Mile High Spirits Unveils "More Mature" Tasting Room Concept

After fifteen years as Denver’s party distillery, Mile High Spirits is growing up.

The distillery closed its tasting room in January, then reopened it earlier this month to reveal a remodeled space and an updated menu and attitude. “We've had a slogan that we take our spirits seriously, but not ourselves,” says founder Wyn Ferrell. “And we're still gonna live in that world, but we're gonna be a little more serious than we were.”

Mile High, founded in 2011 in the space that is now Ratio Brewing (what Ferrell refers to as Mile High 1.0), moved to its current space at 2201 Lawrence Street in 2014. It fit into the evolving RiNo culture, a young distillery in a young, energetic scene — Mile High Spirits 2.0.


"That made us a party bar. Denver was a party city and it was a great concept and we got fourteen years out of it,” Ferrell says. “But as we grow up, as our whiskey grows up — you know, we’ve got seven- and eight-year whiskeys coming out now — we've decided to grow up with Denver. Denver is doing less of that clubby party.”

Asked if the move was inspired by Denver growing up or Ferrell and his team growing up, he admits it might be both. “We're growing up as owners, our products are growing up. I also think kids are growing up faster now,” he says.

“I think the younger generation wants more quality and the party concept that we had wasn’t showcasing our quality well enough," he adds. "We make the best stuff in Colorado. It should be matched with the look and feel and vibe of the room. We want people to walk in and say, ‘I’m in a distillery, I’m in a premium distillery, and this stuff is going to be good.’ We just want to be known for spirits first, and then our tasting-room experience. So it's a big change for us, but it's one that we're really excited for.”
It also became a burden to be a constant party destination. “We could fill the room if we hosted something big, and that became exhausting,” he recalls. “We’re doing this thing on Friday night, we’re doing this thing on Saturday night, next Thursday we’re doing this, Friday we’re doing that. Let’s get out ads for all of this. Let's make sure that we're targeting the right people. Let's get messaging out to these different demographics. It just became so much that it’s 'Let's boil this down and become ourselves, and then people will like what they see, because our products stand on their own.'”

To fit with that philosophy, the space has been remodeled into more of a dark, moody lounge, with new furniture, new lighting, new paint and an updated layout. “This is Mile High Spirits 3.0,” Ferrell says. There will still be live music — more singer-songwriters or DJs with their own music and fewer top-40 DJs, “things that just set more of a low-key vibe for a cocktail lounge,” he adds.
“It should look and feel a lot different than our room felt before, but also it should be pretty unique to us, a place that people say, ‘That is a Mile High Spirits experience.’”

A revamped drinks menu is part of the new experience. The physical space provides the opportunity to sit and enjoy a good conversation with friends over really good cocktails — “a more mature concept,” he notes.

“It is more for the whiskey lovers, the purists, the craft distillery lovers, that's who we're going for,” Ferrell says. for inspiration, he and his team visited spots around Denver such as Forget Me Not and Sorry Gorgeous, where they saw customers leaning towards a more sophisticated experience.
“We're not copying anybody. We're definitely still doing our own thing, but we are inspired constantly by the Denver market at large,” he explains. “It has influenced so much of our concept over the years. I want to be a concept that's more consistent and it's known for its drinks. You come here because you are going to have an absolutely incredible drink made with all grain from Colorado, made with a great whiskey that was made grain-to-bottle in-house, aged for eight years in the building that you’re sitting in.”

Mile High has also started making more cocktail components in-house, including things like simple syrups and bitters, often with fresh, local ingredients. Thanks to a change in state law last year, it's now able to bring in a full complement of alcoholic modifiers — things like amaro and other liqueurs — and has transitioned away from plastic cups for serving.

“You're not going to come in here and get an old-fashioned in a plastic cup. You're going to get an old-fashioned with seven-year, 100-proof whiskey that’s properly made with housemade bitters," he says. "We’re really leaning into the fact that we are craft, so we're just bringing that motif across to our tasting room.”

New cocktails include the Raspberry Kiss, which features honeydew vodka, raspberry mead, lemon, raspberry, gomme, non-alcoholic champagne and a lemon twist; and the Lavender by the Fireside, with peach bourbon, Earl Grey syrup, lavender water, lavender cream, lemon, egg white and sparkling water.

"We want a James Beard for cocktails in the next next two to three years," Ferrell says. "So we're really building a concept that hinges around showcasing our products."

Mile High Spirits Grand Reopening, 3 and 7 p.m. Friday, May 2, 2201 Lawrence Street. There will be live music and admission is free; register here.