# James Bay Distillers

We distill and produce world-class gold-medal award-winning whiskies and gins

## Elevator pitch
We produce super-premium whiskies and gins, all with gold-, silver- and other awards. All are sipping spirits, perfect neat or over ice - not requiring a mixer. We are expanding wholesale accounts, online sales and export opportunities in 7 countries. We are the only craft distillery to also operate a US-based free-trade zone to benefit from both US and Canadian spirits regulations. We are also the only craft distillery with UK permits to import, blend and bottle our own Scotch releases.

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/james.bay.distillers
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:22139
- Last updated: 2026-06-08T05:00:15Z
- Generated at: 2026-06-09T03:03:55Z

## Quick facts
- Our Galloping Goose Canadian whisky is a popular double-gold and 4x gold-medal award winner
- Our sales are increasing month on month, and year-on-year growth is over 200%
- We have raised $747,000 with 19 accredited and sophisticated investors under SEC's Reg D 506(b)
- Our gold-medal Summer Gin No. 5 rates higher than national brands from Chicago, Virginia and the UK
- Our gins are listed for export in the UK, Canada, South Africa & 4 Asian countries by USDA & others
- Our strong team includes top level bankers, advisers and industry experts, both in the US and abroad

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:15793: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)

## Story
We started in 2014 - in Virginia!    After searching for a location in Canada in Alberta & British Columbia, we're excited to be at Paine Field, in Everett, WA since 2018.  We're at an ideal spot for production and sales, export ventures and close to a community that understands and favors organic, authentic, honestly crafted fine spirits. In 2014, we soon found that many distilleries from New York to Georgia had a vision of bourbon and moonshine.  Well, we like those spirits but we wanted a less crowded market with more growth potential.   We looked for a location suitable for international, export-quality spirits.  We found that ideal spot, in the Pacific Northwest, in the region bounded by British Columbia and Washington State.Ernie and Leigh in Vancouver, BC at Olympic Park after a venture cap presentationIn 2015 we looked at Alberta, Canada due to the relatively open market in the province.  By 2016 we had focused on British Columbia due to their preferential tax advantages.  In 2017, we received Canadian work permits, and moved to BC to get this project going!   At that time we also filed our initial Reg D 506(b) paperwork with the SEC and took in our first investors.Yes, we sold our house and moved to Canada!!   And then back to the USA!   We are 110% committed to success of the distillery!  Above you see the BC ferries on Vancouver Island headed to the BC mainland, and then a short drive to the US.  In early 2018 we found Paine Field in Everett, WA to be the ideal spot for us.  Our hard work searching paid off!   We leased our site, and started the typical 21 months of Federal and state permitting!  We sold our first whisky in September 2019 in conjunction with "Tanktoberfest," with our neighbors at the museum driving and firing real tanks along the runway!The local museum, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines might have airplanes, but our flights are more fun!  Also in 2018, we took steps to comply with IRS Code Section 1202 - which means all of investors' capital gains are tax free at exit or acquisition.   Let's read that again:  free of capital gains taxes.  "Some restrictions apply," of course, as is often the case, but we are well-advised by CPAs.While working on US Federal permits, we also obtained UK permits to import bulk scotch and create our own blends of scotch whisky - from the more sweet and floral to the heavily peated and phenol.   As far as we know, we're the only craft distillery on the west coast with that permit from "Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs Office."  Our three UK approved Scotch whisky labels - a late 2020 and 2021 project!Since September 2019 when we released 88-proof Galloping Goose Canadian Whisky, our bourbon recipe single-grain whisky, the "Goose" has earned four gold medals.  Our Cadboro organic chocolate infused whisky has a gold- and a silver-medal, and both our Lochside Summer Gin No. 5 and Gintrigue Barrel-aged gins have medals also!  In fact Lochside Summer Gin No. 5 is rated more highly than some notable regional and national gins (and UK gins too!).   Here's our spirits family photo:Our current family photo - we're so proud!   And yes, we have trademarks!  "Galloping Goose," recalls a former railway on Vancouver Island; "Cadboro" is named for a Hudson's Bay schooner that sailed Puget Sound back in the day; "Summer Gin" is well, just a lot of fun, and "Gintrigue" is gintriguing and ginspirational!  Here's some of the awards we've won in the past 9 months:It's more than distilling - it's about sales and growth.  