Dillon's Small Batch Distillers — Attraction in Lincoln

I could not find Fees, Peychauds at the LCBO, but found a few offerings of Dillon’s DSB, Lime, Orange. I figured this was the local bitters company who has the market and I was sort of right, they also do spirits and are somewhat near Forty Creek which I had plans to visit anyhow.

I picked up the DSB at a local LCBO, but to be honest wasn’t impressed, it seemed flat, I could clearly taste clove, raisin, but little else, it was quite light and not quite what I imagined their sort of aromatic/ango equivalent.

Looking like a local winery their warehouse looks more like a feed barn with a pottery barn lobby. The layout seemed stark, like sterile, some craft shop. Lined with their gin’s, vodka’s and bitters they almost had like 3 tasting areas and is probably very busy, just not in the winter on a weekday. They have trinkets and bar tools, books, etc on the side.

The tastings seemed confusing on price and everything had to be explained. A simple description of the 2 gin’s and the flavorings would suffice. Perhaps I came at it like I’m crafting a menu, although I picked up on the nuances of the spirits I also wondered where I could use their spirits and bitters at home and on a menu that would do better than say a Hendricks, aviation, sky, tito’s, ango, fees, ets. I was finding it hard to place, but out of curiousity I picked up a few bottles to ship home. I was most interested in the flavored gins for those who still have a bad taste of juniper from their childhood and the Super small batch bitters (experimental like the Christmas Tree and Espresso I picked up). I had to ship most of it due to Canadian regulations. They did a bang up boutique job of wrapping and ringing us up.

The lady working showed no signs of empathy when she said no tours during the slow season and on a weekday. Most of the places we looked for tours were either not doing them in the winter, not doing them on weekdays and/or not doing them at the times I found online. I was pretty frustrated by this point in my trip, but got some guff from her. I eventually won her over, but had she not realized my acumen I’m not sure she wouldn’t have lost any other casual novice drinker (as the people before and after us bough 1 bottle). Even my friend who is a local didn’t get the attention he deserved considering how much we purchased. I would have bought 1 of everything if I got to try it, if you were enthusiastic and if it was good.

All in all I had a great time seeing the store, getting some rare stuff and seeing their variety (albeit not trying all of them). Perhaps the owner (chem professor) needs some advisement on where to take them, it’s an open market ripe for the taking and small batch is great, but it’s gotta be good and you already seem to have the market...

I recently tried Dillon's premixed Manhattan and Negroni. I purchased them from the LCBO. I am a regular consumer of cocktails both at home and out. I have a fully-stocked bar at home and am well versed in the world of cocktails. These are 2 of the very most common cocktails and I understand what they and their variants should taste like. These were totally undrinkable, by my opinion and 3 of my companions. I reached out to Dillon's and after providing all the information they asked for, including batch info, date and location purchased etc, they replied back, "You may find that they differ slightly in flavour to what you have enjoyed historically when drinking a Negroni or Manhattan but ingredients play a big part in that. Depending on the spirits (or brands) used, there will be some differences in flavour. We are crafting both cocktails using all Dillon’s made products, but there is nothing faulty with either offering." No coupon, no refund. I assure you, kind readers, there is something very faulty with these drinks. Dillon's, if you are reading this, your awful products combined with your lackluster service has resulted in a loss of my business and I hope that you will offer both better products and service to your remaining customers. UPDATE The same rep has now offered a 10% off coupon for their products. 10%! STAY AWAY...

I went into the shop during the LCBO strike, and maybe they were stressed out because they were generally busy but the vibe was way off. I’ll note it wasn’t currently busy when I arrived, I went early in the day. I went in on Friday June 14th, in a good mood and the lady I dealt with treated me like I ate her lunch. I had greeted her nicely, she was weird. Then I went to grab cases of cocktails from the middle stand, and she tells me she’ll grab them from the back, but with a little more attitude for my taste. I joked about taking cases from the cocktail pyramid and once again weird vibes. Crack a smile or something, lighten up. Let me also say that the cocktail display was already in disarray it’s not like I pulled from the Dillons Taj Mahal, it wasn’t obvious that you weren’t supposed to take cases from the centre area. Then cashing out with someone else once again there was something negative in the air. I was nice, spent $400 and carried on with my day. I’m not one of these overly sensitive people and I’m not trying to be your friend, Im just getting annoyed with people not using simple manors and common courtesy, especially when I’m supporting a business. Great cocktails, keep the grumpy people in the back working...