From Old Barn to Big Biz – The making of Wild Lot Farm Distillery

From Old Barn to Big Biz

The making of Wild Lot Farm Distillery 

By Lorie Steiner

Partners in life and business, Taylor McIndless and Ryan Fowler listened when the wild called and paid heed – pulling up stakes in Toronto to put down roots in picturesque Prince Edward County. What started out as not-so-nicely-fragrant, coming-apart-at-the-seams farm buildings have been lovingly reinvented over time by this brave couple into a collective 5000 square feet of fun, containing a state-of-the-art distillation facility, retail shop, tap room and event space. The century-old dairy barn and tractor shed turned farm distillery is a going concern, with visitors travelling from near and far to experience the fantastic tastes and atmosphere of this rural idyll. 

During a remote conversation, Ryan reflected on the evolution of the property and how they scrambled to complete Wild Lot Farm Distillery for opening day. He shared, “A few years ago, Taylor and I were living in Toronto, working in the corporate rat race and dreaming of one day being entrepreneurs and owning our own business. In 2018, we bought a property in Prince Edward County with the intention of renovating it and turning it into a B&B; do a bit of an investment and eventually move full time to The County – one of our favourite places. In 2020, when COVID hit and we both lost our jobs, we thought, screw it, life’s too short. Let’s give it a shot and chase our dreams!”  

The partners had been brainstorming about a food and beverage business, and since they already had a foot in the door in Prince Edward County, they decided to just move there and figure it out. While working remotely for a couple years to build up their finances, Ryan and Taylor searched for a property that checked all the boxes for their dream biz. At that point, they’d decided on the idea of a distillery, which took about 2 ½ years after they found the property to complete renovations, get the permits, the licensing, do all the R & D to get ready to produce, and hire staff – “all that fun stuff.” 

Why ‘Wild Lot’?

“The essence of what Wild Lot means to us is three-fold,” Ryan explained. “It was inspired by this place… this farm that we stumbled upon. It has a meadow that I’m obsessed with and a sense of wildness and land that was right for taming. That was one layer. Which evolved into our adventure of not knowing the first thing about a) owning a farm; b) renovating a farm; c) opening a distillery – and just the wild adventure of figuring it all out. Those moments throughout the journey of thinking, what have we gotten ourselves into? Laughing, nervousness, crying and all the wild emotions that come with it. 

“Then, there was the mark we wanted to make in terms of products and types of experiences. Using local ingredients to reimagine the alcohol category. Being unique and innovative and forging our own trail. Trying to carve out something wildly different and cool. There’s a freedom to going our own way and that’s one of our brand elements: “Trail blaze responsibly.” We wanted to be trailblazers, not having to present our ideas to anyone else for approval like we’d done for so many years in the city. That was how Wild Lot all came together as a brand and an experience.”

Enter Bryan Baeumler…

Taylor and Ryan had renovated their mid-1800s farmhouse so they could live in it while waiting for the business permits and licensing. Then they moved on to the barn and the distillery. According to Ryan, “We were almost all the way there, when someone Taylor used to work with (who’s one of the designers that produced Bryan’s All In) reached out to us. She’d been following our journey and realized that our story line perfectly suited the new show concept they were doing for HGTV. So, she asked if we’d consider taking part. We were super busy and drowning in all the tasks we were doing, but we realized it was a great opportunity and we had nothing to lose.”

Once they put their names in the hat, things escalated quickly – from a Zoom call with the casting director, to the whole production crew scouting the location, and then signing papers within the next two weeks. Ryan said, “It came out of the blue, but it sounded so exciting! We obviously knew of Bryan Baeumler and love HGTV, and we knew the publicity would be good for the business, while also getting help from Bryan.” So that’s how it came to be. Filming for Bryan’s All In began in April 2023 and Wild Lot Farm Distillery opened to the public in June. 

Watching the Thrill & Distill Wild Lot episode, it’s obvious that Taylor and Ryan have opposite personalities, but humour saved the day when chaos came calling. As Ryan noted, “We had over two years working on this project before Bryan arrived on set. This was our third renovation project, so we’ve worked in this type of crazy, chaotic, conflict-oriented environment for many years, and we were both happy with the authentic way we were portrayed on the show. At the end of almost every day working together, we always find humour in our lives and what we’re doing. Even when we’re the most stressed out, we can both laugh about how extreme and ridiculous that day was and how we overcame it. 

“We’re serious when we need to be but we’re also silly and jokey to balance it out. I think that came through on the show. So many people related to Taylor’s face when he reacted to the money conversations, and they tell us they totally get it. I’m much more risk-oriented and quick to move when it comes to investing and spending money and entering that scary world. Whereas Taylor is much more cautious.”  

Meet me on the Wild side

When visitors come to Wild Lot, there are some amazingly tasty beverages on offer. The distillery crafts a selection of innovative small-batch spirits, liqueurs, ready-to-enjoy canned beverages and cocktail bitters. A fan favourite: Gin & soda with cherry juice now at the LCBO! “Typically, people are coming here for a drink; to sample our spirits, our seltzers, our martini flights, all kinds of tasting experiences,” Ryan boasted. “We have a very generous cocktail and drinks menu where they can experience our product in an actual cocktail. We have draft beer on tap, we serve local wine, and we also have a full food program. Fall and winter it’s hot-pressed sandwiches and soup of the day, then in summer we switch to an outdoor kitchen menu with burgers and shaved beef au jus, sausage on a bun, peameal bacon on a bun.” 

The Wild Lot venue also hosts small- and medium-sized events, such as monthly social get-togethers, Christmas parties, staff parties, and they’ve started hosting weddings, as well. So, if you’re looking for a beautiful, natural destination to say, “I do,” dates are available, and the inquiry line is open!

The farm, itself, sits on 35 acres of unspoiled land in the agricultural hamlet of Sophiasburgh, Prince Edward County. Currently, 20 acres are farmed by “friends down the road” and eight acres behind the house are a regenerative meadow filled with birdsfoot trefoil – a perennial with beautiful yellow flowers.

Ryan shared, “The wildlife loves it, we have deer and wild turkeys and coyotes and eagles… behind the barn, where the bar looks out over the meadow, we’re going to create a proper wedding space where people can have an outdoor ceremony. We’re also planning a botanical garden near the front entryway to the barn when you first drive in. A lot of beautifying landscaping efforts this year to enhance the guest experience. We plan to use the botanicals in our gin and other drinks and incorporate that into a tour, as well. 

On the product side, they’re working on a lot of far-out new formats unseen in Ontario before. Ryan has launched all kinds of products in the food and cannabis and wine industries and Taylor’s a trained chef. They both have good palates, and as you can see from their smiles, they’re just kids at heart, having a blast out in the distillery playing with recipes and aiming to please. See you at the farm! wildlot.ca