In 2009, Tony Messer noticed juniper bushes growing on his family property. It was then that he started creating small-batch gin recipes. And now, with a lot of hard work, his long-time dream of producing a spirit to please the palate is here: The Gnu Normal London Dry Gin.
Gnu Craft Spirits was born in 2020. It was definitely a year like no other. That’s when the three founders—Tony, his wife Dawn, and friend Darren Scott—decided it was time to do something different, and positive, and make a splash in the craft spirits market—with a fun brand, and high-quality products.
Gnu’s small-batch spirits are hand-made, using only the finest Western Canadian grains, sourced from farms across Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the purest Rocky Mountain water.
The company’s brand and vision are rooted in community and togetherness. The founders hope to use the company and its products to help everyone reconnect and to turn pandemic stories into positive spirits—which they seem to have done already…
“We had heard stories and experienced how supportive the local craft spirits and beer scene is, but we had no idea just how true that was. It really is a family that supports one another and understands that we’re all stronger together.”
Lawnch was also able to support the Gnu team by helping them incorporate—a very exciting step for this fun new business.
“We thought we could save some time and money by doing our own incorporation but using Lawnch did that and more. We ended up with a much better set of incorporation documents and a professional minute book to keep it all together. We are totally set up for the future now and the structure of our company is rock solid which allowed us to get the necessary approvals from the regulatory bodies to get our gin into the liquor stores. I highly recommend using Lawnch if you are thinking of starting your own business.”
So what’s next for Gnu?
The company plans to produce other spirits, and also introduce craft whiskeys, and bourbon-style spirits that need to barrel age for at least three years.
Plus, watch for a soon-to-be-opened tasting room, including a storefront next year.
Swipe to learn more about Gnu! Check out @GnuCraftSpirits or visit GnuCraftSpirits.com for more info.
𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙧 #𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨!
We’ve met some amazing entrepreneurs over the years — and we think you should know them too! Each month we’ll be featuring one of the many inspiring Alberta entrepreneurs we’ve helped #lawnch their business.
