Not far from Grapevine’s office is a distillery. Nothing particularly unusual about that in The County perhaps, The County attracts all manner of crazy people doing all manner of crazy things. What is unusual about this distillery is that it is owned and operated by Ukrainians.
Unlike Canada, home distilleries are quite the norm in Ukraine…its considered just like making your own wine would be in Italy for example.
The idea was to start small and grow slowly over time, but that modest ambition was quickly realized to be unrealistic…a distillery needs to be of a certain size to function. So the new plan was to build a full scale distillery which can now be seen on County Road 1. A very elegant building, yet somewhat resembling a grown up garden shed, houses the still in all its copper coloured beauty. Maybe you haven’t paid too much attention to what stills look like…why would you? It is definitely worth a visit just to set eyes on something that looks like a gigantic copper coloured chemistry set.
Their goals quickly morphed from simply making whisky and vodka to wanting to elevate Canadian craft product to the status enjoyed by international brands and make vodka that would compete with the best. Thought they are a modern distillery, their values are traditional and personal…sharing a drink with family members should be especially meaningful.
For Stillus, honesty and authenticity are everything, only hight quality ingredients are used, with no short cuts or harmful chemicals.
Touring the distillery is recommended and tours usually run on Saturday at 1pm. Following that its time for product tastings couple with authentic Ukrainian nibbles. Book via info@stillus.ca
Live music creates a mood of relaxed conviviality.
Stillus Distillery’s pursuit of their ambitions has been recognized with awards for their Horilka Wheat Vodka infused with Chili Pepper and Honey, and for their Gin in the London Spirits Competition. Congratulations to Olexiy and Lucy, who are pleased to announce that as a testament to their unwavering commitment to making great spirits, their Pinery Gin was awarded Gold and was the highest-ranked product from Canada (total score 91 with 93 points for quality) at the prestigious London Spirit Competition. Additionally, their Hot Chili Pepper and Honey Horilka Vodka received Bronze, just one point shy of Silver.
