Seagram opened Gimli Distillery in 1968 on Lake Winnipeg in Gimli, Manitoba, and Diageo has owned it since 2001.1,2,3 Crown Royal is made here.4,5,6
Seagram built it as its flagship distillery after a long search for quality water, and local grain mattered as much as the water.1,2,7 Seagram's Waterloo distillery, which also made Crown Royal, closed in 1992; Gimli's ancient copper Coffey still, named after inventor Aeneas Coffey, came from that closed plant.4,5
Its water is naturally filtered through the limestone beneath Lake Winnipeg.1,5 It mashes rye, corn and barley, and roughly 80% of the grain comes from Manitoba and nearby provinces.1,9,10 It uses five recipes, called mash bills, to make the separate whiskies that go into its blends.1,9,10 Its 360-acre site has one stillhouse, a landmark that guides fishermen back to harbour, and 51 warehouses holding 1.5 million barrels.2,9,10 The spirit ages in new or re-used charred oak barrels, and extreme temperature swings make the wood expand and contract, slowly adding to its character.2,9,10
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