Black Velvet Distillery

Black Velvet whisky was first made at W&A Gilbey's Toronto distillery, which opened in 1933.^1,3,4 In 1962 W&A Gilbey merged with Justerini and Brooks to form International Distillers & Vintners, or IDV.^1,5 By the early 1970s IDV needed to expand but could no longer produce in Toronto, so it built in Lethbridge, on the banks of the Oldman River.^1,2,3

Grand Metropolitan had taken over IDV in 1972, and its 1997 merger with Guinness created Diageo, the plant's next owner.^3,5 Diageo sold the plant, Black Velvet, and other Canadian whisky brands to Canandaigua Brands, now known as Constellation, on 9 April 1999.^1,6,7 Constellation agreed in 2008 to sell its Valleyfield Distillery to Diageo, and in 2009 moved all its whisky brands, including Golden Wedding and OFC, to Lethbridge.^1,3,8 Heaven Hill bought the plant, Black Velvet, other brands made there, and maturing whisky for about US$266 million, closing on 1 November 2019.^1,9,10 The purchase was made through a subsidiary of Constellation, The Black Velvet Distilling Company.^1,9,10 In October 2020 Heaven Hill said a new boiler was about 70% finished, its biggest project since the stills were replaced in the late 90s.²

In January 2024 Heaven Hill said it would close the bottling plant, blaming ageing equipment and a lack of investment by earlier owners.¹¹ Bottling was to move to Bardstown, Kentucky, while distilling would stay in Lethbridge.¹¹ In September 2026 the general manager said its whisky was made in Lethbridge but bottled in the US.¹² He said a small bottling line would return later that year to serve the Canadian market.¹²

The mash ferments in a rotation of 11 tanks called fermenters.¹³ In 2017 the mash was cooked and fermented for between 60 and 70 hours.¹⁴ The fermented mash then goes to a continuous still with 4 columns, the first of which is called the beer still.^13,15 Corn and rye spirits use only the beer still, while base spirit runs through all 4 to come out light and neutral.^13,15 Copper condensers turn the vapour back into spirit.^2,13 After buying the plant, Heaven Hill replaced three condensers that had been there since the late 70s.^2,13 In Blending at Birth, Black Velvet's own method, aged corn and rye spirits are mixed with fresh base spirit and filled into barrels at 77% alcohol.