Katherine Vellinga grew up in Canada, the daughter of Ukrainian emigres. Back in 1997 she had decided to move to Ukraine, and she became increasingly interested in Ukrainian vodka. So much so, that she and her husband bought an old distillery and created vodka brand Zirkova in 2005.
Following Russia's invasion the distillery had to close. To maintain some production, Ms Vellinga decided to start using a second facility, this time more than 7,000km (4,000 miles) away in Ontario.