Harry Hatch
Harry Clifford Hatch
Born on April 12, 1884, in Ameliasburgh, Ontario and raised in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Harry Hatch helped his father run a local hotel as a young man but it was his purchase of a Whitby, Ontario liquor store in 1911 that launched his empire. Hatch sold it two years later for almost six times what he paid for it. 1916 saw the beginning of prohibition in the Toronto area and Hatch would head off financial disaster by creating a mail order business through Montreal that would allow his Toronto customers to directly purchase his products and have it sent to their homes which was allowed under law. Hatch later expanded his operations and by 1921, his export business to the US and his affiliation with Corby Distillery allowed him to grow his business from 500 gallons to 50,000 gallons of spirit to the American market allowing him enough wealth to be in the right spot to purchase one of Canada’s oldest distilleries.
In 1923, Hatch purchased Gooderham & Worts, the renowned distillery behind Canadian Club whiskey. He built the largest rickhouse on the site able to hold 40 000 barrels, seven stories high! This marked the beginning of Hatch’s significant influence in the Canadian whiskey market. This consolidation allowed Hatch to capitalize on the Prohibition era (1920-1933) in the United States, as Canadian distilleries legally supplied spirits to the U.S. market through export from Montreal.
He convinced the Canadian government to allow him to export his whiskey before the two-year age limit that was required by law. His company prospered further leading to the purchase and controlling interest in Corby Distillery in 1935. In 1936, Hatch acquired a distillery in Glasgow, Scotland called George Ballantine & Son. He became well known for marketing Canadian Club Whiskey and Ballantine’s scotch.
With Hatch’s newfound wealth his interests now extended beyond the beverage industry. In 1927, he purchased J.K.L. Ross’s stable in Agincourt, Ontario, marking his entry into thoroughbred horse racing. He became one of Canada’s dominant owners and breeders during the 1930s and 1940s, owning and breeding five King’s Plate winners: Monsweep, Goldlure, Budpath, Acara, and Uttermost. His contributions to the sport were recognized posthumously with his induction into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2000.
Harry Hatch passed away on May 8, 1946, in Toronto, Ontario. He was buried in Deseronto, Ontario, the town where he attended school and first worked in his father’s hotel. His son, Clifford Hatch, succeeded him in the distilling business, ensuring the continuation of the family’s influence in the industry.
