Reader: I was tricked into thinking Tincup was a Colorado-made product

When Tincup American Whiskey hit liquor-store shelves, it came with plenty of Colorado trappings. The bottle makes multiple references to the state, as does the leaflet attached to the neck. Its website is plastered with whiskey bottles positioned picturesquely in Colorado mountain backdrops, and the company boasts of its connection...

By Patricia Calhoun

February 13, 2014

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When Tincup American Whiskey hit liquor-store shelves, it came with plenty of Colorado trappings. The bottle makes multiple references to the state, as does the leaflet attached to the neck. Its website is plastered with whiskey bottles positioned picturesquely in Colorado mountain backdrops, and the company boasts of its connection to Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey co-founder Jess Graber, who can be seen on those pages sitting next to mountain streams. But despite all the references to Colorado, Tincup isn't actually distilled here -- and isn't connected to the state's craft-distilling movement in any way. Rather, it is made in Indiana with Midwest grains and then shipped to Colorado where it is cut with local water and bottled at the Stranahan's plant.

Stranahan's did get its start in Colorado, but today it's owned by Proximo Spirits, a New Jersey/New York-based liquor importer that also owns 1800 Tequila, Three Olives Vodka, Kraken Rum....and now Tincup. See also: Tincup is named for Colorado, but Jess Graber's newest whiskey is distilled in Indiana

Says Ben:

It's a shame that it is marketed deceitfully. I feel like I was tricked into thinking I was buying a Colorado-made product. Although it doesn't explicitly say "made in Colorado," it certainly has been designed to imply it. They will not get another dime of my money.

Have you tried Tincup? Did you think you were buying a Colorado-made product? What's your favorite spirit actually distilled in this state?

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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