Whisky producer eyes old warehouse on the edge of Winnipeg's Exchange District

An accountant with a passion for spirits is placing a half-million-dollar bet that downtown Winnipeg is ready for a whisky distillery.

On Oct. 10, city council's property committee will consider a proposal to convert a corner of a 1903 delivery-servicebuilding on the edge of the east Exchange Districtinto a microdistillery and tasting room called Patent 5.

BrockCoutts, a number cruncherby trade, is seeking permission toproducespirits and sell them to the publicearly in 2018 at a 1,700-square-foot distillery he plans to build in the Dominion Express Co. building on Alexander Avenue.

Pendingapproval, Patent 5 would be only the second artisanaldistillery to open its doors to the publicin Winnipeg since Manitobaslightly loosenedits liquor-production regulations and the first in the city's downtown.

Gin and vodka producerCapitalK opened on Dublin Avenue in the St. James Industrial neighbourhood in 2016.

"When youtravel in the U.S., every liquor store you walk into has a hundred different whiskies," saidCoutts, whofirst cookedup the idea of opening amicrodistilleryin Winnipeg after catching the home-brewing bug and then seeing the potential for artisanal spirits.

"Microdistilleriesare booming in the U.S. There are probably 1,500 today, from a couple hundred a decade ago," he said Tuesday in an interview.

Patent 5 is not Coutts's first shot at being an entrepreneur. He used to run a granite companythat supplied alabaster to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. He also studied chemistry and has been brewing beer at home for four years.

He said he's dubbing his distilleryPatent 5 after the fifth patent ever issued in Canada the specifications for a patent still, back in 1869.

He and two silent partners are investing roughly $500,000 into the venture, which would produce vodka and two varieties of gin at first a Londondry gin and a floral gin, with Manitoba botanicals gathered by foragers.

He would then begin producing whiskies.

Couttssaid the plan is to produce a wheat whisky as well as a corn-based whisky, more akin to Crown Royal or bourbon. The intention is to price the gin and vodka as premium products in the $40 per bottle range, while the whiskies would have more expensivepricepoints.

He believes Patent 5 will be the first whisky producer within the city limits since 1880, when Radiger & Erb produced a wheat whiskey at a Higgins Avenue property that would later become the Ogilvie flour mill.

He's aiming for a license to sell bottles and offer samples in a tasting room that would open after production is underway.

"We need to make sure we make a great product before we bring in people to taste it," Coutts said.

"We're planning for this to be a tourist destination. When you come to the city, you visit The Forks, you visit the Exchange, you're making a stop at the distillery and you're bringing a bottle of this home to show your friends and tell them the story about it."

Coutts said he believes Winnipeg could support a total of three or four small distilleries, including his own and Capital K. The growing number of microbreweriesproducing beer in Winnipeg points to a demand for artisanal alcohol, he suggested.

Patent 5's storefront would be located around the corner fromPEG Beer Co., whose proprietor said she likes the idea of a microdistilleryopening around the corner from her microbrewery and restaurant.

"Ithinkit's perfect.I think it's agreat synergy in the area. They'rea friendly groupof guys andwe're glad to have them as neighbours," said Nicole Barry, who opened PEG in 2016.

While the city has not yet published its report about Patent 5, Coutts said he's been told city planners are recommending council's property committee approve his proposal.

Heritage Winnipeg also supports the distillery, and not just because it will reuse a 114-year-old building.

Some wood andglass from the Oak Room at the shutteredSt. Regis Hotel on Smith Street hasbeen moved to Alexander Avenue, where it will be incorporated into the tasting room.

"What we loved about the project is people are going to see it. The public is going to see it. We didn't want to see the Oak Room saved and put in a private space," said Cindy Tugwell, executive director of Heritage Winnipeg.

"The fact this is going in a tasting room is going to allow people to come and learn about the history of the St. Regis."

Whisky producer eyes old warehouse on the edge of Winnipeg's Exchange District

7 years ago

Duration 1:48

An accountant with a passion for spirits is placing a half-million-dollar bet that downtown Winnipeg is ready for a whisky distillery.