Photo: Ryan Christiansen, president and head distiller at Caledonia Spirits. Photo courtesy Caledonia Spirits.
VermontBiz Ryan Christiansen ’15, president and head distiller at Caledonia Spirits, has been named 2025 Rising Stars Alumnus of the Year.
Christiansen’s entrepreneurial path was born in his family-owned hardware business in Plainfield. His exposure to the challenges of small-town business at an early age fueled a desire to bring local products to a global market. Christiansen spent eight years as an avid brewer and owner of a home-brewing store, which eventually led him down a path to distilling.
In 2011, Christiansen met a beekeeper named Todd Hardie. Hardie had been keeping bees for 30 years and was on a pursuit to bring the agricultural aspect of beekeeping into distillation. Christiansen, captivated by Hardie’s agricultural mission and love for the bees, decided to hit the brakes on his career in beer and try his hand distilling spirits. With a 15-gallon still and a Mercury station wagon, the beekeeper and the distiller built the Caledonia Spirits distillery and set out to share their beloved Barr Hill Gin with the world.
Today, Barr Hill is America’s most awarded gin and the fastest-growing U.S. super premium gin. It is distributed to 32 states and exported to five countries. It was the first-ever spirit to receive a perfect 100-point score from the USA Spirits Ratings in 2020.
Christiansen proudly leads a passionate team from Caledonia Spirits’ Montpelier-based distillery and cocktail bar on Gin Lane. Part of the company’s mission is to connect cocktail culture to agriculture. It does this is by putting bees in front of people — literally.
One advertising campaign, “Honey Saves Hives,“ features a photo of Christiansen carrying a live hive of bees around New York City, as he awakens people to the reality that we can’t feed our families without healthy hives. The campaign has been deemed a huge success.
Photo: Ryan Christiansen in New York City with bees. Photo courtesy Caledonia Spirits.
“Ryan is an outstanding choice for this award,“ said VermontBiz President John Boutin. “When we started this awards program in 2010, we wanted to highlight the great young leaders we have here in Vermont. Ryan has clearly lived up to expectations of all past Rising Stars with his commitment to Vermont and its community.“
Christiansen said he is honored to receive this recognition.
“So much has changed since receiving my cherished Vermont-shaped wooden plaque (in 2015),“ he said. “Our business has grown, my kids are now smarter than me and rumor has it I’ve developed a gray hair or two.
“But something that hasn’t changed is how proud I am to be a part of this Vermont business community,“ he added. “Thank you to VB, and congratulations to the Rising Star Class of 2025.
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