In typical Colorado fashion the snow melted in less than 24 hours. Our yard is a mud pit which makes the puppy happy. I am on the tail end of my head cold which means a sexy smokers voice with complimentary cough. We spent the morning organizing our day and getting our spreadsheet together showing the days and hours each distillery is open. We made a few phone calls for exceptions to the listed hours so we could hit some of our favorites today.

We decided Denver was the way to go and headed north dealing with the ever so frustrating traffic on I-25. Even with construction and some minor accident it only took us a little over an hour to reach Stranahan’s distillery. Only their retail space was open so we were not able to enjoy a tasting or a cocktail. You could see through their observation window into the warehouse that they were bottling Tin Cup whiskey. We have done the Stranahan’s distillery tour before. Their operation is massive compared to some of the smaller distilleries we have been to. If you are able to make it on a day where they are fully open, I highly recommend the tour.

Just up the street is Deviation Distillery. They are a young gin distillery, with a unique take on the botanicals used in their product. They are in the process of aging whiskey and bourbon to be released once ready. I enjoy that their gin’s used three mash builds and then distilled with drastically different botanicals giving each gin a unique flavor. The bottles themselves are a work of art. They are inspired  by traditional Japanese Washi Paper and colored to compliment their contents. At this time they are still getting set up but are open to the public so please stop by and meet these amazing people. Bob and Cindy are so passionate and have brought such a delicate and artistic view to distilling. I’m really excited to see where they will go from here. Their full cocktail menu should be available by the beginning of June. Dan and I hope to make it to their grand opening so we can experience what they can do with such amazing base spirits.

Next we went to Golden Moon for a special stop in western Denver. They were not technically open but Dan has developed a close relationship with the owner Stephen, so he invited us in for a private tour and tasting. Stephen with Golden Moon is thrilled and fascinated by the history of distilling. He uses antique stills as well as  some custom stills based off of historical blueprints. He likes to dig up long lost recipes and revive them for the masses. Stephen has a library of antique books with recipes and diagrams of some of the original still styles throughout history. We spent a good two hours just talking about the magic and historical relevance of distilled spirits.

After tearing ourselves away from Stephen and all of his charisma we made our way to the nearby State 38 Distillery. Sean Smiley is the owner and the President of the Distillers Guild, who organized the Spirits Trail. We got to spend time with him and see the original still they worked from as well as the stills that they are working off of now. Sean and his friends have retrofitted most of the parts from old dairy pasteurization tanks. They are in a small space with every available inch being used for various stages of the distilling and aging process. In our usual fashion we ended up staying a little past closing time  just enjoying talking about the Trail and all of the great people we’ve met so far.

It was starting to get late and we needed to grab some dinner before carrying on. Thankfully The Family Jones was not far from State 38 and they have a delicious food menu. The still is up above the kitchen space and bar and is lit so the radiant copper positively glows as you walk in.

We chose to sit at the bar and ordered a few cocktails. I had this amazing cocktail called Thief in the Garden which has their Stopgap Rye with carrot juice, ginger and turmeric, and Dan had the Avocado Daiquiri with Mo Jones, passion fruit, lime, arbol chili and avocado puree. The food was scrumptious. I think our favorite was the Duck Leg Confit. It was served with a spicy red curry which was just what I needed to help burn out this lingering cold.

Thoroughly sated we headed to Ironton Distillery in Denver’s RiNo Art District. Last year they were not quite open yet and had a lot of construction in front of their property while Dan was completing the Trail. He crossed three construction lines attempting to get there and had to settle for photo with their sign. This year everything is up and running. The facility is huge, and we didn’t get to see the whole distillery but what I could see through the windows was  an expanse of gorgeous stills and closed fermenters. I decided to abstain from a cocktail in lieu of some local cold brew coffee over ice to keep me going for the night. But I did get to try a small sip of a few of their products, specifically their rum which is what we received in the 42 bottles we won from last year. It’s a silver rum and was sweet with a solid kick on the back end: I bet it makes some delicious cocktails. While we were there, we got to meet Megan who is one of the owners of Talnua Distillery in Arvada. I love to see distillers hanging out at each other’s distilleries. It’s one of my favorite things about Colorado’s distilling community; it’s more for friendship than direct competition.

