Georgian Bay Spirit Co.

Georgian Bay Spirit Co began with longtime friends Denzil Wadds and Tim Keenleyside, who imagined a gin while riding a chairlift above Georgian Bay at Osler Bluffs. Without formal drinks-industry training, they spent a year learning the process and worked through 48 recipes in Wadds’s kitchen before settling on their first release. Vodka followed, and Gin Smash introduced the company to ready-to-drink cocktails in 2016.

Both founders had longstanding ties to Georgian Bay, including cottage land where wild juniper grows. The company’s 8,200-square-foot Collingwood facility handles distilling, production and bottling.