Hiram Walker & Sons Peoria

The Hiram Walker & Sons distillery in Peoria, Illinois was built by the Canadian distillers in 1933 as it sought to capitalise on the vacuum created in the American whiskey market by the repeal of Prohibition. Its location was selected due to both its relative proximity to the Canadian border (compared to states like Kentucky or Tennessee) and the Peoria area's plentiful supply of water and corn.

At one point in the time the distillery was the largest in the world, producing over 8 million cases per year of brands such as Ten High and Walker's Deluxe. Hiram Walker & Sons opted to begin divesting from American whiskey during the 1970s however, eventually closing their distillery at Peoria in 1981 and selling it to Archer Daniels Midland the following year.