We finished off at Mythology Distilling . I had a margarita and some pickled carrots which were both really good. The margarita had a serrano pepper ice cube in it which increased the heat of the drink as it melted. By the time I was done it was definitely noticeable. I found out that they make all of their dried garnish in house. I was sitting at the bar in front of the garnish stations so I was able to see the dried pineapple, grapefruit, lemon, lime, and jalapeno. Scott is one of the owners and we got to have a nice talk with him. He is into backcountry skiing and likes the wild magic that the mountains bring to his life. He told us that one of his trips to Alaska inspired him to start the business and share this wild magic with the Denver community.

We finally made it back home for another night in our own bed, much to the joy of our puppy dogs and the relief of our tired bodies. Up next will be the Western Slope. We are nearly a third of the way through the Trail and hope to put a big dent in the list over the next few days. With every distillery I visit I get more excited for the future of all of these companies and can not wait to visit them again and again and share them with my friends and family.

Till tomorrow, Let the Spirit Guide you. ZZZZzzzzzzzzZ.

I am so glad I got to sleep in my own bed last night. I think I desperately needed it to help me fight this ridiculous head cold. We were able to have a slow day, eat breakfast at home, and watch Game of Thrones. I was far too sick last night to watch it live. After I finished the finale we got back to work on the Trail.

We first decided to inventory our rewards from last year. As a reminder, the first 24 people who completed the trail received a bottle from each of the participating distilleries. In total we received 41 bottles contained in about 7 cases. It wasn’t all 51 we were expecting, but we are working out figuring out where some of the missing bottles may be or the reason they were not included. We were excited to see that three of the new distilleries provided some products to the winners; DV8, Whistling Hare, and Sante Fe Spirits. We were so excited to see them included.

With the heavy snow predictions today we decided it was a goo idea to stay local to the  Colorado Springs area and keep close to home for safety. This made for a relatively short day but a fun one all the same. Everyone was a little slow due to the weather so we were able to get in some more personal conversations  and share the blog with our friends here in the industry.

We started our day off at Colorado Gold. They have a distillery and retail shop on Nevada Ave. You are able to get four tastings while there. We received a bottle of their Colorado High Vodka from them for the Trailblazer reward. This vodka is made with a hemp and corn mash which was actually being fermented while we were there. They had the milled hemp and corn that they use for their mash, the Hemp smells earthy and is a mildly sweet in flavor which surprised me. It’s this deep brown fresh earth color but apparently it’s green when initially ground. Eventually it dries and when it oxidizes it turns this brown color. It was very cool to get to see the background of the distillery from the mash build, fermenting, distilling and filtering all in one place. The smell of vodka fermenting is a far less intense scent than traditional whiskey.

We made a phone call to, Jake, the owner of 1350 since they are not technically open to the public yet. It is a new location to the 2019 map. I was able to meet Jake previously at the Taste of Pikes Peak event and was immediately smitten with his kind and warm demeanor. Jake was so excited to allow us a sneak peek of their new location. They just finished installing the floors and bar, and were waiting for some final inspections so they can begin distilling. The bar top is made with a copper layer shellacked  with a clear seal. The colors are gorgeous and even with the bar still being down to its bones you can already tell this is going to be a great local staple to our community. They are incredibly passionate for our local military community and are very sincere in their passion and love for a good spirit.

Moving on, we headed south to Axe and the Oak. Ever since I watched Elkins Distillery in Estes Park make their Smoky Old Fashioned I’ve been craving Axe and the Oaks Smoked Tobacco Old Fashioned. It scratched the itch and I was glad that my decongestants were kicking in so I could enjoy the complex flavors and scents that go with their cocktails. Dan’s goal is to not catch my crud, so he had a Hot Toddy which is perfect for the crummy weather and warding off wifely cooties. At this point it was only raining but it was coming down heavily and we were feeling more and more grateful that we decided to stay near home today. We were able to try a few more of the experimental drinks that the staff is hoping to get on the next seasonal menu.

