“People wanted to buy local. The answer was to make it ourselves.”
By John Allaire W e’re lucky to have the ownership that we do here. They are morally and ethically driven, and that is reflected in our marketing strategies and our overall mandate,” Thornley explained. He is speaking of John Criswick and Hanna Murphy, who together founded Top Shelf in 2014. The group decided that, rather than merely buying advertising spots on TV, radio and bill- boards, the company’s focus should be closer to home. “When we came up with the marketing strategy for the year, we decided to focus on community partnerships across Ontario with a focus on charities. As a company, we want to be a part of charity-driven, community events that help reinforce an air of community and social-responsibili- ty.” Thornley calls it being “in the field” rather than on the airwaves. “We’re a company who cares. We’ve all been very active in our various communities, as individuals and as a company.” And they are definitely walking the walk. A partial list of the Canadian events with which they have been involved in the past year include: the TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the Wolf Island Music Festival near Kingston Ontario, the Arbo- retum Festival in the Nation’s Capital, and dozens of events in their home town like the Perth Fair, the Community Run, the Stewart Park Festival, and the seemingly endless list goes on. Education and public awareness factors into their messag- ing. Criswick explains, “Our approach isn’t like ‘here, drink this and get drunk.’ Our approach has more to do with mixology and craft. So it’s about educating people on types of drinks and the ‘craft at home’ angle. So when we go to these events, we are not just hoping that they taste our vodka. It’s more of a learning experience. “It’s no surprise that festivals and events play a role in Top Shelf’s roll-out. Criswick’s entre- preneurial background is spotted with music and cocktail experience. He’s the owner of downtown Ottawa hot spot The Mercury Lounge. Knowing how the industry operated on the other side of the counter provided a comforting awareness of alcohol purchasing before taking the leap into distilling his own products. “I used to buy a lot of vodka for the bar and would think ‘that’s interesting.’ And the craft brewing thing was happening, and I had been following
There may be a popular perception that the production of spirits such as vodka and gin traditionally belongs to other places around the world — Russia for vodka, the UK for gin, and so forth. But the streets of Perth, Ontario, Canada are almost literally soaked with pre- prohibition era whiskey and spirits. In fact, as far back as 200 years, there were three prominent distilleries in Perth, and their spirits had been compared to Scotch Whisky from across the pond, and had in fact been deemed on par. But like all good parties, the time comes when someone flips on the light and hollers “last call!” And it came in the form of the Ontario Temperance Act of 1916. The Act introduced prohibition in Ontario, effectively crushing the town’s thriving spirit production industry. The Stewart family, a prominent owner of one of the distilleries, donated the land where their buildings stood in 1917, after the industry collapse. To this day, Stewart Park hosts festivals and events in the heart of Perth. Prohibition didn’t necessarily halt all production of spirits in the area, mind you. Tales are still spun in Ottawa Valley pubs about late-night rum-running to the U.S. border, and continued production of whiskey behind the cloak of 80-foot spruce trees are still spun in Ottawa Valley pubs. Last year, while the Town of Perth was celebrating it’s 200th anniversary, Top Shelf was clinking glasses to the successful operation of a fully functioning distillery, some 100 years after the last official one closed its doors. And for those of us who thought that distilling was strictly a foreign endeavour, there are currently 30 distilleries in Ontario and another 16 planned in the near future. Spotlight on Business spoke to Top Shelf co-founder, John Criswick and Social Media and Events Manager, Stuart Thornley about the company, as well as the inner workings of the distilling industry, Top Shelf’s products, and their morally and ethically-charged mandate.
63
OCTOBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker