Junction 56 was established in 2015 in Stratford, Canada. From tasting whisky to making it, the journey from concept to distillery is truly one of passion and you can taste the passion in all of our products.

The Lightbulb Moment
In the summer of 2012 Mike Heisz attended a whisky tasting event in his local town of Stratford, Ontario. After he was 5 samples deep, he leaned over to his friend and said, “We should make a barrel of whisky in my garage!” And with that, the idea for the distillery was born.

From Dream to Reality
Mike soon realized distilling whisky in his garage would be illegal, dangerous and time consuming. But his passion persisted, and research lead him to discover the booming craft distilling industry in the States. He soon started taking courses, visiting distilleries, and learning as much as he could about distilling. Taking a leap of faith, Mike left his 14-year-long career as an engineer to pursue his passion full-time. Junction 56 Distillery officially opened its doors in September 2015.

KEEPING IT LOCAL
All of the spirits start with 100% Ontario grown grains. The corn for our moonshine and wheat for our vodka and gin come from Mike’s cousin’s farm. The distillery mills all of their grain on-site so they know exactly what is going into their products. Their goal is to remain locally focused, partnering with nearby businesses to source the additional ingredients used in our handcrafted flavoured liqueurs.