Eleven New and Innovative Colorado Whiskeys to Try

Colorado’s first boozy love may be craft beer, but whiskey isn't far behind. Just like many of the brewers throughout the state, whiskey distillers approach the spirit with a high level of passion and experimentation. As with new beer releases that push the envelope, there is always something new and intriguing to explore in the state's whiskey scene.

This summer, local malthouse Root Shoot Malting released a spirit of its own — an American Single Malt Whiskey. The Loveland-based, sustainably minded malthouse has supplied malt for a plethora of distilleries and breweries across Colorado for years, including Abbott and Wallace Distilling, Conflagration Distilling, the Family Jones Spirit House, Denver Distillery, the Block Distilling Co., Copper Sky Distillery, Ballmer Peak Distillery and many more.

Todd Olander, founder and farmer at Root Shoot, says that Colorado is a fantastic place to create whiskey, especially since it’s a grain-producing state with a long history of cultivating barley and other malting grains. Plus it has the climate, agricultural infrastructure and growing expertise to produce world-class malt.

“Equally important, however, we have a population that takes craft beverages very seriously, as indicated by our booming craft beer industry and now the expanding craft distilling scene,” Olander says. He notes that Colorado has more than 100 distilleries, making it the sixth leading state in the industry, behind only states that have a higher population (California, New York, Texas, Washington and Pennsylvania).

“The unique combination of Colorado's grain history combined with our state's love for all things craft beverages means that many of these distilleries are focusing on whiskey produced by local agriculture — a niche we are proud to be a part of,” Olander says. “We also have folks like Leopold, Stranahan's, Laws and others who have helped to carve out space for Colorado whiskey, not just with the local consumer, but also within the national consciousness.”

These factors, he says, make Colorado a cutting-edge place for innovative whiskey, noting examples like the Block Distilling Co.’s collaboration with Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, 291's Wheated Bourbon, and an American Single Malt Whiskey from Stranahan's cut with cold-brew coffee rather than water.

Thirsty for more? Here are some new and innovative Colorado whiskeys to try:
American Single Malt Whiskey
Root Shoot Spirits
For its first spirit, Root Shoot used Colorado-grown and malted grain, sourced from Olander Farms. The ingredients for the grain-to-glass whiskey are all grown and produced within thirty miles from field to bottle, and the product is 100 proof. It was aged in American white oak barrels for four years and has flavors of spicy botanicals, pastry, baking spice and cocoa dust. It was recently awarded a gold medal at the 2023 New York World Spirits Competition.
Broncos Bourbon Blends Orange & Blue
Breckenridge Distillery
Breckenridge Distillery, which makes the official bourbon of the Denver Broncos, released two blends this football season inspired by the team’s back-to-back championship wins in 1997 and 1998. Former Broncos players Alfred Williams (blue blend) and Ed McCaffrey (orange blend) teamed up with the distilling team to create them. The blue blend has notes of caramel, orange and honey, while the orange blend has an aroma of stone fruit and butterscotch with hints of chocolate and leather.
Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Honey Cask
Laws Whiskey House
This whiskey was aged for more than three years in charred oak barrels that were then used to age Colorado honey. Once the honey was harvested, the barrels were filled with the bourbon once again. The four-grain whiskey is a blend of corn and heirloom malted barley, wheat and rye.

Syrah-Finished Whiskey
Mythology Distillery
This distillery, which relocated from Denver to Steamboat Springs earlier this year, has a few whiskeys finished in wine barrels, including Tempranillo and this Syrah-finished variety. Hell Bear American Whiskey is aged in wine barrels that once contained Syrah for at least seven months. The wine instills notes of baking spices, sweet blackberry jam and vanilla with flavors of mulled wine, clove, brown sugar and cinnamon spice.
Aries Series Vol. 001
Talnua Distillery
This is the first release in Talnua Distillery’s new series featuring experimental whiskeys. It’s a Single Pot Still Whiskey (as are all of their Irish-inspired whiskeys) that was smoked on site with Irish peat. Aged for four years and ten months, this is the Arvada distillery’s oldest whiskey. Head distiller Patrick Miller was inspired to try smoking on site when the barrels from Isla, Scotland, that Talnua typically uses weren't available in 2020. The result is a bold smoked whiskey.
Anise Barrel
477 Distilling
Located in downtown Greeley, 477 Distilling produces a wide variety of unique spirits, including a vodka blended with local chai and a peanut butter-flavored bourbon. Its fall limited release, Anise Barrel, has all the sweet black licorice flavors you’d expect.
Maryland Style Rye Whiskey
Leopold Bros.
This single-barrel rye whiskey is inspired by a pre-Prohibition regional style of whiskey-making from more than sixty years ago. For Maryland Style Rye Whiskey, a mash bill of rye, corn and malted barley is used. The whiskey is open-fermented, aged five years and comes in at 100 proof. The result is fruity and floral, with orange marmalade notes and a buttery finish.
Colorado Brewer’s Cask
Stranahan’s
To celebrate Denver Beer Week in September, Stranhan’s released a whiskey inspired by Colorado brewers. After the single malt whiskey aged for six to eight years, the barrels were lent out to local breweries to age their own beers, such as a stout from Jagged Mountain Brewery, a barleywine from Banded Oak Brewing and imperial stout and porter casks from River North Brewery. The barrels were then returned and re-filled with the whiskey for one to three years.
Rye Barrel #1
Spirit Hound Distillers
Lyons-based Spirit Hound Distillers, which recently added a second taproom in Denver, released its Colorado Rye this month. The limited release is a mash of Colorado heirloom rye and barley, distilled in Spirit Hounds's handmade copper still. It was aged in oak casks for a minimum of four years and has a taste of woody vanilla, root beer and bitter almond. This seasonal whiskey won bronze at the London Spirits Competition.
Tincup Fourteener
Tincup
This is the second edition of a yearly release celebrating Colorado’s highest mountain peaks. The fourteen-year-old bourbon whiskey celebrates Quandary Peak, and the distillery is giving back by partnering with the Colorado Fourteener Initiative (CFI) to help preserve the mountain, including installing timber checks, protecting vegetation on the trail and constructing retaining walls to prevent soil erosion.
Coffee Cask Finished Whiskey
Ironton Distillery & Crafthouse
This RiNo distillery partnered with local Bluegrass Coffee Co. for its coffee cask whiskey with notes of java, vanilla and light smoke. Being part coffee house and part bourbon lounge, Arvada-based Bluegrass Coffee Co. makes an ideal partner for this collaboration. To make it, coffee beans and cold brew were aged in an Ironton barrel, then the coffee-infused barrel was used to finish the whiskey.