Rosemont, the rum from Canada

3 June 2023 | Interviews & Meetings
Rosemont, the rum from Canada

Meeting with Lilian Wolfelsberger, co-founder of the Montreal Distillery

Apparently incredible and improbable, the story of the Montreal Distillery is above all that of the exceptional complementarity of two friends with very different backgrounds. The project took shape very early in the mind of Lilian Wolfelsberger, for whom distillation is part of a solid family tradition spanning five generations. From his early youth, in Franche-Comté, he developed his acuity by surveying the orchards of his region alongside his uncles and his grandfather, thus acquiring the founding principles of ancestral knowledge. Over the years, as the family moved, he refined his knowledge with experienced distillers who would become his mentors.

Departure for Quebec

When he settled in Quebec in the mid-1990s, he left behind his still to devote himself to university studies in political science. However, the desire to perfect the mastery of his art still animates him and is revived in contact with the natural riches of his adopted land. It was during this period that he met Stéphane Dion, then a law student and already passionate about the business world. At this time, nothing pointed to a possible professional collaboration, but over the following years, implicitly, the dream of the Montreal Distillery took shape.

A running passion

Very busy with family life and teaching at college, Lilian gathers the energy and the equipment necessary to exercise his talents. In the Eastern Townships, in the company of a friend and his wife at the time, he set up a rudimentary distillery, in which the still of his youth proudly sits. His perseverance and determination led him to obtain one of the first microdistillation permits in Quebec. Stéphane leads a brilliant career as a lawyer while accumulating success in the field of real estate. However, his sense of accomplishment remains incomplete, and in him persists the ardent desire to found his own company.

Lilian Wolfelsberger, co-founder of the Montreal Distillery
Lilian Wolfelsberger, co-founder of the Montreal Distillery
potstill
Charentais-style still, from the Montreal Distillery

A respective admiration

Year after year, the encounters between the two men consolidate their mutual admiration; Stéphane observes the abundant creativity of Lilian and the incredible potential of his fruit brandies which create a strong impression during friendly gatherings. Lilian, for his part, perceives through his friend's success an extraordinary flair and a clairvoyance allowing him to hold his own in a highly competitive environment.

The first difficulties

Disappointments and pragmatic considerations precipitated the realization of the Montreal Distillery. Lilian would probably still pursue his activities as a dabbler if he hadn't come up against various logistical, administrative and financial pitfalls which, little by little, dulled his enthusiasm. Faced with the impossibility of reconciling all his activities, he realizes the obvious: his small distillery cannot claim any form of viability without real investment. For lack of time and resources, he therefore resigns himself to closing up shop.

Friendship takes over

His greatest achievements would therefore never have materialized without a huge helping hand from fate or, more concretely, from his friend Stéphane who seized the opportunity to change the course of history. Where any reasonable investor would have gone his own way, he wants to venture, convinced of the extraordinary achievements that will result from the union of their two passions. Aware of the challenges, stimulated by the risk and strong in the experience acquired on both sides, he lets himself be guided by intuition and meets the conditions to go from dream to reality. What follows is a fairy tale. To a scalded Lilian, refractory to any form of compromise, he rolls out his red carpet: facilities perfectly adapted to the production, near his home, of state-of-the-art equipment, including the indispensable Charentais still which today makes the signature of the house, an advantageous association allowing him to devote himself to his art in complete peace of mind, incredible prospects for development and expansion... How could one refuse?

cellar at rosemont

Birth of a distillery

It is clear that the magic works. Led by this innovative and ambitious duo, the Montreal Distillery was born, modestly at first, in 2013. From its very beginnings, the small business saw big. The constant improvement of the premises and Stéphane's well-affirmed vision give all the desired space to Lilian's creative frenzy. The latter develops in no time a wide range of products that is constantly improving, seducing both consumers and the most demanding critics.

Now supported by the energy of a dynamic team and employees from diverse backgrounds, the Rosemont brand has become a reference and a guarantee of quality. And, although its alcohols win top honors in international competitions and expand its reach to the European market, the company remains resolutely Montreal, jealously preserving its human and artisanal approach.

Thus, just as much as a flourishing business, the Montreal Distillery stands out as a place of meeting and exchange that is well established in its community. In light of the prospects that are still opening up and the enthusiasm with which Stéphane and Lilian envision them, this first chapter of the story lets us foresee a joyful and prosperous future.

Lilian Wolfelsberger, thank you for giving us your time. You distill whisky, maple syrup, fruit brandies, and gin. How did you come to distill rum?

We are the first to have distilled maple syrup, but have somewhat curbed our ardor due to the exorbitant cost of the product. Faced with the need to find other fermentable bases, we turned to molasses.

This choice is a natural choice in Quebec, where the link to the latter takes on a heritage dimension. One only has to think of the mythical Faubourg with molasses, the authentic Quebec cuisine of yesteryear, in which this ingredient was always in the spotlight, the first alcohol distilled in Quebec in 1769: a rum made from molasses …

In the same spirit and with a view to working with the highest quality materials, we conducted several experiments to finally retain fantasy molasses from Colombia, green molasses from Guatemala and liquid cane sugar from Brazil, which will form the basis of Rosemont rums.

You now own three stills. Can you introduce them to us, since they each have a name? Which is used to distill rum?

The oldest is called Georges. It was made in Mutzig, Alsace, in 1936. It is a bain-marie still, originally wood-fired and converted to gas. It is mainly used for fruit brandies in small batches and for testing in general. Hector (25 hl) and Archibald (5 hl), both Charentais stills from the Chalvignac house, are used in the making of rums. Hector is equipped with a column of six trays, a feature that is quite rare in Quebec.

What is the place of rum today in Quebec and more widely in Canada. Is there a large community of amateurs?

LThe popularity of rum is currently on the rise in Quebec. While the market for this product remains more limited than that of gin, for example, it is characterized by the abundance of increasingly discerning connoisseurs and true connoisseurs. This enthusiasm is expressed, among other things, by the Québec Rhum showcase, a very active and visible community on social networks.

potstill of rosemon

Canada being a large country with very diverse horizons, where each province is distinguished by a plural identity and values, it is difficult for us to measure the importance of rum there, especially since we concentrate the distribution of our products in Quebec and Europe for the moment.

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Interview by

Matthieu Lange
Matthieu Lange
Conseiller en spiritueux