Our Story

our story

Located at the foot of the Monts-Valin, Distillerie du Fjord first started distilling in 2016. The first micro-distillery in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region, the company was brought to life through the work of two brothers and their father. We don't claim to be the first to have distilled, but the first to have done so with a permit. From the very beginnings of the project, a family history inspired the creation of the business.

This curiosity and interest in distillation has been passed down from generation to generation since Joseph, Aurèle, Bertrand, and now Serge and his sons Benoit and Jean-Phillippe.

Serge tells you the legend of the 5 generations of "gin lovers"

First-generation gin drinkers

Joseph Bouchard

As we were told, it was our great-grandfather Joseph who introduced us to the joy of drinking good gin. During the last years of his life, my father, Joseph's grandson, would go every week to the Liquor Commission to get him his bottle of gin, that green bottle with the red heart that still sits in the cupboards of many families.

second-generation gin lovers

Aurèle Bouchard

I knew Aurèle, my grandfather, very well. He was an "inventor," as we say. He operated an icehouse for over a decade, hence our nickname "Bouchard the ice man." He invented a saw to cut ice from Lac-Saint-Jean with a 4-foot diameter blade! According to what one of my uncles told us, Aurèle was also a gin enthusiast and supposedly "rigged up" his own still from "vessels and pieces of copper pipe." My grandfather would set up his pot on the stove in the basement, and my grandmother would stuff newspaper into the windows, as she wasn't particularly fond of this not-so-"above-board" hobby.

third-generation gin lovers

Bertrand Bouchard

My father, Bertrand, was also a gin lover. He mostly drank Beefeater and Seven Up, or Tanqueray on special occasions. He was also a "fixer-upper." He repaired Ski-Doos and was skilled in both woodworking and plumbing. A jack of all trades, as they used to say. I remember when he would start making "baboche" (homemade alcohol) in the fall. He said it was to have some fun during the holidays. Grain mash in a large wooden barrel, magical bubbles that lasted 10 days, and then, he'd pull out his famous, slightly modified "stainless steel chesspinte" (still) from nowhere. He'd set it up on his Coleman stove in the basement, and I, as a child, would spy on him through the stair treads. I didn't realize at the time that the pleasant aromas of this illicit elixir were imprinting on me and would motivate me to pursue this path with passion, with my sons, but this time completely legally. "Cheers, my Bert!"

Fourth and fifth generation gin enthusiasts

Serge, Benoît, and Jean-Philippe Bouchard

My sons, Jean-Philippe and Benoît, once told me: "Hey Dad! Let's make some gin." I then told them a story that was still kept secret. The idea quickly turned into a concrete project. Jean-Philippe, with his entrepreneurial spirit, Benoît, with his chemist's rigor, and I, Serge, the retired father, with my industrial experience. Yes, we worked hard to establish the first micro-distillery in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean with the goal of producing the best gins using the richness of the local boreal forest. Our ancestors inspired us to appreciate gin. Today, we are happy to produce it, completely legally, and we share our passion and the unique character of our products with all enthusiasts.