For today’s episode of the Let’s Meet For a Beer Podcast, I met up with Faye Warrington and Marty Lastiwka, Co-Founders of Skunkworks Distillery in Calgary, Alberta. We discuss the wild adventure of opening a distillery right before a global pandemic, the lessons they have learned, and their vision for the future.
Where does the name come from? Faye and Marty are energy industry workers – Faye is a geologist and Marty is an engineer, thus the science and technology theme to their brand. “Skunkworks” is the name of Lockheed Martin’s advanced engineering group, where top secret, high-tech ideas are born and realized. Skunkworks Distillery is Faye and Marty’s Skunkworks project.
The distillery is located in the Barley Belt District in Calgary and focuses on distilling moonshine. As Marty explains, “Our product is first class but simple, and our branding is fun. This combines to make something unique but approachable for everyone.”
COVID-19 has presented many challenges for the team at Skunkworks. Being forced to close their tasting room for most of 2020 made it difficult to connect with consumers directly to share their stories. Their hope is that 2021 will be the year to share their passion with consumers, finally, attend The Calgary International Beerfest as vendors (their words not mine), and make the term “skunks n soda” a part of our culture!
“Do it well, have fun, be nice” is their company motto. It was great to connect with them and share their story. I hope you enjoy.