Sales are based on superior quality spirits which are fun and easy to use, full of taste.  From the start, we made a commitment to produce only top-shelf, super-premium spirits, given that we can compete on quality, but smaller companies lack the scale of economy to compete on price. That means we don't make any well products, and no discount spirits. Our goal is that each spirit carries its weight as a sipping whisky or gin. All are great served neat or over ice. Mixers are not required, but with superior spirits, our cocktails are also very tasty. Here's two fun recipes:   Two of our fun cocktail recipes! In February 2020, we took the same COVID hit which many producers have, but since then we have seen sales continue to grow.We now sell 3 products at Total Wine (all 12 stores in Washington State), 2 products through the Virginia ABC Store system and through local Everett area liquor stores.  Our spirits are carried by SpiritHub and are listed on Drizly.  We are actively soliciting new accounts in the Puget Sound region.   Of course, we sell online direct-to-consumer  with the Spirits360 platform, and ship to Washington State, Alaska, Nevada, North Dakota and the District of Columbia.  (You can order a bottle today!)  We are currently also in talks with a distributor in Texas, and discussing export contracts in Asia.   Naturally, we sell at the distillery, offer tastings and cocktails - we have never closed during COVID, and still followed all the rules.   We have space for several groups up to 6-persons each, and can host tastings by appointment after our normal hours of 12-5pm, Tuesday-Saturday. Clicking on the photo takes you to our online sales site! We are now at that mid-point in a startup's growth, where we have significant third-party validation, a dozen or more awards, established distribution and true proof of concept.   It is time to keep expanding distribution in the US and through exports.  We have initiated export outreach in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China using resources of our local Department of Agriculture.  Our Lochside Summer Gin No. 5 is now in Toronto, London and South Africa for export promotion with the USDA and the Distilled Spirits Council of the US.   We are discussing terms with two Canadian importers.Potential for market growth with the right quality:We think there is excellent capacity for growth in this market based on the quality of our spirits and third-party analysis of the craft spirits markets through the end of this decade-- 8% to 35% CAGR, depending on the region.  Each of our spirits is authentic, produced in small batches and contains organic ingredients whenever available.   For example, the cacao used in our Cadboro whisky is not only organic, but also sustainable, renewable and traceable.  We could visit the farm in Ecuador where it came from if we wished!   We use certified organic ingredients whenever available.Using quality materials produces better spirits:Premium quality spirits also calls for using exceptional equipment, made in the U.S.A.   Our stills, shown below, are produced in Missouri with American labor and inputs.   We used a "closed system" where the spirits exit the still directly in a closed pipe to the collection tank.  This allows us to hold 240 gallons of spirits in a "zone" instead of the 60-gallon limit in an "open" system where the new make whisky or gin falls through the air into a container.   We have four federally-approved zones in which we can store and work on our spirits.  We can distill in one zone and also proof, bottle and label in a second area, while our spirits can age and rest in still another area.  We reserve one zone for our Scotch whisky projects.Here's our 230-gallon hybrid still, an electric bain-marie (water bath) style.  Pulls 44,000 watts on startup - we joke that she "dims the lights at the airport!" when we turn the switch on!Our next steps also include additional products.  For example, we will soon have a barrel-aged Galloping Goose whisky, held for a year in 500-liter Amontillado sherry butts, each of which is 40 years old!   We have huge and wonderful flavors in that upcoming release, now pending labels.  And we have more gins, whiskies and some specialty products planned in addition to our Scotch whiskies.   We release products when they are ready, and each must meet our same standard:  top-shelf, super-premium quality.  We're all business, but we do have fun!   Here's our "model employee" and mannequin ready to welcome guests at the front door!  Open Tues-Sat: 12-5pm. Closed Sundays and MondaysNow we're ready for you to join with us as we expand sales in the US and move into export markets!We expect 2021 will be a banner year as we move ahead towards our production goals and expansion of markets.   With exceptional whiskies and gins - it's always a perfect landing!PS:  In case you wondered how close we are to the flightline! Whether it's Navy jets, the museum's MiG-33 or Boeing's Antonov 124...we hear it!   For a real-time view of our nearby runways, try this link.

