This Mother’s Day, Olympia Distilling Co. is honoring Kelsey Buchanan, a young wife and mother of three, and the guiding light behind Olympia Distilling Co.’s most personal creation: Kelsey Gins.
In the summer of 2019, Buchanan received a diagnosis of genetic lung cancer. But even in the face of that battle, Buchanan never let her illness define her, Olympia Distilling Co. stated in a news release.
“She had a spark. A fighter’s spirit,” said Lesa Givens, Kelsey’s cousin and co-owner of Olympia Distilling Co. “We wanted to give her something to pour her heart into, something beyond the scans, the surgeries, the waiting rooms. So together, we created something beautiful — Kelsey Gins. A purpose-filled brand, crafted by her hands, fueled by her vision.”
Buchanan was involved in every step of the process. She helped develop the formulas, chose the saffron that gives color to the Gold Gin and selected the butterfly pea flower that gives the Blue Gin its hue.
In 2023, at just 37 years old, Buchanan died. But not before she saw her dream come to life, according to the release.
“Just days before she left us, we placed a bottle of each gin on the windowsill beside her,” said Ray Watson, co-founder of Olympia Distilling Co. “She couldn’t hold them — her body was too tired — but when she looked at them, she smiled. That moment … it was everything. It was joy. It was peace. It was the finish line we crossed together.”
Five dollars from every bottle sold goes directly to Buchanan’s New Beginnings, a nonprofit founded in her honor. The organization provides practical, heartfelt support to cancer patients — comfort robes for women enduring radiation, gas cards for families traveling miles for treatment, and much more.
“So this Mother’s Day, when you raise a glass, raise it to the women who shape our lives — and to one extraordinary mother who poured her love into a gin that gives back,” Givens said.
For more information, or to purchase a bottle, visit https://www.kelseygins.com/s/shop.
