Colorado.
A state I have been happy to call home for more than 30 years. I was born and raised in the Denver Metro area, spent time all across the state, and still can’t get enough of it. As I was growing up, I was a huge fan of the Broncos, and then the Avalanche, watching both teams make their way to 3 championships now. I hiked a bunch of 14ers, was skiing or snowboarding as often as could, and spent many days on my bike going across multiple trails. I have ventured to some other states, explored more of the US, but something about Colorado always made me know this was the state I wanted to call home. Now that I have reached (read well passed) the age of drinking some of the finest spirits I can find-and afford-I have found that Colorado is doing exactly the same thing in the booming craft spirits, beer, and wine industries that is does everywhere else.
Strive to be the best.
There are so many new distilleries, breweries, and wineries that have opened over the past 6 years since Mile High Bourbon & Rye was started that it’s hard to even keep track. The great thing is that they do keep coming, and they keep pushing each other to create more exciting, unique, and delicious spirits. This is not even just the opinion of one guy who really loves Colorado. Colorado distilleries take home accolades, medals, and awards at almost every spirits competition they enter. There are a lot of spirits competitions too, so it’s a lot of medals. This year, at only the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Colorado took home over 50 Medals, including 25 Gold or Double Gold!
Malt Whiskey
Stranahan’s is a common name at this point, and for good reason. They took a style of whiskey not typically found in the US and made it huge. Their Single Malt whiskies always seem to be a success, but one of the best parts is the influence it had on the rest of the spirits in the state. Back to the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, some of those gold and double winners were Malt whiskey.
In the double gold category, Stranahan’s won with their Mountain Angel 10 Year Single Malt, and Boulder Spirits joined them with their American Single Malt.
For gold, Stranahan’s again won-with their Diamond Peak 8 Year, Blue Peak, Sherry Cask Finish, and their Original. Joining them is Laws whiskey House with their Henry Road Single Malt and Hogback’s Wallace Collection Malt Whiskey.
Bourbon & Rye
When most people think bourbon, they think Kentucky. There is a good reason for that too. Some of the best whiskey in the world are Kentucky Bourbons. Colorado is quickly making a huge name for itself. The same is true in the rye whiskey category. Between both of these two styles, Colorado took home 7 Medals.
Double gold winners included Laws whiskey House with their San Luis Valley Rye and Bonded 4 Grain Bourbon, Boulder Spirits Straight Bourbon, and Branch & Barrel’s Flagship Bourbon.
In Gold winners, Colorado Mountain Bourbon, Distillery 291’s Bad Guy Aspen Stave bourbon, Locke & Co. Distilling’s Aspen aged Rye, and First Stake’s Cask Strength all took home medals.
Bourbon and Rye are almost synonymous with American whiskey, and Colorado is no slouch when it comes to making them. One of the first really stand out Bourbons I remember starting up in Colorado came from Law’s Whiskey House. Located in Denver as well, Laws was one of the first places I had the privilege of reviewing, and is one of the driving factors behind my huge interest in whiskey.
Other Whiskey and Spirits
Not just a Malt, whiskey, and rye State, Colorado also makes other styles and spirits excellently as well. Once again striving to be the best, Colorado also took home double gold at the SFWSC for Breckenridge’s PX Sherry Cask Whiskey as well as their gin. We also took home gold for Breck’s Port Cask Finish Whiskey, Colorado Mountain’s Citra Gin, Old Elk’s Infinity Blend whiskey, and one of my favorites, Talnua Distilleries 2022 Olde Saint’s Keep Limited Release.
Not Just For Medals
There are many, many distilleries across the state, and while we only spoke about one competition for this article, there are many more that Colorado consistently wins awards at. However, there are distilleries that aren’t entering competitions, too new to be recognized, or are overlooked for some of the accolades. One of my personal favorite parts of Colorado Distilleries is the passion that all the distillers have for their product. Head up into the mountains around Estes Park and you’ll find Elkin’s Distillery, where the folks are fantastic, the whiskey is delicious, and the surrounding area is absolutely beautiful. The same goes for The Snitching Lady in Fair Play (the town that the show South Park is loosely based on) where they have an excellent spot on the main strip, an awesome building, great cocktails, and even better people.
The best part of whiskey is sharing it with great people, and so many places in the state allow you to do just that. From Bear Creek to Mystic Mountain, Spring 44 To Talnua, the people are what truly make the experience. While this page mostly talked about the awards from one competition, I truly believe that what truly raises the bar for spirits producers everywhere is the people in Colorado who make the whiskey just as special as they are.
So go check out a distillery near you, they are everywhere-especially along the front range-and find out for yourself what makes Colorado as special in the spirits industry as it is in everything else.