We decided to finish up with Lee Spirits. We were able to see the bar manager and head bartender Carlos and Philip to talk shop. They had a few experimental products to share which we thought were amazing; they are not up for sale just yet but they are tweaking the recipes in hopes of getting some spanking new products to add to the Lee Spirits family. We met some new people who had never heard of the Spirits Trail and were able to share the map and our blog with them. It was so fun luring someone else into this tasty and enlightening adventure.

I apologize for the shortness. between my head cold and the weather it was a rather slow day. We love everyone we got to hang out with today and I look forward to giving a full and proper review of Colorado Gold and 1350 soon.

Good morning. Day two started off peacefully. A storm front was rolling in, so Boulder was damp and cool and unfortunately, I’ve decided to come down with a head cold. We grabbed breakfast at Foolish Craig’s; an amazing breakfast spot recommended by my amazing editor and sweet host for the night. After a quick stop to pick up provisions for my head cold we made our way up the Front Range to  Lyons.

It was a drizzly morning but I always love driving up towards Estes Park. I’m so happy to see the recovery (albeit slow,) of the little mountain towns after the terrible flooding in the area in 2013. We stopped at Spirit Hound, which is one of Dan’s absolute favorite distilleries. Our bartender Amanda was cleaning up from the very successful World Whiskey Day celebration on Saturday but was still welcoming and kind. Their cocktail menu looked so good but we thought it would be more prudent to have a flight so I could get a broader take on their line. . They use a 100% barley mash which is different from many of the other distilleries that use a corn and rye combination.

Each barrel is bottled and sold separately with no blending between them. This makes for a very special tasting experience. Dan and I also got to speak with the owner, Craig, who is so passionate about what he doing in Lyons. You can just feel that this distillery loves and cares about their community so much. I look forward to returning and trying some of the craft cocktails. Amanda is part of the Whiskey Wenches who helped to directly develop the gin sold by Spirit Hound. This group of ladies got together and drop by drop adjusted the botanicals to get their flavor perfect. The Whiskey Wenches host a lot of events at the distillery and also take field trips to other local distilleries.

We continued up into Estes Park to check out Elkins Distillery. They were busy helping the hoards from a tour bus swinging by. Since I was not feeling well, I deemed it an appropriate time for one of their Hot Toddys. It used Celestial Seasonings’ chamomile tea with their whiskey and some lemon juice. It definitely lifted my spirits. The location is bright and open with these amazing painted deer and elk heads on the wall. I really enjoyed seeing their signature smoky old fashioned get made. It appears that they batch their old fashioned with the whiskey, sugar, and bitters, and pour it over smoked ice. We didn’t get a chance to try it but it looked delicious.  

Elkins Distillery uses a rapid aging process which is different than other distilleries in Colorado. This process involves placing charred wood chips into the barrel to infuse it with the whiskey which achieves a deeper color and more complex flavor it a much faster time frame. This can reduce the time from years to months for a completed product. This has allowed them to get a finished product out to the public more rapidly than typically expected.

On our way back down to Denver we were able to stop by Longtucky in Longmont. We were lucky enough to be there while one of the  – John- was there. He gave us a semi-private tour of the facility and allowed us to try a few of their specialty products. One of our favorites was the Leviathan Black Rum. We were tempted to get a bottle but decided we will wait until we have our wish list together once we have completed the trail. I thoroughly enjoyed the Longtucky Spirit that John exudes when he speaks and would enjoy sitting down with him over whiskeys any day.

Mad Rabbit was actually my first official stop on the Trail last year. They have an amazing gin which I covet for special at-home cocktails. We were able to try their bourbons on this visit. I really like how smooth it was without being overly sweet. At this point my head cold was in full swing so unfortunately my tasting opinion can’t go much deeper than that.

We met two other Trailblazers who announced that they had already hit 13 locations just that day. We complimented them on their great feat and were excited to chat about their travels learn about their favorites. We were greatly disappointed to realize exactly how  they had made so much headway so quickly when we got inside. They immeadiately asked for the stamp from the lovely Lindsey who was tending bar, and as soon as she went to get our flight they were gone just as fast. They didn’t try anything or even introduce themselves. What a shame.

