Rhode Island Spirits Tasting Room Manager Amy Gravel and Production Manager Patrick Cull have each received a portion of the company in return for “their dedication and perseverance over the past several years,” Founders Kara Larson and Cathy Plourde said.

Pawtucket-based Rhode Island Spirits, creators of the Rhodium line of spirits, celebrated its fifth anniversary by bringing back special drinks and products from the past and rolling out an employee ownership plan. Opened on March 7, 2019, the company has up until now been wholly owned by founders Cathy Plourde and Kara Larson. What started as a microenterprise producing a limited range of Rhodium brand gin, vodka and limoncello available at the distillery’s tasting room has grown into a regional brand, distributing nine different spirits statewide in Rhode Island via Horizon Beverage Co. and in Massachusetts. The rollout of employee ownership provides meaningful participation to RI Spirits’ salaried full-time employees, at no cost to them, the company said. Tasting Room Manager Amy Gravel and Production Manager Patrick Cull received its first shares. “This ownership transformation signifies an important chapter in our company’s evolution. Our team is focused on building on our successes, growing into new markets, continuing to develop new products that showcase the ‘Spirits of Rhode Island’ to the world,” said Larson. “Our goal always was to move to an employee-ownership model, in part as another way to implement company values of inclusion and commitment to being an active part of the community,” said Plourde. “These first two new owners fully embody that.” The team celebrated the milestone in March with four days of festivities at its tasting room.