Westward Whiskey master distiller Christian Krogstad steps down

Westward Whiskey’s co-founder and master distiller Christian Krogstad is stepping down from his operating role at the company in order to focus and pursue other interests.

Krogstad will retain his equity stake in the company, as well as his Krogstad Aquavit brand which will continue production at the Westward Whiskey distillery.

Westward Whiskey was founded in 2004 as House of Spirits Distillery. Over the years, its garnered a reputation for thinking outside of the box with its crafting methods, to much acclaim from whiskey enthusiasts.

Speaking on his departure, Krogstad commented: “I started House Spirits Distillery (the predecessor of Westward Whiskey) out of my abiding need to create new flavours, exciting products, and innovative concepts, and out of it grew both Aviation American Gin and Westward Whiskey. Today, Aviation has its new home, and Westward Whiskey is the company’s focus. It’s time that I turn my attention and efforts to growing Krogstad Aquavit, and to new projects. It has been a fun and rewarding 20 years building House Spirits Distillery and the brands that emerged from it, and I’m looking forward to unveiling my next projects.”

Thomas Mooney, co-founder of Westward and CEO, added: “Christian is a visionary who helped shape the craft distilling industry, and he is a friend to many of our peers.  Back in 2004, he set out to create a whiskey from the elements right here in the American Northwest, and we owe much of where we stand today to his creativity and skill.  I joined him as CEO of House Spirits Distillery (now Westward Whiskey) in 2011, and together, we have built one of our industry’s most talented teams and raised Westward Whiskey from a vision all the way to a leading luxury whiskey brand.”

23 November 2022 - Bradley Weir