When Laura Johnson was a child, she used to fake being sick so that she could play hooky from school—and stay home to watch Food Network. Fast forward a few years, to when Johnson, who today works as the founder and distiller of gin and vodka brand You & Yours, took her first distillery tour at age 18. And “when I saw that distilling allowed a similar measure of culinary creativity—the opportunity to create flavors in a spirit—I was instantly hooked,” she tells Food & Wine. “I knew I wanted to be in the distilling industry come hell or high water.”