Award-winning spirit brand launched by a one-time Montreal janitor with a vision for better vodka

The purest water makes the best vodka, but despite having water in abundance, Quebec had no vodka makers until relatively recently. Nicolas Duvernois observed this disconnect, and, in 2010, he founded Duvernois Creative Spirits, writes Desautels Professor Karl Moore in Forbes. He was working as a hospital janitor when he launched the company, with a vision to leverage Quebec’s natural resources to make a premium spirit. Since then, the company’s Pur Vodka has been named the best vodka in the world six times. Spirit sales remained strong during the pandemic, but the online work environment has challenged the hands-on Duvernois. He takes a ‘human approach’ to leadership – and that’s just harder to do via Zoom.