In the riverside town of Guelph, Ontario, a limestone mill built in the 1830s has found new purpose. Once part of the Sleeman family's early grain empire, the building stood dormant for decades before being restored with quiet determination by their descendants. Its thick walls and vaulted interiors now house Spring Mill Distillery, a thoughtful blend of heritage and function where the past is never far from view. The site sits beside the Speed River, where cool winters and warm summers shape the ageing process with a gentle, seasonal rhythm.

The revival began in the 2010s with a careful restoration, preserving original features while equipping the facility for full-scale, grain-to-glass whisky production. Traditional copper pot stills stand at the heart of the operation, and an on-site cooperage trains new barrel makers to support the distillery’s independent ethos. The team remains small and hands-on, guided more by principle than volume, and draws from local grain, spring-fed water, and patient technique to craft its spirits.

The range includes a corn-led whisky aged in new American oak, offering notes of soft vanilla, caramel, and toasted grain. A rye-forward expression adds brightness and herbal spice, while their single malt rests in casks seasoned with Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry, resulting in flavours of walnut, fig, cocoa, and dried orange peel. Each is bottled without chill filtration or added colour, allowing the natural character of the spirit and wood to speak clearly. Spring Mill produces with purpose, in a space where tradition is not merely remembered, but practiced.