JP Wiser Legend or Myth ?

Saturday, October 4, 2025, marks JP Wiser’s 200th birthday, so, on September 28, I perused his Wikipedia pages and holy crow, they can be misleading. True, the historical record changes each time new information is unearthed, and sometimes it is diffcult to keep up, but this is part of our country’s history, Wikipedia; please don’t mess with it. And if anyone has evidence to add to or override what is said here, it would be gratefully received.

Since JP Wiser’s birthday is just around the corner, I expect lots of Canadian whisky fans will be checking Wikipedia before they post something. So, in the spirit of killing myths with facts, let’s correct some false and misleading statements. Why not correct them on Wikipedia itself? My past experience contributing to Wikipedia is that others can and do come along and replace long-researched work with their own pet theories. So, I choose not to waste time on Wikipedia.

There are two Wikipedia articles, one titled John Philip Wiser, and a second, J.P. Wiser's Whisky

Here are some of the details they bungled:

Truth: JP Wiser went to prescott as a co-owner, not his uncle’s employee

Wikipedia Myth: Wiser was an employee after his uncle bought Charles Payne’s distillery in Prescott.

Reality: Wiser was a partner in Averell and Egerts’ business, which bought Payne’s distillery, making Wiser a co-owner of the Prescott distillery right from the start.

On September 29, 2025, the “John Philip Wiser” article stated:

“Wiser moved to Prescott, Ontario in 1857 to work for his maternal uncle, Charles Egert, who owned the local Charles Payne Distillery and Farm with business partner Amos Averell.”

This is incorrect and misleading.

JP Wiser did not move to Prescott to work for his uncle. Rather, two of his mother’s relatives, Charles Egert and Amos Egert (not Averell), who had formerly employed him, had taken him on as a business partner, and together they entered into a partnership with James Averell in his distillery in Ogdensburg, New York. It appears the new partnership operated under the name “James Averell Distillery.”

In 1853, the four, as business partners in James Averell Distillery, bought Charles Payne’s distillery, just across the St. Lawrence River from Ogdensburg, in Prescott, Ontario, and renamed it “Egert and Averell Distillery.” Wiser moved from Ogdensburg to Prescott to manage the newly acquired second distillery. Charles Payne stayed on for 4 years and so, effectively, he worked for Wiser. In 1862, Wiser bought his partners’ shares to become sole owner of the Prescott distillery. He appears to have ended his partnership with them, and from then on he operated independently.

Early pictures of Payne’s distillery show cattle on site so Payne likely ran a feedlot, but no record has surfaced yet that he had a farm, or that Egert and Averell purchased a farm from him. Wiser later bought 25 acres nearby to establish a livestock farm.

Truth: JP Wiser did not create Wiser’s Red Letter Rye

Wikipedia Myth: Red Letter was available during the Civil War (1861-65).

Reality: Wiser never heard of Red Letter. It was created and introduced by Corby long after Wiser was dead.

On September 29, 2025, the “John Philip Wiser” article continued:

“By the time of the American Civil War, Wiser's Red Letter Rye was sold in Canada.”

This is incorrect.

Government records show that Wiser’s Red Letter Rye was first registered in 1926, 14 years after Wiser’s death, and was distilled by Consolidated Distilleries in their Distillery No. 1, i.e. Corby distillery in Corbyville, 115 kilometers distance from Prescott, as the crow flies.

Truth: Wiser was not THE first to bottle whisky

Wikipedia Myth: 1893 was the first time whisky was sold in bottles.

Reality: For Wiser, maybe yes, but other distillers were already using bottles.

On September 29, 2025, the “John Philip Wiser” article stated:

“Wiser introduced whisky in bottles at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Prior to this time, whisky was only sold in casks or barrels.”

This is misleading.

Perhaps the Chicago World’s Fair, was the first time Wiser sold whisky in bottles, but other Canadian distillers, such as Hiram Walker, were already using them.

Truth: Wiser’s Sons owned the distillery; It was destroyed in 1912 and never made whisky again; Corby bought the land in 1920

Wikipedia Myth: Albert Whitney took ownership after JP Wiser died and the distillery was merged with Corby Distilleries.

Reality: Wiser’s sons inherited the distillery. It was destroyed in 1912 and never made whisky again; Corby bought the land in 1920.

When I checked on September 29, 2025, the “J.P. Wiser's Whisky” article on Wikipedia claimed:

“When Wiser died in 1911, Albert Whitney, a treasurer who had worked at the distillery for more than 50 years, took over ownership of the company.”

and, Wikipedia’s “John Philip Wiser” article of the same date stated that:

“After Wiser's death, the distillery in Prescott was merged with Corby Distilleries.”

The first statement is false, the second misleading.

First: Albert Whitney managed the distillery for most of the time Wiser was there, but there is no known record of him working there after 1906. Coincidently, that was the same year, 1906, that JP Wiser himself, for the first time, obtained a distilling license.

After JP Wiser’s death in 1911, ownership of the distillery went to his two surviving sons, the somewhat disinterested Eugene (called Frank) and Isaac who were already officers of the company.

Second: The distillery burned to the ground in 1912, and it was never rebuilt. Instead, Wiser’s sons sold off any spirits they could save from the fire. They did not sell the charred remains of the distillery to Corby Distillery until 1920, and Corby build an industrial alcohol plant, called Distillery No. 2, on the site. Corby’s renamed its company Consolidated Distilleries, with Distillery No. 1 being the Corby Distillery in Corbyville. After the fire of 1912 no beverage alcohol was ever again distilled at the Wiser’s site.