BIZTALKS SASK Podcast Joel Pinel

Today Joel traveled to Lumsden Saskatchewan to talk with Colin and Meredith Schmidt, the owners and operators of Last Mountain Distillery. They talk about the ups and downs of businesses, how to build a great team and their story of how they got started.

Colin & Meredith began their journey on starting Saskatchewan’s first micro distillery in August of 2010. After searching for a unique Saskatchewan spirit and finding none, creating a micro distillery in Saskatchewan seemed like an obvious business choice for the heart of the prairies.

Colin Schmidt was raised in Regina, SK and attended Colorado College on a hockey scholarship and was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers. After a short hockey career Colin met Meredith while living in the US and they decided to return to Saskatchewan in 2008.

Although Colin and Meredith’s professional backgrounds were in banking and finance, they had been hobby craftsmen since they returned to live in Saskatchewan in 2008. After receiving encouragement and advice from one of Colin’s friends who had successfully opened one of the first micro distilleries in the United States, they were inspired to start Saskatchewan’s first micro distillery out of their home garage. After only a year and a half in business, Last Mountain Distillery expanded and opened its current location on Highway 20 in Lumsden, SK.