A bush party in South Texas is where Steve first saw a whisky still drip. It was a homemade still -nothing more than a pressure cooker modified with a copper coil submerged in a bucket of ice. As it began to drip, it quickly became the centre of the party. Nobody cared about the Miller Hi-life they were drinking, they wanted a taste of the ‘clear stuff’. Steve was inspired. After this pivotal experience, he returned each week to that small farm house in the middle of the Texas bush to build stills, and to learn the fundamentals of distilling spirits. Next, Steve relocated to Ontario to attend the University of Waterloo, after graduation, he headed to the westcoast to become an actor.

Like most aspiring actors, a second job is a must.  Steve became a bartender, and developed his affinity for classic cocktails. Inspired to dive into distillation full-time, he began building stills, testing spirits, reading literature, attending whisky workshops and even drove across the US, visiting 30 distilleries in 8 days. These days, Steve is the owner and distiller of Mainland Whisky in South Surrey, BC. He uses organic BC corn and malted barley to produce a mellow and sweet whisky reminiscent of his days in south Texas. All manufacturing is done on site, from mashing, fermentation, distillation and bottling/barrelling.