Industry | Distiller of alcoholic beverages |
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Founded | 1869 |
Fate | Merged with Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd. in 1926; sold to Allied Lyons in 1987 |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Key people |
Gooderham and Worts, also known as Gooderham & Worts Limited, was a Canadian distiller of alcoholic beverages. It was once one of the largest distillers in Canada. [1] The company was merged in 1926 with Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd., and the merged firm was eventually sold to Allied Lyons in 1987.
The company's distillery facility on the Toronto waterfront was closed in the 1990s. The buildings, dating to the 1860s, were preserved and repurposed as an arts and entertainment district that is called the Distillery District. In 1998, the Gooderham and Worts Distillery was named one of the National Historic Sites of Canada.
The business was founded by James Worts and his brother-in-law, William Gooderham. Worts had owned a mill in Diss, England, then moved to Toronto in 1831 and established himself in the same line of work. He built a prominent windmill on the Toronto waterfront, near the mouth of the Don River. The next year, Gooderham joined him in Toronto and in the business. The business prospered, processing grain from Ontario farmers and then shipping it out via the port of Toronto.
In 1834, Worts's wife, Elizabeth, died during childbirth. Two weeks later, Worts killed himself by throwing himself into the windmill's well and drowning. Gooderham continued the business himself. With a surplus of wheat, Gooderham expanded in 1837 into brewing and distilling, and soon this lucrative trade became the primary focus of the business. Gooderham served as the sole manager of the business until 1845, when he made Worts's eldest son, James Gooderham Worts, co-manager.
In 1859, work began on a new distillery complex, the area that today is the Distillery District. It was built on the waterfront, with easy access to Toronto's main train lines. In 1862, its first full year of production, the facility made some 700,000 imperial gallons (3,180,000 litres) of spirits. At that time, it was a full quarter of all the spirits produced in Canada. [2]
In the second half of the 19th century, the firm rose to become one of Canada's most prominent industrial concerns. Under the control of William's son, George Gooderham (1830–1905), [3] production increased to over two million gallons a year, [4] half of the entire spirits production of Canada. The distillery itself expanded, becoming one of Toronto's largest employers.
As well as keeping interests in the milling and brewing trades, the company expanded into other ventures. It had a controlling interest in the Toronto and Nipissing Railway, one of the main lines that transported grain from the rural regions north of Toronto. In 1892, the company constructed the Gooderham Building, still a notable Toronto landmark, as its new headquarters.
By the end of the nineteenth century, the company's growth began to slow. Beer and wine became more popular in Canada, reducing sales of whisky. The rise of the temperance movement also harmed the company, with the Ontario Temperance Act of 1916 banning the sale of alcohol in the province. The company survived by exporting alcohol beyond Ontario, such as to Quebec, where a good portion would then make its way back to Ontario. The firm also relied on its other ventures, most notably the production of antifreeze, which was essential to the war effort and to the growing number of automobiles.
In 1923, the company was sold to Harry C. Hatch for $1.5 million. [5] The company gained a large share of the United States market during prohibition, legally manufacturing it in Canada and then selling it to resellers, who would smuggle it into the United States.
In 1926, Hatch purchased Canada's second-largest distiller, Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd., the makers of Canadian Club. The new company was named Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts Ltd. It continued manufacturing spirits at the Toronto distillery, but production gradually declined.
In 1927, at a hearing on tax evasion charges against Gooderham and Worts, notorious bootlegger Rocco Perri admitted buying whisky from the distiller from 1924 to 1927. Gooderham and Worts was convicted of tax evasion in 1928 and had to pay a fine of $439,744. [6]
In 1987, the firm was sold to the British concern Allied Lyons. By 1990, the manufacturing facility had been closed down because it was obsolete. During the years the site was vacant, it was used for filming movies and commercials. Some of the films that used the location include Tommy Boy , X-Men , The Hurricane and Chicago . [7] Also used for 40's Harlem in the PAX TV series Twice in A Lifetime and exterior sets for Friday the 13th: The Series.
The site would eventually be converted into the Distillery District, including the Young Centre for the Performing Arts that opened in 2006. The complex has been owned by a group called Cityscape since 2002; the owners were responsible for converting 24 buildings into spaces for artist and galleries. [8]
The Hiram Walker & Sons Distillery, now owned by Pernod Ricard, makes Gooderham & Worts brand whiskies but does so at its plant in Windsor, Ontario. [9] [10] The production of the American bourbon whiskies formerly owned by Gooderham and Worts has since been taken over by Laird & Company.
