SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 2017
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2017
“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.
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OCTOBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
that for many years. I guess five years ago I started looking into how I would go about launching something like that. Looking at sales at the Lounge, vodka made sense. People wanted to buy local. The answer was to make it ourselves.” From a workplace perspective, Thornley proudly states that the employees tend to have a philanthropic air about them, focusing on creating and working within a community atmosphere. “We’re a company who cares. We’ve all been very active in our various communities, as individuals and as a company.” This positive and “caring” energy doesn’t stop at the community gate, however. Top Shelf’s environmental sensibilities or “Eco-focus” aims to help ensure that future generations have a leg up on sustainability, and don’t get saddled with the after-party clean-up. And yes, that means a direct relationship with the birds and the bees. “The front garden of the distillery is wild flowers growing everywhere. So we partnered with West Coast Seeds and got seeds that would grow plants that would attract pol- linators in an effort to help the bee population.” Their for- ward-looking eco-approach includes the recent installation of a charging port for electric cars. Further, if you have ever been to a large-scale public music festival, you’ll notice the punching of beverage containers under your feet. Top Shelf uses compostable cups and ensures that their space at public events has available recycling bins, providing a leader- ship role in waste reduction and eco-awareness at festivals. For starters, Top Shelf Distillers make a vodka with a 100% locally-sourced corn base. Their website boasts that their vodka possesses “a sweetness that drives people wild and a light, dry finish.” Their London Dry gin makes a similar claim, declaring it “is the ultimate choice for the savvy sipper. Juniper berries and fresh grapefruit peel blend with faint notes of cardamom, angelica, and liquorice to make this an intoxicating combination you won’t be able to keep your hands off of.” All good business. But what about the spirits themselves? Me too. But it was their “Moonshine” that really caught my attention. Remember, this is a rum- running town with a steep history in the prohibition-era nefarious. So naturally, we’d want to open the hidden door in the bookcase and head down to the cellar to find out what’s in the jar. Apparently, I didn’t have to wear the fake moustache after- all. Their Moonshine, in all it’s effervescent flavours, is avail- able at the LCBO stores! (That’s the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, for those of you out of jurisdiction). Maple, Citrus Mint, Apple Pie, Ontario Cherry andWild Blueberry. All made from as many local and natural ingredients as is possible. But what IS moonshine? Again, the word conjures up images of paint-thinning Mason-jar liquids found in copper stills somewhere in the Smokey Mountains. However, the answer is much simpler. “Moonshine has a really loose definition. Thirsty yet?
It’s obviously rooted in prohibition when people would make whiskey at night. Moonshine is any un-aged grain spirit. So our 100-proof is the traditional White Lightning moonshine. Whiskey right off the still, as opposed to the barrel- aging process you get from say Canadian whiskey. So what you get with moonshine is naked grain flavour.” The Maple moonshine is particularly interesting, as the Perth area is considered the “Maple Capital of Ontario.” Local suppliers, of which there are actually “too many to choose from,” according to Thornley, tap the trees for this 100-proof spirit. Thornley also gives the nod to the regulatory agency. “The LCBO is and has been great supporters of Top Shelf Distill- ers and micro-distilleries across the province. They do an excellent job of supporting local and locally-sourced spirits and have been instrumental to our distillery’s growth in Ontario. Top Shelf Vodka and Gin are currently in 110 LCBO stores and we don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.” “We are proud to be a part of such a dynamic and rapidly growing industry.” A large hub for the business is about an hour’s drive away in Ottawa, Canada’s Capital. Quite a few employees at the distillery come from the city of Ottawa and, in fact, Top Shelf has an Ottawa office where they house their sales reps, marketing team and customer experience and partnership staff. All of the production comes out of their Perth distillery, creating two separate pods of activity. Thornley explained that, because of the scarcity of stills and distilling equipment, companies will engage in “contract distilling.” This means that other distilleries will produce and package products for a client company. This is definitely not the case at Top Shelf. They proudly produce all their products in their Perth location, ensuring that their success has lead to growth in all aspects of the company. This time last year, Top Shelf Distillers had a staff of 7. Growth has brought them to 30+ employees today, including staffing areas that many businesses may traditionally contract out. Along with more distillers, they have added a graphic designer, trade marketing manager and customer experience reps. “Part of our growth is because we are preparing for our general listing and distribution all across Ontario.” Like many of the industries in the “craft” movement, small distilleries and breweries typically (with some well-known exceptions) started out on the west coast of North America and began moving east. As the number of distilleries grows in Ontario and points east, Top Shelf has laid the framework to be a major player in the future. “We are proud to be a part of such a dynamic and rapidly growing industry.” Com- bining their ethical mandate with a firm product base and forward-looking ownership, you’d best get the step ladder out! Top Shelf is definitely worth the reach.
TOP SHELF CRAFT DISTILLERS
613.201.3333 contact@topshelfdistillers.com
14 WARREN CRESCENT, PERTH, ONTARIO, K7H0A8
www.topshelfdistillers.com
as spotlighted in the OCTOBER 2017 issue of SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
www.spotlightonbusinessmagazine.com
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