Ontario Craft Distillers

Crafting classic spirits with a modern twist is all in a day’s work for Willibald Farm Distillery & Brewery founders. Cam Formica founded the distillery in 2017 with brothers Jordan and Nolan Van der Heyden on their family's 100-acre farm in Ayr, Ontario. 

In addition to producing 15 flavours of canned cocktails, Willibald’s product lineup includes a Dry Gin, crafted with lavender, ginger and cranberry flavours alongside more traditional botanicals. Willibald Pink Gin gets its delicate colour and versatility from aging in red wine casks. “It’s sweetened with honey from the farm and does a great job in a Negroni,” says Formica. The trio's Farm Vodka is also unique, thanks to its high ratio of corn and rye. “It has balanced spice and the roundness of the corn gives it a more weighted texture."

What’s next for Willibald: “We’ve got a cold twist on a hot toddy — our Harvest Toddy — coming out in September.”

Located in Amherstburg, Ontario, the family-owned Wolfhead Distillery has a reputation for producing innovative small-batch products with bold flavours, including its popular Coffee Whisky Liqueur. "What sets Wolfhead apart is the care and precision that goes into every small batch we make," says Wolfhead Distillery owner Tom Manherz. "We sampled 11 different coffee beans before landing on the perfect one — fair-trade Costa Rican beans that deliver the bold, rich profile we were after." The result is a masterfully blended liqueur that’s rich, velvety and complex. It’s versatile enough to enjoy neat, over ice or at room temperature, and stirred into everything from hot chocolate to an Espresso Martini.

Wolfhead's creative lineup includes a Grapefruit Vodka and an Apple Caramel Whisky that's a delicious indulgence of sweet caramel and tart Red Delicious apple. "Whether it’s our gin, whisky or vodka, we focus on quality ingredients to craft spirits that are truly distinctive.”

A marriage of “rock and roll” and community was the inspiration for Rock & Union Spirits and its lineup of premium craft spirits. “We created our brand to reflect our local blue-collar community. The idea of kicking back after a hard-day’s work listening to good music,” says owner Brian Burgess, who started this new venture on his family’s fourth-generation farm in Hamilton. “We grow the grains for our gin and vodka on our farm, distill them in small batches and carbon-filter them for purity.” The spirits are distilled using a hybrid pot still, which is “more labour intensive but creates a superior product.” Released in 2025, Rock & Union’s Gin is steeped with natural botanicals rather than infused for a fuller flavour. “It’s juniper forward with a citrus kick that’s amazing mixed with tonic, soda or in your favourite cocktail.” As for their vodka, “we use a blend of wheat and corn which makes it incredibly smooth and clean.”