WILD LIFE DISTILLERY INC.

What WILD LIFE DISTILLERY INC. does

Wild Life Distillery Inc. (WLD) is a privately held, Alberta-incorporated craft distillery founded in January 2017 and headquartered in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Co-founded by Keith Robinson and Matt Widmer, the company produces small-batch premium spirits using locally sourced Alberta prairie grains (spring wheat, malted barley, rye) and Rocky Mountain water, distilled on 500L Alembic Copper Pot Stills. The portfolio spans vodka, multiple gin expressions (including the color-changing Rundle Gin infused with butterfly pea flower), amaro, and an expanding whisky program anchored by Wheat Whisky (first released November 2022), Rye Whisky, Sherry Cask Single Malt, Peated Single Malt, and the King of the North peated maple rye expression. Adjacent product lines include canned RTD cocktails, cocktail bitters and syrups, gift boxes, branded apparel, and bar tools.

The business operates a hybrid go-to-market model: direct-to-consumer revenue flows through a Shopify e-commerce storefront (wildlifedistillery.ca) shipping across Canada and a Canmore tasting room/cocktail bar (WLD Hour daily 5-7pm, distillery tours at $29/person), while wholesale revenue is generated through a network of 50+ Alberta liquor retailers managed by four regional sales account managers across Bow Valley, Calgary, and Edmonton. Production takes place in a 6,000 sq ft facility (moved into in 2023, expanding capacity 8-10x from the original 900 sq ft site) at 10-104 Boulder Crescent, Canmore. Pricing is unit-based across all SKUs, ranging from $9 entry-level gins and vodkas to $179 cask-strength whisky, with gift cards in $25-$200 denominations and no subscription model disclosed. Distribution is currently Canada-only, with international markets explicitly outside the operating perimeter.

Wild Life Distillery is bootstrapped, with no disclosed external institutional investment, no parent company, and no subsidiaries. The team is led by the two co-founders alongside Head Distiller Mark Vanderwal (6+ years tenure), four named regional sales managers, and tasting room staff. The company has built sustained third-party validation through repeated Gold Medal and Best-in-Class awards at the Canadian Whisky Awards (2024, 2025, 2026), Alberta Beverage Awards (2020-2025), and Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition (2024, 2026), alongside press coverage in National Post, Forbes, Culinaire Magazine, and WestJet Magazine.

Name

WILD LIFE DISTILLERY INC.

Legal name

Wild Life Distillery Inc.

Website

https://wildlifedistillery.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wild Life Distillery is a privately held craft distillery in Canmore, Alberta, producing small-batch vodka, gin, amaro, whisky, canned cocktails, and bitters from locally sourced Alberta grains and Rocky Mountain water, sold direct-to-consumer via Shopify and a Canmore tasting room and wholesale through 50+ Alberta liquor retailers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Distilled Spirits

NAICS

Distilleries (312140), Beverage Manufacturing (3121), Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (42482)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Spirits Distilling & Brands (CRADAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Spirits/Cocktail Bars Operated by Producers (THAFALAJ), Spirits Distillery Tours & Tastings (Whiskey, Rum, Gin, Vodka) (THAJAGAF)

Keywords

• Craft distillery spirits
• Small batch whisky
• Alberta craft spirits
• Ready-to-drink cocktails
• Grain-to-glass distilling

Headquarters

HQ city

Canmore

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Spirits Sales (D2C): The company sells its full product lineup (spirits, canned cocktails, bitters, syrups, gift boxes, apparel, bar tools) directly to consumers through its Shopify e-commerce storefront and at the Canmore tasting room. This is the primary revenue stream for the craft distillery.
2. On-site Tasting Room & Cocktail Bar: The tasting room generates revenue through retail bottle sales and craft cocktail service. Open daily with WLD Hour specials ($9 cocktails, $5 canned cocktails). Offers private events, group reservations, and cocktail classes. Revenue from distillery tours ($29/person) including tasting, nosing glass, and canned cocktail.
3. Wholesale to Retailers: Wholesale distribution of spirits and canned cocktails to a broad network of Alberta liquor retailers including Banff, Canmore, Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Jasper, Lake Louise, and surrounding areas. Managed by dedicated regional sales account managers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Wild Life Distillery produces and sells small-batch craft spirits (vodka, gin, amaro, aged whiskies), ready-to-drink canned cocktails, craft cocktail bitters and syrups, gift boxes, merchandise, and bar tools. The company operates its own Shopify e-commerce storefront shipping across Canada, a tasting room and cocktail bar in Canmore, Alberta, and distributes wholesale through a 50+ retailer network across Alberta. It also offers distillery tours, private events, and cocktail classes at its 6,000 sq ft Canmore production facility.

