A mill and distillery across the river
In 1858 Hiram Walker's distillery made 3,200 litres a day with a wooden continuous still, which runs nonstop, and a copper doubler, a pot still for second distillation.
Hiram Walker Distillery is a Canadian whisky distillery in Windsor, Ontario, opened in 1858 by Detroit grocer Hiram Walker as the Windsor Distillery and Flour Mill.1,2,3 Under agreements extended to 2031, it makes Corby's brands, such as J.P. Wiser's and Lot No. 40, and it still makes Canadian Club.2,4,5 It can make more than 55 million litres of alcohol a year, and the Oxford Companion and CBC call it North America's largest beverage alcohol producer.2,6,7
In 1858 Hiram Walker's distillery made 3,200 litres a day with a wooden continuous still, which runs nonstop, and a copper doubler, a pot still for second distillation.
By 1873 the business ran as Hiram Walker and Sons, with his sons as partners.8,9 In 1890 it became Hiram Walker and Sons Limited, and new warehouses raised storage to five million gallons.9 The warehouses followed a new law that made distillers age spirit in casks for two years before sale.9 On 7 April 1890 Walkerville became a town, and it stayed one until it became part of Windsor in 1935.1,5,9 From 1892 to 1894 the firm built its head office beside the distillery.11 Walker retired in 1895 and passed his holdings to his three sons.8,9
Prohibition began in the United States in 1919, and the Walker family sold the distillery to Harry C. Hatch in 1926.1,2,8 Hatch merged it with Gooderham & Worts Ltd. of Toronto to form Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts.1,2,9 Under Hatch it was a bootlegging hub, one of the few profitable Canadian distilleries during Prohibition, which ended in 1933.2,8 An expansion in 1972 doubled the distillery's production capacity.8
In 1980 Clifford Hatch, son of Harry C. Hatch, merged the company with Home Oil Company and Consumer's Gas Company.8 In a 1986 takeover fight, Gulf Canada won the parent company, Hiram Walker Resources, which had agreed to sell its liquor business to Allied-Lyons.8 In 1987 Allied Lyons, later called Allied Domecq, took 51% of Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts, and Gulf Canada kept 49%.2,12,13 Late in 1987 Allied-Lyons announced it would buy back full control.2,12,13 In 1989 Corby's Corbyville distillery closed, and all its maturing whisky moved here.13 Pernod Ricard got the distillery in 2005 by buying Allied Domecq, and gave its management to its subsidiary Corby.2,14,15 The distillery kept making Canadian Club after Pernod Ricard sold that brand to Fortune Brands.2,5,14
For J.P. Wiser's, the distillery buys in its malt, then ferments, distills and ages corn, rye, barley and wheat separately.7 High wines from the column can be distilled again in a pot still for concentrated flavours, or in a column still to strip out flavours for a base whisky.7 It has 39 fermenters, and in 2014 the mash fermented with yeast for about three days.6,7 Don Livermore has been master blender for J.P. Wiser's since 2012.7,16 In 2026 Corby extended its agreements with the distillery to September 30, 2031.4
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