Vendor Spotlight: Otter Creek Distilling

​Down a narrow winding road, across a bridge that crosses Otter Creek in historic Vienna, eventually you will come across a farm framed by pines in the distance. Much like the incognito operations of prohibition—you would have no idea this was a distillery, besides the sign, and their iconic little blue van parked out front. In their barn is a hidden little speakeasy where they would gladly pour you a drink and tell their story. 

Murray Williams was going through an old family bible one day, and a small leaflet fell out that would go on to shape the years to come. These yellowed papers, tucked away and forgotten, contain the family’s prohibition era secret spirit recipe. Murray’s grandfather was a tobacco sharecropper in Vienna who supplemented his income by profiting off the newly enforced American ban on liquor by homebrewing up the good stuff.
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Murray shared the story and recipe with friend Tim Emerson, and they decided they would try their luck at attempting to bring this recipe into our century. They got to work on constructing a 6 gallon still, and with the feedback they received from friends and family, they decided to scale up. 

The secret doesn’t just lie in the recipe itself, they say there’s something magical in the water. There just so happens to be a natural spring on the Emerson property, the same source used to create these spirits all those decades ago.
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Their mission is built around the local prohibition era history that celebrates the forgotten or infamous stories of bootlegging in Norfolk and East Elgin, where at the peak of prohibition housed 280 stills. The area has so much history, history that they aim to honour at every opportunity. The property itself was once a stop along the Underground Railway, where the recently liberated who travelled down Otter Creek from distant Ohio, would stuff their pocket with the abundance of papaws in the groves along the Creek for the remainder of their journey. This is a story they are looking to tell with a future offering, but we will let them reveal the details when the time comes. In any case, Vienna was once one of the largest settled areas at the time when we were still called Upper Canada, with many more stories waiting to be told in the speakeasy over some strong drink.

​Each of their spirits reflect old fashioned practices. One of these includes what’s known as the “moonshiners cheat,” a method that was used to simulate barrel aging by soaking the spirit in locally sourced charred white oak. This results in a similar tase to aged whiskey but is considered a rye spirit.
They offer quite the selection, which includes:

• Clear Rye, the original family recipe with rye grain, maple syrup, with peppery overtones and a hint of fruitiness.
• Southern Spirit, a tip of the hat to bourbon, rye blended with corn.
• Vodka, seven times distilled, twice carbon filtered, incredibly smooth.
• Gin, a recipe that isn’t overly Juniper focused with a gold colour imparted by the coriander in the blend.
• + More ideas in the works!

They look forward to the day when they are ready to open their beautiful space to the public. Their tasting room will soon be the perfect venue for private tastings and events, with plans to develop their retail space and picnic patio area for people to enjoy to both revive interest in the region’s history and provide a unique rural tourism experience.
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They are currently developing a prohibition era cocktail recipe book to compliment their historical recreations, a project that echoes their slogan, “taste the history”. As I am sure you can tell, they are so much more than a simple distillery: they hope to provide an educational sensory experience that offers an immersive insight into local history and traditional distilling. 

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Jacob Wilcox, EDC Summer Marketing Student ​

Jacob is a St. Thomas-born, Wallacetown-raised artist and writer who recently completed a BA in Visual Art at York University. An avid Elgin County enthusiast, he has a deep appreciation for local businesses, rural life, community connections, and grassroots initiatives. From a young age, Jacob has been involved in local theatre--most notably Dutton’s community theatre, WEDS. As a practicing artist, he blends photography, writing, and illustration in both his personal work and marketing initiatives, with a focus on visual storytelling and brand identity. He is drawn to the beauty in the mundane, finds art in everyday life, and hopes to carry that perspective into a future career in community stewardship and education.