Dr. Don Livermore

Dr. Don Livermore was born in Fordwich, Ontario, in November 1973. He is the Master Blender of Hiram Walker & Sons Limited in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He is responsible for some of Canada’s award-winning whiskies, such as JP Wiser’s, Lot 40, and Pike Creek.

After graduating in 1996 from the University of Waterloo with a degree in microbiology, Don started his career at the distillery as a lab technician. At that time, Don pioneered the development of NIR (Near-Infrared) spectroscopy for fermentation analysis. The process transformed how the distilling industry monitored fermentations. Unsurprisingly, Don has spoken around the world on this topic, which has led to the affectionate nickname "The Whisky Doc".

“I really didn’t discover whisky until I went to university. I had taken many courses in my undergraduate studies on fermentation sciences, but understanding the mechanism of yeast fermentation was probably my first introduction to whisky,” admitted Livermore, surprisingly.

His deep passion for whiskey has now led the Blender to further his education by obtaining an MSc as well as a PhD, the second in Brewing and Distilling at the esteemed Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. There, he focused on how wood interacts with whiskey. “A microbiology degree got me in the door to Hiram Walker,” explains Livermore, “but several jobs within the company, plus taking advantage of our educational policy to work on an MSc and PhD in Brewing and Distilling, led me to the role of Master Blender.”

In 2012, he became the Master Blender of Hiram Walker Distillery, and in 2019 and in 2020, he won the Canadian Whisky Master Blender of the Year at the Canadian Whisky Awards and in 2025, Don won the Master Blender/Distillery of the Year (Rest of World) at the World Whiskey Awards.

As a Master Blender, Don states that the process involves three key aspects: R&D and innovation, ensuring the day-to-day quality of the whiskies, and public relations, but not necessarily in that order. Says Livermore, “I had a boss once describe (blending) as being a connector, where the Blender connects all aspects of whisky production to get to the result of the liquid in the bottle in the end.”

Don is a sought-after speaker on Canadian Whisky as he brings together all facets of distillery operations and maturation processes, and how flavors are developed in whiskey. Always an educator and industry expert, Don has published two books: The Canadian Whiskey Master Class Volume 1 – The Keeper of History and The Canadian Whiskey Master Class Volume 2 - Blending 101.

One of Don’s greatest accomplishments was the creation of the Canadian Whiskey Flavour Wheel© , which he released in 2017. By using the wheel, even the layman can now see what yeast adds (fruity, floral, soapy, sulphur), what wood contributes (cask notes, ‘finish’ notes), and what each grain type can give. The outermost ring is a breakdown of which chemical compound each of these is made from. Professionally, Don uses the flavor wheel to make graphic fingerprints of each of his new makes or blends.

Regarding how the composition and former contents of the barrel itself affect the ultimate flavor of the product, Don explains that in his PhD studies, he discovered that virgin oak barrels will give 4 to 5 times the amount of vanilla, caramel, and toffee notes than a once-used American bourbon barrel. In fact, in 60 days of aging in new wood will get more vanilla, caramel, and toffee notes than from 18 years of aging in a used barrel. He, therefore, believes that the characteristic of the barrel is more important than aging. “Sometimes people do not like such a wood-forward whiskey, but a grain-forward whiskey; so in Canada, we use our barrels over and over again”.

Known for his commitment to quality, care, detail, and craftsmanship in his work, Don has become the consummate Canadian whiskey blender, educator, inventor, scholar, and scientist.

“All these differences are very cool to play with,” concludes Don, “and the Canadian whiskey category allows for creativity. I often say my job is the guy right before the bartender.”

Contributed by Brad Rodo, Redmond, Washington