Our Distillery

Welcome to Almonte, the friendly town. Almonte is a small 19th century mill town situated along the scenic Canadian Mississippi river, a short drive from Ottawa. Its limestone mill buildings have been lovingly preserved and now house an eclectic mix of boutiques, craft shops and galleries. Almonte has become a foodie destination of note. Surrounding the Dairy Distillery, you’ll find award winning food and drink makers including Equator Coffee, Hummingbird Chocolate, Crooked Mile brewery and HFC donuts. Come enjoy the charm of Almonte and return home with fine food and spirits. 

Dairy Distillery has built a state-of-the-art micro distillery in Almonte. A reflection of our dairy heritage and modern outlook, our distillery building is a perfect union of agricultural and contemporary design. A 30-foot pitched roof supported by gorgeous Douglas Fir timbers creates a stunning workspace for the crafting of fine spirits. Our German made copper Christian Carl stills are proudly displayed in our all glass front facade. Consistent with environmental mission, the distillery uses the latest conservation technology including radiant floors, heat exchangers and water reclamation. 

 


Our Team

 

Omid McDonald

Founder/CEO


Omid is an eclectic serial entrepreneur whose past startups range from medical devices to software for DJs. He became enamored with distilling while visiting a micro-distillery in Charleston. It wasn’t long until Omid started making moonshine in his basement with a copper pot still he hand built. His uncompromising commitment to quality and innovation is at the heart of every bottle Dairy Distillery produces.

Neal McCarten

Cofounder/
Marketing Director


Neal spent his childhood summers on his uncle & aunt's dairy farm where he learned a deep appreciation for the hard work and dedication it takes to be a farmer. Vodkow provided the perfect chance to showcase those traditions and commitment with a world class product that his family can be proud of. Neal spends his free time building forts for his two children and watching the birds in his backyard.

David McDonald

Quality Control


David is both Omid’s dad and an emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of Ottawa where he specialized in quality control. He applies this experience to make sure quality is job one at Dairy Distillery. David will also be tends the Dairy Distillery gardens with his grandchildren.

Ben Oppenheimer

CFO


A Queens University graduate and Ottawa native, Ben completed his CPA requirements at large accounting firms PwC and MNP, before joining the team in early 2019. Ben brings not only his fastidious bookkeeping and lightening fast typing skills to the team, but also a passion for growing business and building great financial tools.

Anthony Seed

Director of Spirit Sales


After a long stint as the Eastern Ontario sales rep for Pernod Ricard, Anthony knows a thing or two about spirits. Anthony is also a health and fitness expert and will be keeping the Dairy Distillery team in shape. Aside from selling spirits and pumping iron, Anthony keeps busy with his two children.

David Geros

COO


After completing his Masters in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Dave worked at Carlsberg in Northampton in the UK. He returned home to take a position at Iogen where he worked developing cellulosic ethanol production for the 15-years. When not distilling, Dave enjoys playing soccer with his two children.

Jonny Crozier

Brand Manager


Jonny's passion for cocktails and spirits lead him down a rabbit hole to figure out how to create interesting flavours from common ingredients using classic techniques. His curiosity then lead him to training in fermentation and distillation. When Jonny took a tour of the distillery soon after it's opening Neal was enamored by Jonny's passion for spirits and invited him to join the team. After several years as Dairy Distillery's head distiller, Jonny has moved into our sales and marketing team, using his years in broadcasting and marketing to lead our Toronto team. 

Alexandra Amodeo

Director of Sanitizer and Ethanol Sales 


With 15 years sales experience in both B2C and B2B market segments, Alexandra brings with her the knowledge and energy needed to help drive the growth, expansion and success of Dairy Distillery’s hand sanitizations. She’s also invested in the success and revitalization of Almonte, Ontario - a place she calls home while raising her young family.

Friends

University of Ottawa


We’ve partnered with Dr. Alexandre Poulain, Professor of Biology at the University of Ottawa, one of Canada’s premiere research institutions. Dr. Poulain and his undergraduate student Jessica Gaudet have been uncovering the secrets of fermenting milk permeate. They have also been working to decode the chemical composition of a great spirit.

Tree Canada



Tree Canada restores forests helps wildlife and also helps fight climate change. Their reforestation and carbon offsetting efforts help make cleaner soil, cleaner waterways and shorelines and help sequester millions of tons of carbon pollution. In an effort to make Vodkow carbon neutral, we selected Tree Canada's "Grow Clean Air" program that plans trees guaranteed to sequester carbon for 30 years.

Dairy Farmers of Ontario


The Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) awarded us a Business Product and Development Program (BPDP) grant to assist with our marketing and bottle design. The DFO is the marketing group for Ontario’s Dairy farmers. The BPDP helps innovative new milk products come to market.

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