ADC 2025 will feature two main program tracks — More details and seminars will be added as they are confirmed

Barrel Maturation Strategies: Balancing Quality, Finances and Sustainability

In this seminar, Denver distiller Todd Leopold will give the audience a privileged look behind the scenes and the hows and whys of the principles behind the Leopold Bros. maturation program for its award-winning whiskies. Leopold will recount how he designed buildings and systems that take into account Colorado's low-humidity environment, and how to maximize operational efficiencies while considering long-term sustainability.

Clear Strategies: Understanding Consumer Preferences and Trends for Vodka and Gin

This seminar is tailored for distillery owners focusing on the ever-evolving market trends and insights for vodka and gin. A comprehensive session will delve into Canadian data and consumer preferences shaping the clear spirits market, helping you tailor your offerings to this market. Learn how to appeal to discerning consumers by positioning your clear spirits in the premium market; to craft compelling messages that make your brand stand out and resonate with your target audience; why effective pricing tactics ensure your products are both competitive and profitable; and which trending cocktails can create signature serves to enhance the consumer experience. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain a “clear” advantage and boost your market presence.

Countering Neo-Prohibition Speak

In this presentation, Brock University professor and medical historian Dan Malleck puts current anti-alcohol agitation into context, to help participants understand the limits of current research into beverage alcohol consumption. His seminar will provide some tools for distillers to explain to customers, policy makers and the general public how the research into health and social effects of alcohol consumption is skewed and limited, and why researchers are doubling down on presenting alcohol as exclusively a problem that needs to be managed.

From Still to Shelves: Getting Spirits to Market

The technical and artistic finesse of distilling draws many to the industry, yet its success at getting your product in market, on shelves and in front of consumers that largely drives success. In this panel discussion, retailers, distillers and industry experts will offer their experiences and best practices for distribution, marketing and sales.

Funding Options for Distilleries

From crowdfunding to co-ops and credit unions, and from boot-strapping to private equity, there are financing models from traditional to alternative for new, existing and expanding distilleries to consider. This discussion engages distillers with earned experience in creatively funding their operations in the most challenging of industry eras.

Shots, Splashes, and Dashes: A Professor's Guide to Cocktails and Ready-To-Drink Beverages

It’s one thing for a mixologist to shake and stir up a delicious craft cocktail and slide it across the bar. But it’s quite another process to make professional craft cocktails at scale — whether they are chilled or freezer batches for service in a small tasting room, or full industrial-scale recipes for canning, bottling or kegging. Niagara College distilling professor and brewer/distiller W. Kyle Smith leads this deep-dive seminar into creating distinctive and successful bespoke cocktail. It examines the principles of balancing flavours and creating texture, along with how to select ingredients to ensure long shelf and service life and considerations for equipment required, including various gases.

Simple Tasting Experiments to Extract Robust Data

At small distilleries, personal opinions, individual abilities and "cellar blindness" can creep into any sensory assessment. Understanding sensory testing protocols harnesses a wider range of evalutors to help improve your spirits. Even adding small, incremental controls to an existing sensory analysis process can help reduce personal bias increase consistency. Learn how to harness your team's skills and experience to modify ingredients or processes to create spirit that match the sensory preferences of your consumers.

Sustainability for Small and Medium-sized Businesses

Addressing a rapidly changing and growing consumer, employee and government sustainability expectations can provide countless opportunities for businesses, including distilleries. Unfortunately, some of these stakeholder expectations can also pose obligations and risks. Jacqueline Gorman from Trace Associates explains how embedding sustainability throughout your business can more fully take advantage of opportunities and ameliorate sustainability risk. Bespoke research from Trace Associates reveals the latest on sustainability concerns in the western Canadian market, and their implications for your business. Topics covered will include the evolution of sustainability program development, reporting, ratings, and certifications; plus how to assess the return on investment of sustainability projects for small and medium-sized businesses. Learn how small business agility, creativity, and tenacity can move the dial on sustainability.