Moving from KO to Kitchener distilling

The Distillery District - now our version in Kitchener!

We're not only moving from Toronto to Kitchener, we're moving on from KO Distilling concepts, and the boxing references to something directly related to Kitchener distilleries.  Toronto has the distillery district - we're the lead edge of a new distillery district in Kitchener.  Can't say which address yet...we're working on it.  So don't look for our old domain, but stay close to great whisky!

Working west of Toronto, or moving?

Home is where the heart is, and the whisky

Making whisky is one thing.  Working west of Toronto is another.  But moving west to work is the larger question - we love Toronto, but Katie and I feel it's probably time to live and work in Kitchener.  Plus it puts the K and the O in KODistilling, right?  This photo sums up the difference between GTA and Kitchener.

Katie and Paul working on whisky in Kitchener, ON

Katie and I are like, well, two glasses of whisky!

Katie and I have been offline for a while, but we have been actively looking in Kitchener for the "right" location for our distillery.   It has also been a challenge to look forward to fund raising to launch.  We have had www.kodistilling.com and some other domains already registered, which we like, since it's "K" for Kitchener (or Katie!) and "O" for Ontario (or O'Mara, also making Katie happy!), but none of this is final.  Cheers!

Karlson and O'Mara head West!

 

 

West...just west enough for Karlson and O'Mara - for a burger

It's the weekend, so Katie and I are headed west!  West from Toronto that is....for a burger!  We've been to the Western Hotel Burgers and Steaks before -- really it's a modern day saloon with gourmet burgers, juicy steaks, smoked ribs, and 16 different world class and craft beers on tap!   Just right for KODistilling to look for a new type of decor or decoration. Inspiration is everywhere!

We're still looking in Kitchener for a whisky manufacturing site, but haven't decided yet.  So it's a day for great burgers, some beer and thinking hard about what we should do in what order.  Katie and I both like the idea of "KO" for Kitchener, ON and Karlson and O'Mara both being the reason for KODistilling!    

Friends and family, we'll be sitting down for burgers and discussion of whisky in the early afternoon.  See you there!

Kitchener, ON makes it KODistilling too

Bleams Road in Kitchener  with 3-10,000 sq. ft for us?

Kitchener's not so far away for us, not really (right?) but still a drive.  This has up to 10,000 sqare feet, and the smallest we can lease is 3000.   Advantages are lower lease rate than we have seen so far.  And we're still liking our KO Distilling concept, (KP and PK just never seem to work for Katie and me, but if I were smart we'd just make it Katie's Distilling!) (Katie nods her head, yes!). 

I like the industrial feel to it, but Katie's not as impressed.  And it's a long drive back to GTA every day.  Time to move?  And this is cheaper on Hurst Ave., but too large for now:

Too large, but cheaper.  Lots of room for whisky though!

Whisky, beer, Maple Leafs...

It's Spring, so the Leafs are out, eh?  Time for whisky, so Katie and I take Sunday to consider options.

Read more, here as Katie and I consider recipes for (success, whisky, names) and generally wonder about the Leafs. 

Defrauding the LCBO? Not smart!

LCBO , a new home for Karlson and O'mara's products in the future.  Photo by Rick Eglinton, Toronto Star.

 

 

We've all been to the LCBO, some more than others (!) but we never imagined this kind of story.  Maybe someone steals a bottle - but $2.1 million?

With thanks to the Toronto Star: 


Francois Agostini has a story to tell. It’s a whopper of a yarn that runs the gamut from lavish lunches, flashy diamonds and Louis XIII cognac to a criminal investigation involving millions of dollars in stolen booze and cash, a fake Ukrainian diplomat and jealousy in a trailer park.   And it all ends in a federal penitentiary. 
 
Katie and I thought this story must be from the new-fiction review section, not the crime page.

Got a better story?  Let me know and I'll include it here if it's funny and at least partially true.    Drop me (Paul) a note at my kodistilling gmail.