The distillery complex, and the 30 buildings on the property, were designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1988 because "it is an imposing landmark, containing a number of buildings that collectively bear witness to the evolution of the Canadian distilling industry". [11]
Canadian whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits, and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles. When Canadian distillers began adding small amounts of highly-flavourful rye grain to their mashes, people began demanding this new rye-flavoured whisky, referring to it simply as "rye". Today, as for the past two centuries, the terms "rye whisky" and "Canadian whisky" are used interchangeably in Canada and refer to exactly the same product, which generally is made with only a small amount of rye grain.
Pernod Ricard is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis. The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produces several other types of pastis.
Hiram Walker was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Walker was born in East Douglas, Massachusetts, and moved to Detroit in 1838. He purchased land across the Detroit River, just east of what is Windsor, Ontario, and established a distillery in 1858 in what would become Walkerville, Ontario. Walker began selling his whisky as Hiram Walker's Club Whisky, in containers that were "clearly marked" and he used a process to make his whisky that was vastly different from all other distillers.
William Grant & Sons Ltd is an independent, family-owned Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits. It was established in 1887 by William Grant, and is run by Grant's descendants as of 2018. It is the largest of the handful of Scotch whisky distillers remaining in family ownership.
Canadian Club is a brand of Canadian whisky produced by Beam Suntory. Popularly known as CC, Canadian Club was created by Hiram Walker and Sons, an evolution of a brand around a product that took place over the second half of the nineteenth century. Hiram Walker merged with Gooderham & Worts, Ltd. in 1926, yielding Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts, Ltd.
The Distillery District is a commercial and residential district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, east of downtown, which contains numerous cafés, restaurants, and shops housed within heritage buildings of the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery. The 13 acres (5.3 ha) district comprises more than forty heritage buildings and ten streets, and is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America.
Walkerville, Ontario, is a former town in Canada, that is today a heritage precinct of Windsor, Ontario. The town was founded by Hiram Walker in 1890, owner and producer of Canadian Club Whisky. Walker planned it as a 'model town’,, that would be the envy of both the region and the continent. He established a distillery on the Detroit River and grew his business by growing grain, milling flour, and raising cattle and hogs. Later, the town supported other major industries, notably automotive manufacturing. It was annexed to Windsor, July 1, 1935.
The Young Centre for the Performing Arts is a theatre in the Distillery District in downtown Toronto, Canada. It is a brand-new theatre built into 19th-century-era Victorian industrial buildings. It is home to the Soulpepper Theatre Company and the theatre school at George Brown College.
Ballantine's is a brand of blended Scotch whisky produced by the Chivas Brothers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard in Dumbarton, Scotland.
Established in 1857, J.P. Wiser's Whiskey is one of Canada's oldest whiskey producers. Since 1935, J.P. Wiser's Whiskey has held a majority stake in Corby Spirit and Wine. In 2005 the international Liquor company Pernod Ricard, took ownership of both companies. Hiram Walker & Sons Limited currently produce J.P. Wiser's whiskey at their Windsor, Ontario, distillery.
Harold Clifford "Harry" Hatch (1884–1946) was a millionaire industrialist from Prince Edward County, Ontario specializing in the business of wine and spirits.
The West Don Lands are the site of a neighbourhood under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area is bordered by the Don River, King Street, Parliament Street and the rail line adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway. It is 80 hectares in size. A former industrial area, the area is being rebuilt as a mixed-use neighbourhood.
Corby Spirit and Wine Limited is a Canadian alcohol manufacturing and distribution company. It was founded in 1859 in Corbyville, Ontario. As of 2008, the company is 46% owned by Pernod Ricard. The company distills several Canadian specialities, as well as marketing Pernod Ricard's products in Canada. Corby is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbols CSW.A and CSW.B. Corby is known for funding free travel on the TTC on New Years Eve in Toronto.
John Philip (J.P.) Wiser was an American-born Canadian distiller, manufacturer, rancher and political figure. His whisky distillery was the third largest in Canada, and he served a term as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Grenville South, from 1878 to 1882.
William Gooderham Sr. was a British-born Canadian distiller, businessman, and banker. He was a founder of the Gooderham and Worts distillery.
Distilleries in Canada are distillers of various alcoholic distilled beverages (spirits) such as whisky, rum, vodka, brandy, gin, etc. in the country of Canada.
Gibson's Finest is a brand of Canadian Whisky produced between 40% & 46% alcohol by volume. The brand is owned by William Grant & Sons. Gibson's Finest was founded by John Gibson in 1837, and is currently produced in Windsor, Ontario.
Bessie Starkman was an organized crime figure in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in the early 20th century. She and her common-law husband, Italian-born Rocco Perri, established a business in bootlegging after the sale and distribution of alcohol was prohibited in both Canada and the United States. Starkman dealt mainly with the finances of the business.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky:
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)William Gooderham and James Worts are all made in Windsor today
Today, Gooderham & Worts Four Grain Whisky is produced at Hiram Walker and Sons distillery in Windsor, Ontario.
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