Juniper Berry
Juniper Berry
a WILD JOURNEY
We are on a journey that revolves around reconnecting with the LAND, to our HERITAGE, our PASSIONS, our COMMUNITY, and our FRIENDS + FAMILY alike.
This quest to forge a new path is our effort toward creating a more fulfilling life, to make instead of consume, to give instead of take, to be present in the moment instead of living in the past or worrying about the future.
We are a husband + wife team and life-long Maine natives. Wild Bevy grew from our desire to consciously craft products that are responsibly foraged, to support our local land + aquatic agricultural industries, while creating authentic, garden to glass, Maine-inspired spirits.
This image from the 1920s prohibition era is one that has intrigued us for years. Our grandfather, Arthur (center with a jug of what we presume to be homemade hooch) and his seemingly not so enthused wife Ruth (the lovely lady with the disapproving glare), together with friends and family, share a moment in time, on a rock, in a place that it is ironically close to a cluster of islands off the coast of southern Maine where we too have gathered with friends and family to play, to celebrate, to relax + escape. It also happens to be in the same region where we now forage for the beach rose petals that are used in our flagship Tulsi Rose gin.
We never fully understood what was drawing us to this place...but we do now. The connection is innate. We found this exact rock a few years ago, and someday we plan to recreate this image with our closest family and friends. We too want to capture a moment in time, the essence of a place, then put it in a bottle to share with the world!
Founder + Head Distiller
Michael is the the guy in the background gettin’ it ALL done. It’s common to see him climbing in and out of equipment and all over the building. He’s everywhere, all the time, doing EVERYTHING, relentlessly striving for perfection in all that he does.
Together with his father, Dexter (D-Corp), Michael has designed + built nearly all of the architectural features within our space - he’s our resident welder, woodworker, plumber, tile guy, finish carpenter, guru of all things concrete, steel, and now SPIRITS!
Now that the building is nearing completion, he's trading in his construction tools and using his extensive experience in project management and heavy equipment to streamline operations, maximize efficiency while producing our ultra premium lineup of botanical Gin + Vodka + Whiskey.
After over 25 years in concrete, Michael saw distillation as a means to segue from one nuanced medium to another creative platform where he can be hands-on throughout the process of milling, mashing, fermenting and distilling his latest obsession...all things Whiskey!
Keep an eye out for this guy when you're in the distillery, because he will disappear as quickly as he appears. He's full steam ahead, no nonsense – on to the next run, the next barrel, the next big adventure!
Founder + Marketing/Design
With an extensive background in graphic design, web/e-commerce + brand development, Mae lends her modern sense of design and marketing to every facet of Wild Bevy's aesthetic.
From 2004-2012, Mae owned a private design firm, building local and national brands with a strategic focus on corporate identity + e-commerce.
In 2012, Mae + Michael started their own online retail company which catapulted them into a wildly successful global sales platform, working with companies all over the country + world-wide.
Over the next 7 years, Mae grew the business, managed dual locations, coordinated all sales, logistics, training, purchasing – wearing just about every hat under the sun.
Eventually, the call to be creative, to reconnect with her family and her natural surroundings led her to relinquish the business and start anew.
Now, aside from design, Mae finds herself in the gardens and in the lab, playing with botanicals, developing our gin lineup while ensuring that every ingredient is thoughtfully selected to create beautifully balanced + delicious spirits.
And we're in this TOGETHER
It's not always easy, but we make a really great team! Inspired by the natural world around us, together we not only designed our building, but also built every square inch ourselves.
From our funky Erin Flett mural to our botanical gardens filled with Maine natives + herbaceous botanicals, our entire facility has been thoughtfully designed to pay homage to our roots.
Whether playing in the ocean, kayaking in the lakes, hiking + snowboarding in the mountains, our BLISS is NATURE and having the opportunity to share it with each other and our two young kiddos.
This lifestyle has helped us to survive all that Maine throws our way and it's created a deep appreciation for the natural world around us. It's important to us that we honor and protect the delicate eco systems that surround us: the flora + fauna, the oceans + waterways, the pollinators, the birds + the bees - EVERYTHING that makes what we do and love possible.
Wild Bevy is an ode to this incredible place we are so fortunate to call home. We cannot wait to share our space with the community, to raise a glass and sip a bevy or two with our extended Wild Bevy family (that's you)!
Dexter (D-Corp) is not only our in house architect, engineer, steel fab figurer, troubleshooter, consultant, and council - he's also Michael's father and son of Arthur + Ruth from the vintage picture on the rocks! When you look around the distillery at all the custom steel work, know that this guy did all the design, calculations, hand renderings, coordinating + ordering that made the beautiful steel beams, staircases + mezzanine the incredible feats of engineering and ART that they are!
We are so proud to have designed this building and entire space on our own, but the true accolades go to D-Corp, because he put it all on paper and helped us to bring it to life.
WILD BEVY DISTILLING
Live WILD + Drink RESPONSIBLY
By definition, BEVY (\ˈbe-vē\) refers to a large collection of birds, most notably a group of Quail.
For us, BEVY refers to a group of like-minded people, a community, a family, those looking to commune while enjoying libations and all this wonderful place has to offer.
BEVY is also the universally recognized term for a cocktail or alcoholic beverage. Though the drink term is typically spelled BEVVY, we're rolling with our version for this double entendre.
What's WILD about WILD BEVY?
Well, everything really! It's the wild botanicals that lend such unique flavor profiles and herbaceous notes to our spirits, subtle and nuanced at times, but always complex + invigorating. It's a means for us to pay homage to the natural environment that has shaped our lives and our products. It's an experience intentionally designed to be shared together with the ones you care for most - your friends, your family, your BEVY. CHEERS!