Burwood Distillery showcases pristine prairie ingredients while applying traditional distillation techniques to produce a wide range of spirits and liqueurs. Their product line includes gin, aged whiskies and rhums, as well as canned cocktails. In addition to the distillery, the same team also runs Veranda at the Stables, a taproom and spirit hall. Veranda serves what Burwood distills alongside small share plates, pastas, pizzas, handhelds like burgers, and even brunch. We spoke with Jordan Ramey, Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer for Burwood Distillery and Veranada at the Stables, to learn more.
What is your business called and what does it do?
Our business is Burwood Distillery and Veranda at the Stables. We are a craft distillery based in Calgary that produces premium, award-winning spirits, including Alberta Whisky, Craft Gins, and a line of canned cocktails and hard sodas. We also operate a restaurant and tasting destination called Veranda at the Stables, where we focus on “moments worth drinking to.” and feature scratch food and Calgary’s largest dog-friendly patio.
What made you want to do this work?
It started with an unlikely connection. I met my co-founder, Ivan Cilic and his brother Marko, while I was looking for a new home and he was my realtor. We quickly bonded over a shared passion for high-quality, small-batch spirits. With my background in fermentation science and Ivan’s family history of traditional Croatian distilling, we realized we had the perfect blend of technical expertise and old-world heritage to create something special.
What problem did you want to solve with the business?
We wanted to bridge the gap between Alberta’s world-class agriculture and the spirits on the shelves. For a long time, the craft spirit sector in Western Canada was underserved. We wanted to disrupt the market by creating novel products using local ingredients, specifically honey and barley, that paid homage to traditional European techniques while using modern science to ensure consistency and quality. Additionally, through my role as board member with the Alberta Craft Distillers Association, we have been working diligently with Minister Dale Nally and Minister Andrew Boitchenko to bring about the Alberta Whisky Act and launching the Alberta Whisky Trail. These initiatives aim to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in additional tourism revenue to the province of Alberta, supporting the provincial mandate to grow annual tourism revenue in Alberta to 25 billion dollars by 2035.
Who are your clientele/demographics?
Our audience is quite broad. We cater to discerning spirit enthusiasts who value local provenance, younger consumers looking for high-quality “ready-to-drink” (RTD) cocktails, and “whisky lovers” who join our Inner Circle Cask Club to invest in their own barrels. We also host a lot of corporate events and tourists looking for an authentic Alberta tasting experience.
How does your business make money? How does it work?
We have a multi-stream revenue model. We sell our bottles in over 800 retail locations across Alberta and Canada-wide via e-commerce. We also generate revenue through our tasting room/restaurant (food and cocktail sales), event rentals at our historic venue, and a growing export business to markets like the US and Asia via our tourism experiences, such as our whisky blending classes and make-your-own gin classes. Additionally, our Cask Club offers a unique investment opportunity for customers to purchase barrels of maturing whiskey.
Where in the city can we find your profession?
You can find us at our headquarters, The Historic D4 Stables Building at Currie (located in the historic Currie Barracks), just minutes from downtown Calgary. We relocated there to expand our production and create a full-scale destination for education and hospitality.
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services? Give the answer as well.
Q: “Is this spirit truly ‘grain-to-glass’ and where do your raw ingredients come from?”
A: “Yes. At Burwood, we don’t just buy neutral grain spirit and bottle it. Our barley is grown and malted in Alix, Alberta, and our honey comes from family-owned hives. We hand-crush every grain, hand-scoop every ounce of honey, age our whisky in barrels amongst the rolling fields of barley and wheat to ensure the flavour is authentically Albertan.”
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
The best part is the innovation, using my PhD background to experiment with unique fermentations and seeing a customer’s face when they try something like our Alberta Whisky for the first time. The worst part is the administrative and regulatory “red tape” involved in the liquor industry, especially related to archaic fire codes concerning distilleries in Canada, which can be quite a hurdle for small craft producers trying to scale.
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
Brewers are just whisky makers that gave up before finishing the job (I was a brewer first, so I like to razz the beer brewers nowadays)
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: What is another local business that you love?
We’re big fans of Trafford Farms! They provide incredible local mushrooms and greens for our menu. They share our commitment to supporting the Alberta agricultural community and grow the best Lion’s Mane mushrooms I’ve ever tasted!