## FAQ
1. **Do you have an estimate for 2020 revenue? How many retailers are you in currently? Any upcoming launches?**
   - Hi Andrew, Good questions, and thanks. We anticipate 2021 revenue to be 2-4x 2020 as we look at solidifying existing domestic markets, opening new domestic markets and reaching into export markets (with more than a dozen current active contacts in Asia and Canada). We current sell and ship to 5 states: Washington State, Alaska, Nevada, North Dakota and the District of Columbia. We sell also to local liquor stores. Our Galloping Goose whisky and Summer Gin No. 5 are both at the State of Virgin...
2. **The pitch deck (labeled 4 December 2020) lists Berle "Rusty" Figgins as the master distiller. There is a statement from Fynoderee Distillery in August announcing his appointment as their master distiller and his family's relocation to the Isle of Man - is this no longer the ca...**
   - Hi, Alex, Rusty is one of our best and smartest advisors, since November 2014, and he has in fact earned the title of master distiller more than many in the industry. We used his title in our listing as a point of reference. We last talked with him in October (email) and late December 2020 (LinkedIn). A redacted version of our financials were used in the distillery-startup classes he taught at his distillery in eastern Washington, as they were developed by us in discussion with other distille...
3. **I have a couple of questions, can you explain the equity position in the company? the 2018 & 2019 statement of equity in the financials were the same, however in the balance sheets in 2018 & 2019 equity changed nearly $260K lower. Did you pay off early investors or red...**
   - Thanks for the careful reading, Terrence, we appreciate you noticing that the table for 2019 Statement of Equity was included by mistake in the 2018 Management Report during our final scan to PDF.  The has now been included and we have sent the corrected version to WeFunder for online viewing.   Also in the Balance Sheet format which we sent to WeFunder, we noticed that the line item for fully paid in capital was dropped, though it was included in the narrative section (page 6 ...
4. **Hello Ernest, I've invested in over 42 company's. I think if you offered perks at the 100 dollar level, you would get more funds. Why? Because most investors can only invest 2,600 a year in total funds. So, if you offered hat's or t-shirt or something like that, you would get ...**
   - Thanks for the idea, Peter, I appreciate your input. I hope you'll also look at and consider our other incentives of bottles/cases of whiskies and gins - including some new releases as they come up!
5. **Hello Ernest, I was comparing your actual 2020 revenue with the projections from your Financials (slide 12) in your deck. Obviously, the revenue projections are just that, projections. Do you have an updated view based on the actual 2019 & 2020 revenues? Thanks.**
   - Hi Mark, good question, and we are building that estimate now. We have 2 pending export contracts in Korea, 1 in Japan and more in Mexico which we want to include in the estimate. We were also approached this week by a third buyer in Canada for the Ontario and Quebec markets. Any and all of these export sales will be dramatic and allow us to keep the same growth curve. We previously mentioned that our estimate is conservatively 2-4x 2020 figures, but with export contracts based on customer st...

