Made from Virunga potatoes grown in volcanic soil, making them among the best in the world.
MADE IN RWANDA FOR THE WORLD
We’re more than a distillery with a beautiful backdrop. We create exceptional handcrafted beverages that express the spirit of Rwanda, with an emphasis on creating opportunities to advance women.
Inspired by a love for the beauty, people, and story of Rwanda, Virunga Mountain Spirits was established in 2022.
The idea was born in the potato fields of the Northern Province. Karen Sherman — with 15 years working across Russia and the former Soviet Union, and a decade advancing women’s economic development in Rwanda — saw these potatoes and thought: potatoes + women + = vodka. This makes perfect sense. Most people wouldn’t put those three together. We think that’s exactly the point.
VIRUNGA MOUNTAIN SPIRITS MISSION
To introduce global consumers to premium “Made in Rwanda” craft spirits.
To honor the legacy of women spirits producers in Rwanda and around the world by creating economic opportunities for women.
To express the ‘Spirit of Virunga’ through exceptional craft beverages.
To build skills, create jobs, and invest in the communities that make Virunga Mountain Spirits possible — from the farmer cooperatives of Musanze to the stone shapers who built this building.
Our production employs and upskills Rwandans at every level of operations.
Book an experiential distillery tour, meet the team, and learn about our process for creating vodka.
DISTILLERY
ABOUT OUR CEO
Throughout her 30-plus year global career spanning Russia, the former Soviet Union, and Rwanda, Karen Sherman has served in a number of executive leadership roles working to advance women — including as one of the architects of Rwanda’s first Women’s Opportunity Center. That work inspired the creation of Virunga Mountain Spirits.