Still Fired Distillery

You have to love a distillery where not only is the slogan “Drink More Moonshine,” the actual stills are named! Let’s take a little dive behind the scenes at Still Fired Distillery!

Canadian commercial divers Owen Ritchie and Andrew Cameron, finding a lack of locally distilled craft spirits available in Canada, officially embarked upon their goal of making premium small-batch spirits from the first “legal” stills built and assembled in the province. As colleagues in the underwater welding trade, the two discovered a shared passion for the spirits industry and intrigue at the flaws of commercially distilled products. With that, they began to learn the craft via hobby distilling, literature, and by attending courses and conferences. Intent on crafting unique premium spirits from local products near their seaside community of Annapolis Royal, they ultimately founded Still Fired Distillery in June 2015.

With a solid schematic (initially drawn on a cocktail napkin) the team began to design their own distilling equipment. The first stainless steel and copper still, named “Kirby,” was built and designed for the thrill of the project and, wisely, to keep the cost of the start-up down significantly. It was made to be transferable from pot still to reflux column in a matter of minutes, to allow them the ability to create any product they wanted in-house. Later, “Morgan” was added. A similar build to Kirby, its 8” customizable column allows spirit percentages of 96% and higher (192 proof). The names of the stills were chosen as an ode to the Kirby-Morgan helmets that Owen and Andrew used to dive when working underwater.

The team at Still Fired Distilleries takes pride in every bottle made, paying very close attention to all of the meticulous details of the creation process. From fermentation to filtration, there isn't a single step that isn't closely monitored to ensure the purest, cleanest spirits possible. Come and check out their wares at Expo and taste for yourself!

Tags: Savour the Flavour