## Team
- Ernest Troth (President)
- Leigh Troth (VIce President)

## Q&A
- Q: What were your actual sales and profit/loss for the year 2020? All I can find is $12,582 and -$362,748, which I assume was for 2019, correct?
  - A: Hi Grant, here's a summary: 2019 gross revenue: $12,589 (started selling on 20 Sept with permits in hand). 2020 gross revenue: $173,128. In 2019, the net loss (after expenses including fit out, supplies, distilling equipment) was in fact ($362,748). 2020 net loss was just over ($3000), showing we are past the fit out and equipment/provisioning process. We started the WeFunder program in mid-2020, and so 2018, 2019 numbers were required. We have added 2020 numbers in one of our updates (see Updates tab, above). See also today's update. Thanks for asking, hope you'll join with us! (PS: remember to ask at the ABC stores for our Galloping Goose whisky and Summer Gin No. 5!)
- Q: Is another round of funding for investors in the near future?
  - A: We are considering another crowdfunding round in the near future (requires some preparation with the platform here) and are also currently raising under Reg D 506(b) requirements. That is, we are also currently raising directly with accredited- and non-accredited investors. Contact us directly for more information?
- Q: Hello Ernest, I've invested in over 42 company's. I think if you offered perks at the 100 dollar level, you would get more funds. Why? Because most investors can only invest 2,600 a year in total funds. So, if you offered hat's or t-shirt or something like that, you would get more interest. You got to give a little, plus a t-shirt is cheap advertising. Just imagine 4000 of your t-shirt everywhere? Just a thought...Peter
  - A: Thanks for the idea, Peter, I appreciate your input. I hope you'll also look at and consider our other incentives of bottles/cases of whiskies and gins - including some new releases as they come up!
- Q: When is the next investment round? Or how does someone invest today?
  - A: Hi, Jeffrey, we are not now running a Reg CF raise, but are separately using Reg D 506(b) for accredited and some non-accredited investors. If you email us at Info@JamesBayDistillers.com we will send you current information for review.
- Q: How about some update on the company's financials and it's profitability?
  - A: Hi Robert, we are preparing an email that will be sent directly to all investors. In short, while the industry dipped as you have seen in the media, we've held even, with new private label projects in process.
- Q: Is the company now profitable ? Any profit distribution plans ?
- Q: How do we get in contact and schedule delivery regarding the investor perks?
  - A: Alex, Please send an email to info@jamesbaydistillers.com to get this set up. Regards, James Bay Distillers
- Q: Some questions: 1: In a January update, you provided some examples of international interest in your products. What are the status of those negotiations? Have any of them panned out? There are a lot of distilleries out there. Are most of them focused on domestic sales? Do you believe exports will differentiate this company from the rest? 2: Cap gains free treatment on a sale appear to require the investor to hold for five years. Is this plan to hold for five years from this offering or shorter? Seems like some investors will likely not be able to take advantage of this tax exemption on eventual exit? 3: What do you believe your next round of funding looks like? 4: Why do your projections in the slides show $429,000 in operating profit in year one (according to the slide, year 1 starts Sept 2019) when actual 2019 and 2020 numbers were actually net losses? What is the reason for the discrepancy? What do you estimate 2021 will look like?
  - A: Hi Aaron, we provided price proposals this week (and the previous week) to importers in Korea, Japan and Mexico. Each market has its own complexities and import challenges (fees, tariffs, COVID delays, holiday timimg, etc.). We will be exhibiting again this next week in Taiwan. Through our local state resources, we have boots-on-the-ground in each of these countries which amplifies our reach considerably. That support staff interact directly with the companies requesting proposals and pricing. We anticipate export sales to commence in the summer. As far as we know, we are the only craft distillery with a strong commitment to exports, due to our unique experience living abroad for almost 15 years. Most US companies are focused on domestic sales, even though each export order can be regarded as "self-funding" due to certain SBA/EXIM and other programs we are plugged into. With re: question 2: yes, the plan is to hold for 5 years. If an exceptional offer comes in at Year 4, we would need to review and consider all implications (timing, tax, seriousness of the offer, etc.). Certainly some later investors may not wait for this benefit (some will want to sell their shares privately ahead of that time). Question 3: our next round of funding will be a return to Reg D 506(b) and accredited investors. Question 4: our projections did not anticipate the worldwide COVID pandemic, the shuttering of venues we needed, and the cancellation of all spirits events in Washington State (Seattle Whiskey Week, Snohomish On The Rocks, "The Big Taste," and others). The difference between 2019/2020 expectations and actuals was due to capital expenditure, a (now resolved) local gov't delay in issuing occupancy and sales permits and again the COVID closing of critical on-premise outlets. Washington State has been aggressive on lockdowns, and the first case in the USA was in our county. For 2021 - we have announced publicly in general terms that this next week (or before end of April) we will be able to sell and ship to 42 states, up from our current 10 states. We will make that announcement more specific when we launch that sales channel. That channel will bring cost savings to us as well. We have already shipped product to support that new channel. Any one of our foreign customers' requests can be transformational when they move ahead with their orders. We are currently negotiating and responding to requests for the following: a 20-ft container RFQ; a 40-ft container RFQ; monthly shipments of new-make whiskey; multiple requests for 1-pallet (1000 bottles)/month. We expect to continue to be busy in 2021.
- Q: Hello, Thank you for providing this opportunity. Do you know if there would be expected distributions, if so at what year and at what percentage? Assuming that the numbers in the deck are reached each year.