Just a few minutes from Mad Rabbit is the Whistling Hare. They are new to the Trail this year but certainly not new to distilling. Collin is the bar manager and he helped to develop the current menu. The tasting room is intimate, which was very nice on a slow Sunday afternoon. We decided to get a bottles’ worth of their whiskey aged coffee beans; I can’t want to make some cold brew with it.

For our final location we decided to run over to Rising Sun in Denver before they closed for the evening. We got a small tour of the location and got to see their pot stills as well as two infusions for their lavender/hibiscus liquor and Colorado chili liquor. It is so cool to see the process in action. We were able to enjoy one last quick flight before going home to Colorado Springs to sleep our own bed and snuggle my dogs who I haven’t seen all weekend.

I think this is a good point to bring something up about the trail. Since this is a competition, by Colorado law you are no obligated to make any purchases to participate. But I would like to encourage everyone to go to these locations, try the spirits, and complete a tour. Don’t just run in and get your stamp and run out. Don’t be ‘that guy’. Yes, Daniel did finish the trail in 8 days last year, but he stopped and talked to the staff at every single location. He tired something, he learned something, and he got another amazing story. People who are just doing this for the stamps are missing the entire point. Don’t take the spirit of community out of the Spirits Trail. In short, don’t be an asshole.

We had a slow start this morning but were able to get some breakfast at the hotel before hitting the road. I absolutely should have listened to my mother before we started this trip to check on what local events may be going on that could impact our travel. Traffic from the Denver Tech Center to I-70 was a bear. Apparently there was a jazz festival going on in Denver which I feel probably explains the traffic. Our first stop was going to be Steamboat Whiskey Company in Steamboat Springs, CO. This was a 4-hour trip through some gorgeous Colorado mountain passes. Thankfully we decided to change or initial plans of doing the whole western slope this weekend because I-70 was closed at the Eisenhower Tunnel blocking the most direct route west instead, we were able to take Hwy 40 north to go up through Winter Park and on to Steamboat. The pass is very winding and steep. As we worked our way up, we could see the snow still on the mountains ahead of us and a storm brewing around the peaks.

At this point Dan commented that Winter Park is true to its name and it will snow every single time we have to drive this pass. The snow wasn’t as bad as last year where it was borderline white-out conditions, but this pass is intense so any amount of precipitation can be intimidating. Dan navigated it like a champ, only cursing once or twice. At one-point traffic came a full stop for about 30 minutes, apparently there was an accident heading up the mountain which, as you can imagine, even a minor accident on a two-lane mountain road is going to cause some delays. Thankfully it didn’t look serious when we drove by. We drove through Winter park and started the last two hour stretch into Steamboat. The drive continued to be gorgeous, all of the moisture we’ve had this winter and spring really shows with how green the meadows are.

Finally, butts thoroughly asleep, we pull into Steamboat Springs and make our way to Steamboat Whiskey Company only to discover we should have checked their website. They are closed due to construction and won’t reopen until June 1^st. So unfortunately, we did not get to try any of their whiskey, which was a huge disappointment but, we did get a selfie in front of their sign out front. After only a small amount of pouting we got back on the road. I drove back to Winter Park, allowing Dan to get a quick nap in. Since I was driving and focused on keeping track of the speed limit to avoid those mountain town sheriffs, I didn’t get to enjoy the scenery as much. We got back into Winter Park and stopped in at Idlewild Spirits. We caught them right when they opened and were able to split a tasting flight. We asked our bartender to pick his favorites and he poured us three whiskeys and three gins. My favorite whiskey was their Woodcutter’s Bourbon Whiskey and my favorite of the gin was their Purple Haze.

We also got to talk to Jeff, the owner. He is clearly so passionate about what he is doing. He had originally started off as a brewer when a friend convinced him to give distilling a try. He loves the clarity of flavor he is able to get with distilled spirits. I noticed that their bottles are very unique and I asked Jeff where the design was from. He told me that he has them custom made, they are developed with a distinctive lip along the top and a texture to the glass in the center acts as a grip. My favorite detail is that along the side of the bottle there are ounce markers.

