From the largest distillery in the British Empire to craft gin

Toronto's Cocktail & Distillery Scene

The same Victorian-era industrial site that once housed the British Empire's largest distillery is now home to some of the city's best bars — and a new generation of small-batch Toronto distilleries.

The Boiler House building in Toronto's Distillery District — The Boiler House, Distillery District — Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons licensed

Long before the craft beer boom, Toronto's biggest claim to drinks-industry fame was distilling, not brewing — and the industrial site behind that history is now the anchor of the city's cocktail scene too.

Gooderham and Worts: once the largest in the Empire

Founded in 1832, the Gooderham and Worts distillery grew through the 19th century into the largest distillery in the British Empire at its peak, its Victorian industrial buildings now preserved as the Distillery District. Production wound down through the 20th century, and the site was redeveloped starting in 2001 into the pedestrian-only historic district that exists today.

The modern cocktail bar scene

Toronto's serious cocktail bars are spread well beyond the Distillery District itself — a scene shaped by the same broader craft-beverage culture documented in our craft beer guide and coffee culture guide: an emphasis on house-made syrups and bitters, classic technique, and increasingly, ingredients sourced from Ontario producers rather than imported spirits alone.

A new wave of small distilleries

A newer generation of small-batch Ontario distilleries — including Toronto-area operations like Spirit of York and Junction Craft Distillery — now produce gin, whisky and vodka using largely local grain, part of the same craft-production shift that transformed the city's beer and coffee scenes over the same period.

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