We sat down to learn about this passionate Entrepreneur. Lean in as Ren Hoskin shares tales of birthing a Colorado craft distillery, growing and selling it and finding her next great path

by Lisa Blake

Shattering glass ceilings in the traditionally male-dominated distilling industry, Ren Hoskin speaks worldwide about environmental and social sustainability in business, the importance of gender diversity in the workplace, and the art of craft distilling. The 56-year-old mother of two grown sons founded Crested Butte’s Montanya Distillers and Zoetica, a social entrepreneurship company focused on zero-waste products and consulting.

It was love at first sip when Hoskin, at the age of 21, tried Indian dark rum on a beach in Goa, India. Two decades and careers in graphic design and brand building later, Hoskin learned to distill, outfitted a distillery, obtained permits and opened Montanya Distillers in Silverton. That was 2008. Since then, Hoskin and Montanya have relocated to Crested Butte, opened an ancillary tasting room, earned almost every award in the spirits world, and
changed the way cocktail fans view rum. Bringing Montanya to its pinnacle Hoskin made the decision to sell.

Here’s a look into where this female industry powerhouse has been and where she’s going.

MTN Women Magazine: So, why rum?
Ren Hoskin: I don’t drink a lot so when I do, I am incredibly choosy about what I consume. I have adored the rum world. It is more fun and inclusive than any other spirit category. Rum is an odyssey of culture from Barbados to Jamaica to Colombia to Colorado to Ghana. I have been so blessed to be included in this wild and celebratory community of makers.

MW: How have you changed folks’ perceptions over the years?
RH: I think my colleagues would agree that I started a lot of important conversations over the last 15 years about gender and inclusion (the US spirits industry was very white and male when I started in 2008), as well as sustainability. I also brought a lot of attention to premium rum in America and its storied history even in the Colorado mountains. I mentored a lot of people who were getting started and I taught a lot about entrepreneurship from University of Denver to Colorado College. It wasn’t all sweetness and light. I encountered more sexism in the routine course of business than I care to expound upon, even in 2025.

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MW: Where have you found inspiration?
RH: My dad was an entrepreneur from the time I was in 4th grade. We lived in a tiny apartment over his business for years while he toiled for 12 hours a day, so I had no illusions that it would be easy. I was inspired very early on by Master Blenders Joy Spence (Jamaica) and Lorena Vasquez (Guatemala). Probably my greatest inspiration was Kim Jordan from New Belgium. She and I were both raising kids while our companies grew and she was choosing to sell to employees. I listened to her interview on How I Built This with Guy Raz and had to pull over on the side of the road. I was crying so hard that I couldn’t see. I was just so damn proud of her for how she built that company and the choices she made to do things differently.

MW: What have you learned about yourself?
RH: I have learned that my work needs to be meaningful and soulful for me to feel joy from it. Let me tell you, negotiating with a commercial landlord, hustling for venture capital navigating fire code compliance or installing an ethanol alarm are about the least soulful things I have ever done. As a company grows, it’s easy for its leader to get pulled away from the meaningful work they love.

MW: Why sell?
RH: After 15 years, I was struggling to find the right harmony between what I love about being an entrepreneur and what I was actually doing each day. I believe there is a lifecycle to growing companies. Founders can become, instead of a catalyst, an impediment to growth and evolution of a brand. I felt like I was standing in the way of what Montanya could become between 15 and 20 or 25 years of its lifespan. It needed new energy, new breath. I had always dreamed of selling to employees and when that opportunity presented itself, I jumped on it.

MW: What’s next?
RH: I have had two distinct careers in my 33 years of work. After a break for a few months and a return to school for new credentials, I am bringing them together in a career-culminating decade of meaningful work. I was not ready to retire. I’m mildly obsessed (my husband would say not so “mildly” because he has to listen to me talk about it all the time) with the science of the microbiome. My Master of Science degree is in Public Health and Epidemiology and I worked in healthcare for a decade. A number of companies/brands are emerging to help us live healthier lives with
precision nutrition. I am now bringing my brand building skills and health care background to launch my new business and passion, Instinctive Nutrition, as a MS, National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) and IIN-Certified Integrative Nutrition Coach. I support clients in understanding science-backed nutrition and wellness by cutting through myths, marketing and fads. My goal is to help you reconnect with your inner wisdom and instinct about how to nourish yourself—beyond just food, encompassing everything you consume.

Integrative Nutrition Coaching is a client-centered, holistic approach to improving health and wellness through sustainable lifestyle changes. I partner with clients to identify their unique goals and challenges, developing actionable, heartfelt strategies for success.

To learn more about Ren and her new direction head to her website: www.instinctivenutrition.co

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