With a friendship rooted in their love of whisky, Barry Stein and Barry Bernstein established Ontario’s first micro-distillery, beginning production in March, 2009. True pioneers of the micro-distilling movement in the province, Barry and Barry have honed their skills as craftsman to create a range of spirits, with their flagship Stalk & Barrel whiskies leading the way. They are involved in every aspect of running the distillery and personally oversee each and every batch of spirits produced.
Two Barry’s run the show and one Barry gave us the lowdown of making whiskey. We love speaking with the founders of the distilleries not only for the wealth of information they provide us, the readers, but also their take and knowledge that can be applied to everyday situations we are plagued with day in and day out. We spoke to Barry Bernstein and got the inside sneak peek into the working world of whiskey.
Barry, tell us about yourselves, your background, what you were doing before you found yourself in the Spirit distillation business.
BB: Prior to starting Still Waters Distillery, I was in the software business. My partner, Barry Stein, ran the Canadian distribution center for a large multinational company. We both had entrepreneurial experience and decades of business experience prior to founding the company.
What was the vision for Still Waters Distillery?
BB: At the time, there were very few craft distilleries in Canada and none in Ontario, where we are located. We saw an opportunity to start the first micro-distillery in the province and be pioneers. Our passion was single malt whiskies, and after experiencing many wonderful malts that were made outside Scotland, we felt that there was no reason we couldn’t create a world class single malt whisky right here, especially given the wonderful grain grown in Canada.
Who is involved?
BB: My partner, Barry Stein, and myself founded the distillery. We have since brought in another partner, Gary Huggins, who was instrumental in founding another micro-distillery and also is a seasoned entrepreneur.
What have been the main challenges involved in setting up a new distillery? And what has been the part you’ve enjoyed most?
BB: As the first micro-distillery in the province, we faced an incredible amount of red tape in licensing as there was no precedent or knowledge of what a micro-distillery was all about. We had to deal with issues at the federal, provincial and municipal level. There was really no one to help us. Though frustrating, we enjoy creating, so as we were able to address each problem that came our way there was a great sense of satisfaction. We are happy that we were able to assist many that came after us.
What exactly does your job entail?
BB: Like most small businesses, we find ourselves involved in every aspect of running the business. We are very hands-on and do the distilling as well as marketing, sales, finance, operations, etc. As we have grown and hired staff, we find our roles have shifted, however. Marketing and sales have become much more important.
What whiskey expressions do you currently produce, and how are they all different?
BB: We started with our single malt whisky (100% malted barley). We then experimented with different grains like corn, wheat and rye. Today we also sell our 100% Rye whisky as well as a couple of different blended Canadian whiskies, which are blends of corn, malt and rye. The difference between malt and rye grains is quite profound and the blended whisky is an opportunity to combine whiskies to create an entirely different flavour profile.
Apart from the weather (if relevant), why did you set up a distillery in Canada?
BB: We both have lived here all our lives, so there really wasn’t any other option of where to set up the distillery. Canada has a rich history of distilling going back centuries and remains a world class grain producer. The only downside to being in Canada is our restrictive legislation and limits to the marketplace. Nevertheless, we are now competing with brands that have been around hundreds of years so, even though there are no advantages given to us because of our size, we are able to survive in the market.
What three words do you want people to associate with your whiskey?
BB: Quality, Canadian, Unique
What are the most important factors affecting whiskey distillation? How do you ensure that these are carefully balanced to produce a consistently high quality product?
BB: Consistency is important as we are aiming to produce a brand that people can depend on. We are careful throughout the process, from grain selection, fermentation, distillation to maturation. Our biggest ongoing concern is maturation as there as so many factors that are involved and that is where most of the character of the whisky comes from. We select our barrels with care, but temperature and humidity influences vary greatly in our environment. We monitor closely and do what we can to ensure we are making quality whisky.
Do you think that your product is distinctive? If so, what makes it distinctive from other whiskey on the market?
BB: We believe each of our products is distinctive. The grain we use, the yeast we use, and our techniques seem to product a malt and a rye whisky that stand out from others. In particular, our blended Canadian whiskies are a unique formulation of our base whiskies and we’ve spent a lot of time and effort to make them different from others on the market.
What is in the pipeline for 2017 that we should look out for?
BB: We will be releasing a special blend this fall to celebrate Canada’s 150 anniversary. Beyond that, we are always experimenting and have a couple of very exciting products on the horizon. We are committed to releasing unique offerings and will have something special each year.
Do you have any role models in this industry?
BB: The Canadian whisky scene has definitely woken up over the last few years with innovation coming from both small and large producers. There are a few individuals in the industry, producers and journalists that we look up to, that have helped fuel that growth. Some of these people have been directly helpful to us and others we’ve had little or no direct relationship with but, nevertheless, we admire and are inspired by.
Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
BB: We believe there is a renaissance of whisky and, specifically, Canadian whisky that we are in the midst of. At the same time, a lot of micro-distilleries are jumping to quickly release whiskies. It’s an exciting time for the consumer, but a little daunting to identify good quality whiskies. There are great whiskies coming from big producers and great whiskies coming from small producers, but, alas, some less-than-good whiskies are also finding their way to the market. We hope that no one shies away from trying a whisky from a micro-producer based on a bad experience and encourage whisky lovers to broaden their horizons and, especially, seek out some of the fantastic new Canadian whiskies now available.
