Spirit of York Distillery Co.

Spirit of York Distillery is located at 12 Trinity Street in Toronto's historic Distillery District. The distillery opened in 2017 after approximately two years of research and product development. It was founded by Rob Cudney and Maryke Ballard; Mike Leskovec is the CEO, and Simon Ho joined the company as president and COO in 2022.

Spirit of York follows a grain-to-glass approach, producing its spirits on site. The distillery sources its Ontario rye from Scotland, Ontario, and its water from Springwater, Ontario. Grain is milled and mashed on site, the spirits are distilled in copper stills, and bottles are filled and sealed by hand.

The distillery occupies a production space in the Distillery District and includes a retail shop, tasting room and cocktail bar. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls allow visitors to observe parts of the production process.

Its core range consists of vodka, gin, whisky and aquavit, supplemented by seasonal and specialty releases. The aquavit is based on rye and was developed in response to interest from Toronto's bar and restaurant community.

Matt Driscoll is the master distiller. He holds a master's degree in brewing and distilling from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland and has been involved in developing Spirit of York's core and experimental spirits.

Alongside its main range, Spirit of York produces products including coffee liqueur, aperitivo and Citruscello, as well as other seasonal releases. The distillery also offers tastings and cocktail experiences at its Toronto location.