Gnostalgic Spirits Distillery is the creation of well-known absinthe historian and distiller, Gwydion Stone.

Stone's mission is to give consumers knowledge of how historic spirits really tasted, hence the name "Gnostalgic", a portmanteau word comprising the Greek words "gnosis" (to know) and "nostalgia", a longing for familiar things of the past. He uses only low-tech, 19th-century-and-earlier distilling techniques and equipment, including a custom-made copper absinthe still, and all-natural raw plant ingredients: grain, cane, herbs, seeds, flowers and roots.

As founder of The Wormwood Society, an organization dedicated to educating consumers and industry professionals about absinthe, Stone has been in the forefront of grassroots absinthe education since the Wormwood Society was founded in 2004.

Gwydion came to distilling by way of herbalism and ethnobotany, making extracts for herbal remedies, fragrances and liqueurs in the 1970s and 80s. He also became an avid home-brewer and mead-maker during this time. A passionate artist and craftsman of the historic, a "maker" since his teens, his focus has always been on reviving the past. As a fine-woodworker, he specialized in making medieval harps, dulcimers and psalteries.

His interests in the obscure and esoteric include  alchemy, ancient religions, and freemasonry. He is a 32° Scottish Rite Mason, Past Master of his masonic lodge in Seattle, and former deacon in the Gnostic Catholic Church.

His less esoteric interests include cooking, gardening, photography, classic cocktails, multimedia sculpture, and 3D modeling.

Gwydion resides in Seattle with his wife, Trinity, and their cats. He also has two adult children and a granddaughter.