The History of Spring Mill Distillery
Created from conflict.
Spring Mill Distillery was built by the Sleeman family in 1836 at St. David’s, Ontario, to rebuild the community after it had been burned to the ground during the conflict.
Image source: Tremaine, Geo. R.; Tremaine's 1862 - Vignettes, Brock University Archives
Rebuilding a community, barrel by barrel.
Rising from the ashes of conflict, the original distillery helped the people of St. David’s regain a sense of community.
Reviving and restoring.
More than 100 years later, the Sleeman family sought to revive Spring Mill once again by relocating the distillery to the site of the former Allan’s Mill & Distillery in Guelph.
A timestamp of tradition.
The original Allan’s Mill & Distillery that operated on this site in 1835 was then known as the industrial heart of Guelph, serving a working-class, immigrant neighbourhood.
Image source: Gazetteer And Directory Of The County Of Wellington for 1871-1872, published by A.O. Loomis & Company in Hamilton, ON.
Building on the spirit of tradition.
We employ the same time-honoured, simplistic approach to distilling - and we’ve taken great care to ensure our distillery honours the historical uniqueness of the site. We have rebuilt and restored the original architecture wherever possible.
Fast Forward to Today
Check us out at @johnsleemanandsons to see what keeps us in good spirits all year long.
