Stewiacke distillery ships spirits across Canada
Riley Giffen was in his organic chemistry class when the idea for his business struck him, suddenly. He was distilling essential oils from the zest of an orange peel, and he started thinking about how the same principles were used to distill spirits like vodka and rum.
He went on to build his own still and teach himself how to run it successfully, making homemade spirits to share with friends and family. His parents had owned a bottled-water business for the last decade, so he was lucky enough to have a one-in-a-million spring on the family property — providing ultra-pure water for creating exceptional spirits.
After completing his degree in Chemical Engineering and gaining the training required to professionally operate a still, Riley and his parents opened Coldstream Clear Distillery in September of 2015. They’ve won international awards for their creative products, which include vanilla bean vodka, single barrel rum, salted caramel liqueur, lime vodka soda, and hard iced tea.
Coldstream Clear Distillery sells their products locally, they license them for use at bars and restaurants, and they have a robust business shipping their beverages, accessories, and merchandise from their offices in Stewiacke to destinations across Canada.
