About

Peter McAuslan is a native-born Québécois of Scottish heritage. From a young age, he has been interested in the natural processes of fermentation and the magic of transformation of common foods and grains into beverages by the action of the single-celled wonders known as yeast.  Initially, as a boy, he experimented at home with the fermentation of wild grapes found in hedgerows in his native Lachine that were hand crushed and fermented by the natural yeasts on the fruit. Then he moved on to making beer at home, and then professionally for 25 years when he founded and operated the McAuslan Brewing Company, an original first-generation microbrewery that initiated the craft brewery movement that flourishes today.

He sold the beer business in 2013 but has always harboured the dream of continuing the pursuit of the magic of yeast transformation in the world of distilling. This relatively young technology with roots in the 18-century enlightenment allows fermented beverages, be they grain or fruit, beer or wine, to be distilled by gentle heat separating and then cooling and concentrating the alcohol in the original product. The heating and cooling process concentrates the alcohol but also captures the essence of the original fruit or grain. This is the raw spirit for fine aged products that develop with time resting for years in casks where the spirit, the fruit or grain essence, and the wood are transformed and become the magical expression of the marriage of time, fruit/grain, yeast and wood. ​