Whisky, Al Capone and the Sleeman Family Business

The dog days of summer may be behind us, but André and Michael are already thinking about whisky. This week they’re joined by Cooper Sleeman, General Manager of Spring Mill Distillery in Guelph and part of the family behind one of Canada’s best-known names in beer.

Cooper shares the wild history of the Sleeman family — including Prohibition, Al Capone, rum-running and tunnels under Guelph — and explains why the family returned to distilling decades after selling Sleeman Breweries.

The guys tasted the new John Sleeman & Sons Copper Pot Whisky, an Irish-inspired whisky made with Canadian grain, while digging into what separates Irish, Scotch, bourbon-style and Canadian whisky. Cooper also explains the massive investment required to build a whisky business, including 14-foot wooden washbacks imported from Scotland, thousands of barrels aging upstairs and experiments with sherry, cognac and Canadian oak.

They also talk about whether Canadians who discovered domestic spirits during the U.S. alcohol boycott will stick with them when American whisky eventually returns to shelves — and why Spring Mill may have given Michael and André a very good reason for a road trip to Guelph.

Learn more about Spring Mill Distillery here - https://johnsleemanandsons.com/

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You can email André at andre@andrewinereview.ca and follow him on Instagram here - @andrewinerview

You can email Michael at michael@michaelpinkuswinereview.com and follow him on Instagram here - @thegrapeguy

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