Uncle Ernie says his favorite booze is , and he walks the talk by sipping two Jack Manhattans every night.
So holiday shopping for ol’ Ernie is a breeze: Here’s a bottle of Tennessee hooch, Unc.
He gets six of them every holiday season.
But not this time. He is getting five. And you are giving the Ernmeister a bottle of . distillery.
Guess what? You are Uncle Ernie’s new favorite niece.
Just a few years ago, American whiskey choices did not veer far from stuff made in Kentucky and Tennessee. But the microdistillery revolution changed all that. Distilleries across the nation are pumping out floral gins, brandies redolent of fruit that persuade sippers to go find a fireplace, rums that evoke Martinique, and much more.
And lots of these little jewels call Colorado home; the state has issued licenses for 36 distilleries (not all of them are up and running yet), said Kristian Naslund, the owner of in Loveland and a leader at the .
“People from around the country are looking to Colorado to see what we are doing,” said Naslund. “People have been paying attention to microbrews for so long, it made sense with microdistilling. We have great water, and great creativity.”
Colorado ranks in the top 5 states for micro-distilleries, he said. The movement is so full of ferment that the , the nationwide advocate for distillers, is holding its annual conference next year in Denver. In previous years, the conference has bounced between Louisville, Ky., and Portland, Ore.
The density of brewers in Colorado contributes to the state’s prominence; fermentation is a key part of making spirits, and lots of people in Colorado understand the magic of yeast, water and sugars.
Take, for example, Craig Engelhorn, the original brewer for in Lyons. He left Oskar Blues in 2002, and steered clear of breweries. But he kept getting calls from people wanting to start breweries. Engelhorn, a big Scotch fan, finally said: Let’s start a distillery instead.
So he and three partners started in Lyons. It opened last month, with vodka, gin and a coffee liqueur. The gang made their first barrel of whiskey just a few weeks ago, but they plan to age the elixir for two years. So no Scotch, yet.
Spirit Hound occupies a prominent space along Main Street in downtown Lyons, and the tasting room has already become an attraction.
“A pretty good amount of traffic goes through here on the way to Rocky Mountain National Park,” said Engelhorn. “You get a family from Philadelphia driving through, they see the distillery, and the next thing you know they are tasting. They already have gifts on the mind. The dad says, “I’ve got to get a bottle of gin for my dad, back in Pennsylvania.”
That’s the spirit. Skip the mass-produced stuff parked on every shelf of every liquor store in America, and even on the shelves of some 7-Elevens (hello, liquor laws). Get the cool Colorado stuff. Hit your local liquor store and look for it.
Following is a broad, but probably not exhaustive, list of active distilleries in the state. New ones are slated to open all the time.
, 144 Kluge Ave., Palisade, 970-464-1128, peachstreetdistillers.com
, 26567 North Road, Hotchkiss, 970-361-4249, peakspirits.com
, 11505 Spring Valley Road, Larkspur, 303-663-9375, mysticmtnspirits.com
, 1290 South Grand Mesa Drive, Cedaredge, 970-856-2600, coloradogolddistillers.com
, 625 Third St., Unit C, Greeley, 970-352-5466, syntaxspirits.com
, 116 North Main St., Mancos, 970-946-0229, mancosvalleydistillery.com
., 4950 Nome St., Denver, 303-307-1515, leopoldbros.com
(home of 303 Vodka and 303 Whiskey), 2500 47th St., Unit 10, Boulder, 303-442-1244, 303vodka.com/boulderdistillery
, 6770 South Dawson Circle, Ste. 400, Centennial, 303-693-4300, downslopedistilling.com
, 1925 Airport Road, Breckenridge, 970-547-9759, breckenridgedistillery.com
, 1527 Taurus Court, Loveland, 970-635-3426, dancingpinesdistillery.com
, 13710 Deere Court, Unit B, Longmont, 720-204-1909, blackcanyondistillery.com
, 200 S. Kalamath St., Denver, 303-296-7440, stranahans.com
, opening to the public in March, Colorado Springs, 719-323-8010, distillery291.com
, 240 Palomino Trail, Unit A, Ridgway, trailtownstill.com
, 321 E. Main St., Buena Vista. 719-395-9464, deerhammer.com
, 130 Elk Ave., Crested Butte, 970-799-3206, montanyarum.com
, 2862 North Ave., Grand Junction. 970-241-2010, facebook.com/JFStrothmanDistillery
, 2920 Larimer St., Denver, 303-296-2226, privatebranddistilling.com
Still Cellars, 1115 Colorado Ave., Longmont, 720-204-6064
, 505 W. 66th St., Loveland, 970-414-0744, spring44.com
, 412 Violet St., Golden, 303-993-7174, village-distillery.com
, 60 Sunset Drive, Basalt, 970-279-5110, woodycreekdistillers.com
, opening in January, Fort Collins, 970-444-2386, facebook.com/Feisty.Spirits
, 33633 U.S. 550, Ste. A, Durango, 970-247-1474, honeyhousedistillery.com
Douglas Brown: 303-954-1395, djbrown@denverpost.com or twitter.com/douglasjbrown
