An out-of-the-way corner of the Fairmont Château Laurier that used to house a pop-up Christmas bar is now where you’ll find a new pub with a timeless style — and a selection of homegrown, private-label spirits by Dunrobin Distilleries.
Inspired by the success of the holiday-themed Elf Pub in recent years, Geneviève Dumas, general manager of the landmark hotel, wanted to create something permanent and year-round reflecting the unique history of the 113-year-old castle, a designated national historic site in the heart of Canada’s capital.
The pub 1912 was born, its name taken from the year the hotel opened, which was just a few years before Prohibition. In a salute to the clandestine bars of that era, the new room is described as a speakeasy.
“We created something that people loved with the Elf Pub,” Dumas said, “but there are a lot of Christmas pop-ups now, which is amazing, but at some point we wanted to go back to the roots of the Château Laurier. It’s not as Christmassy, but it’s more authentic to the real spirit of Christmas back in 1912.”
The new space is cozy and windowless, a stone fireplace set off by exposed brick, chocolate walls and leather furniture. On the walls is an array of framed photographs, paintings, newspaper articles and artifacts, including silver tea sets, brass candlesticks, hardcover books and uniforms once worn by hotel staff.
To add to the historic charm, the bar serves drinks named after some of the characters of the era, including whiskey named after former prime minister Sir Wilfred Laurier, gin named after his wife, Lady Zoe, and a vodka named after the woman presumed to be Laurier’s mistress, Emilie.
The December cocktail menu, for example, features Lady Zoe’s Mistletoe Martini, Emilie’s Sleigh Ride Espresso Martini and a twist on a classic with Sir Wilfrid’s Old Fashioned Noel.
Other offerings at the bar include the Lion’s Roar whiskey, Dunrobin’s pear-wood finished whiskey, and two Seven Seals products, a peated double-wood finished whiskey, and one finished with amarone-infused wood.
The 1912 family of private-label spirits is the result of a partnership between the Château and an Ottawa-area maker of artisanal alcohol, Dunrobin Distilleries. When the hotel’s request came in, it sounded too good to turn down, Dunrobin founder and president Adrian Spitzer said.
“Absolutely we wanted to be part of this,” Spitzer said. “We put our team together and thought it through and just kept developing these (products and their) stories. The imaginations of everyone ran wild so quickly. It was a lot of fun.”
But he also said it wouldn’t have been possible without a new whiskey-making technique called the Stockhausen method, invented in Switzerland by Dolf Stockhausen, head of Seven Seals whiskey and a chemical engineer who didn’t want to wait 30 years for a decent single malt. Devised less than a decade ago, it’s also known as the Fast Forward Finishing process.
According to Spitzer, the technique not only delivers the flavour profile of a traditionally aged whiskey in a fraction of the time, but it’s also more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
“When I saw the innovation myself, I had to be part of it,” he said. “I was like, ‘This is the future of whiskey right here.’ It’s beautiful stuff. It allows us to make exquisite, high-end whiskies at an affordable price.”
Founded in 2016 and incorporated in 2018, Dunrobin Distilleries originated on an organic farm with a lab in Dunrobin, where the plan was to grow botanicals and develop recipes. There was a quick pivot to hand sanitizer in 2020, which prompted the company to move to a bigger facility in Vankleek Hill, its current home.
When the demand for hand sanitizer evaporated, Dunrobin went back to spirits. Although whiskey is a passion for Spitzer, he knew they needed to have gin and vodka, too.
“I’m a whiskey drinker. I want to make world-class whiskies,” he said. “But, if you want to make really good whiskey, you’d better get into making vodka and gin because you need the cash flow to turn over while your whiskey waits in a barrel.”
Another local spot to get a taste of Dunrobin’s wares is the Rideau Canal skateway. The company set up the first bar on the canal in the winter of 2022 and promptly lost money because the trucker convoy deterred people from heading downtown. By 2024, however, there were two locations and it was a big hit with skaters. They’ll be back on the ice for the 2025-26 season.
Meanwhile, 1912 is open from 5 to 11 p.m. Thursday to Saturday.
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