020321 Main Pages copy.indd 45 1/22/21 2:32 PM