The Barrel Yards is located on the former site of Canada Barrels andKegs (Canbar). Canbar first opened its doors in 1872, producing the barrelsused to age the Seagram Distillery’s famous whiskey. Barrel-making, orcooperage, is an art form that requires the craftsmanship of highly trainedcoopers to create perfect barrels that age premium whiskey. Cooperingwas an apprenticed trade requiring many years of training and practiceand was a very well-paid, respected livelihood.
Located in the historic area of Waterloo, Ontario, that once milled Onyx Premium Flour at the Joseph Seagram Flour Mill and Distillery, the Onyx' name is derived from the premium brand of flour the mill produced, paying tribute to part of Waterloo's rich history. It all started 1857 when William Hespeler and George Randall opened Granite Mills and Waterloo Distillery on the corner of Erb and Caroline streets, fed by water from nearby Laurel Creek. The mill's function was to supply flour to the area, but as a subsidiary to the main business, the Waterloo Distillery produced whiskey as a way to deal with the mill's excess grain. In 1883 Joseph Seagram bought the mill and renamed it the Joseph Seagram Flour Mill and Distillery Company. Though Seagram continued to produce flour from the mill, under his stewardship the distillery began to take more prominence. After achieving success and worldwide recognition for the quality of his whiskey, Joseph Seagram closed the flour mill and its adjoining dry goods store to focus exclusively on the distillery.
The heart of a mill was dominated by its grinding stones, which were used in pairs. The bedstone, or bottom stone was fixed in position, while the runner stone or top stone moved and created the grinding motion used to grind wheat into flour. Grain was poured from a hopper into the eye of the mill where it was pushed out through centrifugal force under the stones and ground into flour. The flour then escaped through a chute that led to a wooden bin on the floor below, where it was sifted and separated into grades through a process called bolting.
A miller is a person who operates a mill and is among the oldest of human professions. The grinding of food allowed for easier digestion of the nutrients and prevented the teeth from wearing down, making the role of the miller key to the health of a population.
