WAVERLEY: Inside 28 Powder Mill Drive in Waverley, is a smell of newness and taste of deliciousness especially if you’re a fan of rhum, Gin, or vodka.
Brothers Rick and Jason Ross began their journey to Teaghlach Ross Distillery some 14 months ago, revamping a building that had been used for odds and ends just off Rocky Lake Drive, into their now opened and operational distillery. They have bigger plans for the location down the road.
On one January day, Rick Ross took community volunteer Barry Dalrymple and The Laker News’ Pat Healey for a tour of the 6,000 square feet building, showing where things are stored, and talking about the vision they have for other parts.
“We’ve gutted the entire building, redone the heating, the entire electrical, the ventilation, everything’s been painted and made handicap accessible for all of our customers,” said Ross.
He explained they are a craft distillery, and their goal is to keep everything as East Coast and Nova Scotian as possible.
“When people ask about what we do here, I always bring it back to the analogy of Breaking Bad,” he said. “My brother is Mr. White with Distilled Spirits, and I’m like Jesse Pinkman with business and a lot of military training.”
Rick said Jason is the man with “all of the recipes.”
“We both work together in this business taking care of everything, stock turnover, and all of the decisions are 50-50,” said Rick. “When it comes right down to it, we each have specific roles we take care of.”
He said the response to their venture from the community has been outstanding.
“The entire community around Waverley absolutely loves it,” Rick Ross said. ‘I don’t know how many times I have been stopped and asked when we would be opening, etc.
“To have a craft distillery in Waverley, people love it. “
Rick Ross said they’re really lucky to have the amount of space they do as many distilleries run out of space shortly after opening.
“We have a lot of room for expansion,” he said. “We have room that will become our barrelling room so we can start aging product.”
Teaghlach Ross Distillery began operation on Jan. 4. Their hours are 12-5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. For more information, check them out on Facebook by clicking on this highlighted link.
He said there’s no limit to what they envision with the facility, especially with having installed two wheelchair accessible bathrooms. That alone opens up the door.
“We have a long list of plans that we foresee this business and property evolving into,” said Rick.
Rick said there’s a huge interest already from the friend’s group of him and his brother, as well as the associations they are aligned with.
“All of that is just starting on the groundswell now,” he said. “All of the feedback we’ve had on the product has been great and it’s because of the care and expertise of Jason.
“We knew right from the start we were putting out quality spirits because of Jason,” he said.
The company has its own production facility where the labels for the Gin, rhum and vodka are put on the product.
“We do everything on site,” said Rick. “We have our own filtering system, our own bottling system, we package everything here too.
Rick said they also have a retail spot on site that is open for customers. With COVID19 protocols in place, you need to wear a mask and social distance when coming in.
Right now, they’re working to expand their product lines. One idea is hosting events is having people come to them wanting to host their weddings at the distillery, plus other events if possible.
The most important question came near the end of the interview. They were asked what it was like to start a business during a global pandemic like COVID19.
“What we did was we came up with a plan, adjusted it every day as we had to,” he said. “We had to do a lot of cleaning and spraying. Overall, the process of starting during the pandemic wasn’t that bad. We discussed what we needed to do down the road and had an oversight of the project.
“We put countless hours and overtime and sweat equity and dust masks on.”
The two are excited for the future.
“We’re looking forward to great things,” said Rick.
Teaghlach Ross Distillery, located at 28 Powder Mill Road in Waverley, is open Tuesday to Saturday from 12-5 p.m.