Product overview

Wild Life Distillery (WLD) is an Alberta craft distillery based in Canmore producing premium spirits made from Rocky Mountain water and Alberta prairie grains. The product portfolio includes: core spirits (Vodka, Classic Gin, Barrel-Aged Gin, White Grapefruit Gin, Rundle Gin, Blackberry Gin, Rhubarb Gin, Alberta Botanical Gin, Wildcat Amaro); aged whiskies (Wheat Whisky, Rye Whisky, Sherry Cask Single Malt Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Peated Single Malt Whisky, King Of The North Peated Maple Rye Whisky); ready-to-drink canned cocktails (Wild Mule, Thirsty Cougar Gin Margarita, Problem Bear Rhubarb Spritz, Silent Flight non-alcoholic options); cocktail ingredients (bitters collection, syrups collection); merchandise (apparel, bar tools, glassware); gift products (gift boxes, gift cards); and experiences (distillery tours, tasting room & cocktail bar). The company operates its production facility and offers online ordering with shipping across Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wild Life Vodka Premium vodka made from 100% Alberta spring wheat with Rocky Mountain water, featuring vanilla notes on the nose and a clean, soft palate with subtle chocolate, coffee, and malted barley finishing notes. Awarded Best In Class at the 2026 Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition and 2025 Alberta Beverage Awards.
• Wild Life Classic Gin Balanced gin with juniper and citrus notes, distilled from Alberta spring wheat and malted barley with Rocky Mountain water. Overproof at 43.3% alc./vol. featuring juniper, lemon, blood orange, coriander, grapefruit on the palate with cassia spice finish.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple Gold Medal and Best-in-Class awards at Canadian Whisky Awards (2024, 2025, 2026), Alberta Beverage Awards (2020-2025), and Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition (2024, 2026)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kinsip House of Fine Spirits: Small-batch Canadian craft distillery producing whisky, gin, vodka, and canned cocktails. Comparable in product breadth, small-batch craft ethos, and direct-to-consumer + tasting room model.
• Still Austin Whiskey Co. Texas-based grain-to-glass craft distillery with tasting room and tourism focus. Comparable as a craft distillery leveraging regional terroir narrative and tourism-adjacent on-premise experience.
• Copperworks Distilling Company: Pacific Northwest craft distillery producing American single malt whisky, gin, and vodka with on-site tasting. Comparable craft spirits portfolio with similar premium positioning and DTC/retail mix.
• Wayward Distillery: BC craft distillery with award-winning gin portfolio. Comparable as a Canadian craft gin specialist with tourism-adjacent tasting room, targeting similar craft spirits enthusiasts.
• Shelter Point Distillery: BC craft distillery specializing in single malt whisky with farm-to-bottle sourcing. Comparable as a Canadian craft distillery with a strong whisky program and award-winning portfolio targeting the same premium craft consumer.
• Eau Claire Distillery: Alberta's original craft distillery (Turner Valley), producing gin, vodka, whisky, and liqueurs with on-site tasting room. Closest geographic and category peer to WLD within the same provincial craft spirits market.
• Trophy Vodka: Alberta craft vodka/spirits producer using locally-sourced grains. Comparable as a regional Alberta craft distillery competing for the same retail shelf space and consumer occasions.
• Beattie Distillers: BC craft distillery producing small-batch gin, vodka, and whisky. Comparable as a small Canadian craft distillery with similar product breadth and on-premise retail presence.

Broad incumbents

• Hiram Walker & Sons / Corby Spirit and Wine (Pernod Ricard): Major Canadian distiller producing J.P. Wiser's, Lot No. 40, and other Canadian whisky brands. Comparable as a Canadian whisky producer but operates at vastly greater scale with broad national distribution that WLD does not have access to.
• Alberta Distillers Limited (Canadian Club / Beam Suntory): Large incumbent Alberta-based distillery producing Canadian Club whisky at industrial scale. Comparable only as a fellow Alberta spirits manufacturer, but vastly larger and competes for the same whisky consumer with mass-market positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/wldspirits
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wild-life-distillery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WILD LIFE DISTILLERY INC.