  - A: Hi David, thanks for your question. Our expectation for all investors (including co-founders) is 10x the investment made, by sale and exit at our about Year Five (so, 2025 or so). Industry practice and experience shows acquisition price (sale price) to be 8x or 9x final-year-revenue. Assuming final year revenue is $15 million, we would compute the anticipated sale price and divide by the number of shares issued. Each shareholder will then receive their percentage of the sale price equal to their percentage of shares owned. There are only 65,000 shares, and only some 20% remain available. Remember that we are compliant with IRS Tax Code 1202, which exempts our shares from capital gains taxes (some restrictions apply of course) which we think is a significant advantage.
- Q: Hello Ernest, I was comparing your actual 2020 revenue with the projections from your Financials (slide 12) in your deck. Obviously, the revenue projections are just that, projections. Do you have an updated view based on the actual 2019 & 2020 revenues? Thanks.
  - A: Hi Mark, good question, and we are building that estimate now. We have 2 pending export contracts in Korea, 1 in Japan and more in Mexico which we want to include in the estimate. We were also approached this week by a third buyer in Canada for the Ontario and Quebec markets. Any and all of these export sales will be dramatic and allow us to keep the same growth curve. We previously mentioned that our estimate is conservatively 2-4x 2020 figures, but with export contracts based on customer statements of inten,t our 2021 income would be over 10x 2020 levels. We are in daily contact with these customers and just want to move them ahead before announcing the sales. As you know, projections are like battle plans - they change the moment activity starts.
- Q: I have a couple of questions, can you explain the equity position in the company? the 2018 & 2019 statement of equity in the financials were the same, however in the balance sheets in 2018 & 2019 equity changed nearly $260K lower. Did you pay off early investors or reduced your position? Thanks.
  - A: Thanks for the careful reading, Terrence, we appreciate you noticing that the table for 2019 Statement of Equity was included by mistake in the 2018 Management Report during our final scan to PDF.  The has now been included and we have sent the corrected version to WeFunder for online viewing.   Also in the Balance Sheet format which we sent to WeFunder, we noticed that the line item for fully paid in capital was dropped, though it was included in the narrative section (page 6 of 9).   The 2018 fully paid in capital was $609,522.26, compared to 2019:  $702,761.11.  The 2018 data update will show online after WeFunder uploads the documents for us.  None of our accredited investors have been paid off early and no one has reduced their positions.  To date we have 5 accredited investors who have significantly increased their investment.  The apparent decrease in equity in 2019 is due to accumulated depreciation of production equipment, which reduced the stated assets.  2018 showed no depreciation because all items were new.  Thanks again for your careful review. 
- Q: The pitch deck (labeled 4 December 2020) lists Berle "Rusty" Figgins as the master distiller. There is a statement from Fynoderee Distillery in August announcing his appointment as their master distiller and his family's relocation to the Isle of Man - is this no longer the case, or is Rusty master distiller for both distilleries?
  - A: Hi, Alex, Rusty is one of our best and smartest advisors, since November 2014, and he has in fact earned the title of master distiller more than many in the industry. We used his title in our listing as a point of reference. We last talked with him in October (email) and late December 2020 (LinkedIn). A redacted version of our financials were used in the distillery-startup classes he taught at his distillery in eastern Washington, as they were developed by us in discussion with other distilleries (in Chicago, Virginia, Cleveland, Washington State) and we wanted to pay-it-forward for other distillers who were starting out. Other members of our team are also listed by title, and not all are on-site all the time, though all are available when we need assistance or advice. Recommend you follow Rusty on LinkedIn as well as the Fynoderee distillery, whose sloe gin looks tasty!
- Q: Do you have an estimate for 2020 revenue? How many retailers are you in currently? Any upcoming launches?
  - A: Hi Andrew, Good questions, and thanks. We anticipate 2021 revenue to be 2-4x 2020 as we look at solidifying existing domestic markets, opening new domestic markets and reaching into export markets (with more than a dozen current active contacts in Asia and Canada). We current sell and ship to 5 states: Washington State, Alaska, Nevada, North Dakota and the District of Columbia. We sell also to local liquor stores. Our Galloping Goose whisky and Summer Gin No. 5 are both at the State of Virginia ABC Store system (many of our accredited investors are in Virginia, which explains our interest in Virginia). In Washington State, Total Wine carries our Cadboro whisky, Summer Gin No. 5 and Gintrigue Barrel-Aged gin at each of their stores. The Chicago-based SpiritHub spirits platform carries our Galloping Goose whisky and both gins for sale and takes care of direct delivery to consumers in Illinois, Nebraska, New Hampshire and (again) North Dakota. We have Binny's in our sights for Illinois this year for in-store sales. We are about to open up sales in California for a following which has developed near Sacramento, and we are talking with a Texas based distributor. More locally, we are partnering with a distributor who focuses on the on-premise bar/restaurant scene and we expect to gain traction there in Q1 of this year. The Washington state permissions for restaurants and bars open up tomorrow as a matter of fact, and that is great timing for us. As for new releases, our amontillado-sherry barrel rested version of the Galloping Goose whisky is due in late March/early April 2021, our Scotch whisky project is making headway. We see release of one of our Scotches in Q2. We have two additional gins in development for late Q2 or early Q3. We've had requests for a vodka from our existing customers. What would you like to see? Welcome any insights into spirits trends or sales channels you might suggest we look into. Thanks again!