Patent 5 Distillery has been making waves in the spirits world since opening its doors in 2018. A homegrown Manitoba company, Patent 5 is an estate-grown distillery — meaning all of the grain that goes into their spirits is grown, mashed, distilled, and bottled right here in Manitoba. Few distilleries in the world can boast this sort of vertically integrated production, and this attention to detail and commitment to local production make Patent 5 stand apart in Manitoba and beyond.
Co-owner Brock Coutts didn’t always plan to start an award-winning distillery. Before Patent 5, he had a career working at a local IT company, Online Business Systems, located right here in the Exchange. He travelled frequently in this role, seeking out locally made products wherever he landed. A trip to Boston and a fateful visit to a distillery opened his eyes to craft spirits and changed everything. “I had seen lots of breweries at the time, but I’d never been to a distillery. I was totally blown away with the fact that they were making their own whiskey, vodka and gin in this beautiful space with copper equipment everywhere,” he shares. Inspired, Brock went home and dove headfirst into researching craft distilleries. Night after night, year after year, he wrote business plans, learned the craft, and slowly pieced together what would become Patent 5. After 6 years of preparation (and plenty of assumptions that didn’t pan out along the way), he and his partners finally bought the equipment, secured the space, and set out to create something special.
Patent 5 is aptly named after a storied piece of Canadian history. While digging into Canadian whisky lore, Brock discovered that the fifth patent ever issued in the Dominion of Canada – granted in 1869 to a Scottish distiller named James Wilson – was for a column still used in whisky production. That nod to history felt like the perfect fit, and today, you can find a copy of the handwritten application for the whisky still displayed in the Patent 5 taproom.
That sense of history doesn’t stop at the name. The building that Patent 5 calls home was originally constructed in 1904 for the delivery company Dominion Express Ltd. At the time, the upper floors stabled horses, while wagons and sleds filled the main floor. When Brock and the team first came across the faded ‘For Rent’ sign in the window, they knew they’d found the right space to bring their vision to life. Every detail of Patent 5 was meticulously sourced, like heritage elements from the former St. Regis Hotel incorporated into the cocktail room, or the glass rectification column that gives visitors a rare view into the distilling process.
This attention to detail is reflected in their process for producing spirits that are both high quality and hyperlocal. Patent 5 is owned and operated by Manitobans. Each grain is sourced from a local farm and grown by one of their partners specifically for distilling. Everything from milling to bottling happens in Manitoba, keeping jobs, tax dollars, and expertise in the province. “If you don’t support local, there won’t be a distillery here,” Brock says simply. “Our goal has always been to create a product so exceptional that people want to support it.”
And support it, people do. Patent 5’s lineup of vodka, gin, rum, whisky, and liqueurs has earned gold medals across the board, with their rum even taking home platinum at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Alongside the locally-grown ingredients, it’s the patience and belief in slow distillation that sets them apart. Their gin, for example, took more than 50 recipe trials (and a full calendar year) before the team landed on the perfect botanical mix. Their Vodka is distilled slowly over a 16-hour day, then proofed drop by drop over five weeks. “Most distilleries in the world have eight-hour days, but we have a split shift so that we can make the vodka slow enough to get the best vodka,” Brock shares. Even their ready-to-drink cocktails, like the Sour Cherry Gin Fizz, are made with real ingredients instead of flavourings.
In the tasting room, that craftsmanship shines through in world-class cocktails. “When we started, we had two full-time bartenders before we even had a final product,” Brock explains. “We wanted our spirits to stand up in a cocktail, so we worked hard to make sure they were premium from the start.” Patent 5 cocktails are best enjoyed in their cozy, heritage-filled space, where seasonal menus highlight inventive mixology. Try their latest menu launch, inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, which features drinks that are playful, complex, and a little unexpected.
“Our goal has always been to create a product so exceptional that people want to support it.”
If you prefer more hands-on experiences with your spirits, the distillery also hosts popular classes led by award-winning bartender Leo, who took top spot at the Winnipeg Cocktail Competition last year. If production is more your thing, then book a tour to get an up-close look at the distilling process. As Brock says, “Ninety percent of the people who buy our spirits have no idea where they’re made or what’s in them. When they come here for a tour, they’re amazed to see it all happening in downtown Winnipeg.”
Seven years in, Patent 5 has grown into a Manitoba institution and a cornerstone of the cocktail scene. It’s a living production facility, a historic landmark, and a gathering space that offers a taste of Winnipeg’s unique character. The next time you’re heading to a show or wandering through the Exchange, make sure you step inside Patent 5. Between the history, the craft, and the creativity, you’ll find a distillery where local spirit truly shines.
📍108 Alexander Ave
Website: patent5.ca
Instagram: @patent5distillery