Jeff also gave us a tour of the distillery. They were running a bourbon while we were there and we were able to try a tiny taste of the clear spirit that comes out of the still initially before it is aged. It is surprisingly sweet and basically just evaporated off of the tongue. The Still was designed by Jeff. The space is limited and does not have high ceilings so he designed a pot still with a series of pipes to connect it to a 4-plate column still. It is a labyrinth of pipes that has its own sort of beauty when you look at it. It is such a treat to be able to be in a distillery when they are actively running their still. I love that smell!

We were then able to head back down Hwy 40 to head into Boulder and meet up with our good friend, and my editor, Hannah. We had a quiet drink at Deviant Spirits Distillery. They were prepping for a fundraiser party but still has an amazing specialty menu. Our bartender was so sweet and still slinging amazing cocktails all while prepping for the event. I really enjoy Deviant Spirits; they have a very unique flavor lended by the use of rice as their only grain. Their vodka is so sweet and smooth and pairs well with the strong flavors in infusions. The Bar was very hip and had some really cool art pieces on the wall. We look forward to visiting their location again and often in the future.

We ended the night at Vapor Distillery. I had meant to call ahead and get a tour but it was so late we settled for another round of cocktails. They have a variety of old fashioneds using their various styles of whiskey which were super tasty. It’s a simple presentation of the cocktail served over a large and very clear ice cube and a fruit peel. It was elegant and delicious. I will definitely be coming back to meet up with their distiller and get a tour. We got a small glimpse of their still but I would enjoy taking a closer look.

Hannah and her family were so kind and allowed up to stay with them for the night so we were able to get a good night’s sleep and start the next day fresh.

Until tomorrow, let the spirit guide you.

Last year Dan completed the Spirits Trail in 8 days. He was the first to complete it, but the first 25 people were all rewarded with a bottle from each of the participating distilleries. We picked up our bottles at the Wild Corgi Pub in Denver. It was fun waiting for our bottles because we got to know the other Trailblazers. We all swapped stories of our antics and the planning we had to do to make the trip work. A lot of people completed it as a couples and seemed to have a great time doing it together. Dan and I are excited to experience the trail together this year.

This year they will be presenting two bottles randomly selected from the participating distilleries to each Trailblazer, and every month they will be doing a drawing for one lucky person to get 40 bottles randomly selected from the distilleries. While we are looking forward to adding to our extensive collection, we are most excited for the adventures we’ll have on the Trail. All together, we received 41 bottles contained in 7 cases. Thankfully 7 cases of distilled spirits takes up less space than 350 lbs of mastiffs.

We headed over to the McNichols Building for the Colorado Spirits Trail Festival. For completing the trail Dan received a complimentary Trailblazer ticket which granted early access to the event. It was held in a really funky gallery that had caricatures of various celebrities. There was so much going on at the festival that I didn’t get a chance to read the descriptions, but what I did see was fun and definitely added to the atmosphere.

All 62 participating distilleries had their distillers and brand ambassadors present to talk to the patrons. They also brought samples!. It was so exciting to meet some of the new distilleries added to the map this year and it’s always great to see our old friends from the distilleries we’ve already been to. Highlights from the evening included getting to do a live video with the Colorado Spirits Trail talking about the trail and the blog. As usual we loved chatting with all of the representatives for the distilleries and making many new friends.

It’s impossible to talk about everything we saw but I will try to cover the highlights. One of my favorite new distilleries this year is Talnua Distillery. They are up in Arvada and have a similar style to an Irish whiskey.  Usually I enjoy a sweeter bourbon, but their whiskey is extremely smooth and the flavor is sweet and delicate. The brand ambassadors were so passionate and excited to be part of the Spirits Trail and share their spirits. I’m very excited to visit their distillery and learn more about their process and of course add to our ever growing collection.

Deviant Spirits in Boulder stood out. All of their products are distilled from rice. Their vodka is sweet and has a wonderful feeling on the tongue. I really enjoy that they are using rice for their grain, and I believe it is the only distillery making their spirits this way in Colorado.

The whole night was so much fun Originally we planned (ambitiously) to go to The Block Distilling Company and The Family Jones but we were pretty beat by the end of the night and decided to head to a hotel and start the trail off fresh Saturday morning. Standby for further tales from the Trail!