Dillon's Distillers - Small batch distillery in Beamsville

[ylsf]

I mentioned this spot briefly in the "Ice Wine festival" thread but felt like it deserved its own thread. I had a chance to sample their rye, gin and vodka and also tried two of the bitters they had available at the festival.

Currently available only at the Distillery Friday to Sundays but they are working to get the product into the LCBO and into being served at bars, etc.

The vodka and gin are made with local wine grapes. The rye is made with Ontario rye. Not sure if that means their "gin" is really a "brandy" by definition then?? Regardless, I enjoyed the sampling I had and definitely want to pick up a bottle soon.

They have quiet a few bitters including lemon, pear, etc but I believe they only have the lemo and the DSB available right now because they are waiting for more packaging for the others.

Their website;

http://dillons.ca/

The lady said they are planning to do other things like limoncello, etc too.

[ylsf]

Managed to pass by on Saturday... I am glad I did. I had enjoyed the sampling of what I tried back in January when I started this thread but hadn't managed to buy a bottle yet.

Bought a bottle of the Vodka and of the Gin. Also picked up a bottle each of the lime and pear bitters. They said that Williams Sonoma will eventually be carrying a "gift pack" of the bitters. (forget if they said for the Christmas season...).

I like the layout, would be a great spot for an event. There is an event coming up in a few weeks:

Oyster Fest Niagara - June 9th:
http://dillons.ca/oyster-fest-niagara

We got a tour as well. Jeff Dillon, one of the founders/partners led it. Answered all of our questions, showed us the distilling equipment. Was interesting to see.

Overall, I would recommend stopping on your way too or from Niagara. It is now open during the week and not just the weekends.

[TorontoJo]

Glad you made it in, it's such a great local spot! I'm still pondering Oyster Fest. I don't like oysters personally, but there will be other food and the cocktails are certainly a draw!

And just for the sake of future searches, it's "Geoff Dillon".

[ylsf]

Thanks for pointing that out.

I have been really enjoying using the bitters I picked up, even just adding them non-alcoholic drinks (well, I guess technically they are now "few drops of alcohol drinks" . As someone else mentioned in this thread I never liked "tonic" before but I think I just never had a good tonic/gin. I picked up some nice tonic at Whole Foods the other day (Fever Tree brand) and what a difference it made.

[TorontoJo]

I love Fever Tree tonic! I use the bitters for a lot of things as well. They are particularly nice for the non-drinkers in the crowd -- a few drops in club soda makes for a good non-alcoholic option.

[ylsf]

There is an event at Gilead next Thursday (March 14th) featuring Dillon's . $5 cocktails

http://www.jamiekennedy.ca/PDFs/gilea...

No reservation required.

6:30 to 9pm

[jlunar]

Worth going to if you're interested. They do good cocktails. Their Gin is especially good. Their Rye, interesting (100% rye!).

[hungryabbey]

Their Caesars are amazing

[TorontoJo]

Totally charming place with super friendly staff. The gin is lovely and they are working on a sloe gin, which I'm excited about. I haven't tried the white rye, as I'm not a rye drinker, so I'll have to wait for friends to tell me what they think. Fabulous branding, btw.

They have a nice variety of house-made bitters, but sadly they were out when I visited last weekend. They were just waiting on bottles and should be fully stocked this weekend. I really want the pear and the bitter lemon. And the cranberry bitters smell like Christmas in a bottle. Looking forward to picking up some bottles for myself and as gifts.

[Theniagaralocal]

As a non- gin drinker, I am now a Gin and Tonic convert after visiting Dillon's. Add a splash of pear bitters and the post-work transition is on its way.
I bought multiple bottles as gifts for Christmas for out of town friends (which was a fun change from wine). I think the 375 ml bottle was about $18.00 and came with beautiful packaging. Dillon's itself was nice to visit- apothecary type styling and friendly service.

[Herne]

They might get me to drive there just for the novelty of it if they had prices on their website. Without prices I may take a side track from going nearby to see what it is all about.

[ylsf]

They told me the prices and they seemed "reasonable" at time but I forget now what range :). They have two different size bottles available for the spirits.