The "Vault" at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park
This Colorado State Open Thread highlights a growing industry in Colorado, that of craft distilling. For many years, Colorado has been a home to the craft brewing business, where people brew beer in relatively small quantities, to spread around to neighbors and, if they’re good at it, perhaps to find a commercial outlet for their beer at a brew pub, a restaurant, store or other market. Some have grown to have a local, regional or even national following, with a very few (Blue Moon is an example) being purchased by behemoth breweries like Coors or Anheiser-Busch which have huge breweries in our fair state.
Following on the heels of these craft breweries came small wineries. The Mrs. and I took a tour of some of the wineries in the Denver metro on a party bus one day where we went to and sampled wines at five wineries without having to drive in between. The wineries purchased their grapes from other states (primarily California), brought them here, blended them together, mechanically pressed and filtered them in large vats, mixed them with yeast, put them in barrels for aging, bottled them and then put their labels on them for distribution in their winery tasting rooms or, if they were good enough, in stores.
At one point, the Mrs. and I took a weekend trip to a festival at the Abbey winery in Canyon City where they have enough space and good enough climate for their own grapes to grow, but they have such a demand for their wine that they also import grapes from California.
Grapes growing at the Abbey
One of the main buildings of the Abbey above the vineyard
Most of the wineries in Colorado use imported grapes, but over on the western slope there are some that are able to grow enough grapes for their needs. I have a grapevine that I bought last fall that I am going to put outside after the danger of frost passes, (so maybe July?) to see if it will grow here at altitude. I don’t know if it needs a second plant to pollinate for grapes to grow, but I miss the grape vines I grew down in Denver. I had some Concord grapes when I lived in Morrison, and I don’t know what grew in my yard in Denver — they were white grapes, but they were a magnet for the Japanese beetles so it was a fight every year to see whether frost, the beetles or I could enjoy the fruits of my labor.
More recently, there have been several distilleries that have been started around Colorado. If you’ve read this far, you might be familiar with companies with the names of Stranahans, 291, Tin Cup, Laws, Spirit Hound, Bear Creek, etc, etc. According to a couple of articles I’ve found, there are more than 100 distilleries operating in Colorado. Here in Estes Park alone, we have four that either have a wholly owned outlet selling their exclusive brand (with tasting rooms for tourists) or a full-fledged distillery. This is to go with our five breweries and a winery tasting room.
The Stanley Hotel doesn’t have its own alcohol production facility but it does have an owner who has been aggressively adding to the Stanley businesses here in town. I should say “did” have an owner, because they just sold the hotel and film business to an Arizona non-profit which will continue and expand the hotel, the film center and continue adding to the property. One thing that I was unaware of is they have a “Vault” which is a tasting room and high-end bar in the basement of the Stanley, next to where they have a coffee shop and conduct the tours of the hotel. The bar on the main floor in the Cascades restaurant already has what is advertised as Colorado’s largest selection of whiskey with more than 300 bottles behind the bar for tasting.
The “Vault”, in contrast, buys whiskeys one barrel at a time from all over the world based upon taste tests by their whiskey sommeliers, who choose those whiskeys they feel are most unique. Each barrel has its own unique taste profile; when you have some of a barrel, you are getting a unique taste that is not available anywhere else in the whole world. When that barrel has had all of its contents bottled for sale in the shop or used for tastings, that taste will be gone forever. There are three whiskey tastings each Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening and the Estes Park Newcomers Group has one session reserved for our members one weekend a month for the first five months of the year. I am sure the owners of the Stanley have not let the dual purpose of “enjoying the spirits of the Stanley” go by as a slogan unnoticed, given the ghost tours and stories so played up at the hotel.
I have my own bar in my basement and I’ve been purchasing various spirits because I want to see what I like. I’ve never been a big drinker — even now with my extensive collection, I only have a couple of drinks per week simply because I am not fond of being out of control, so I stop well short of my limit. I also have a relatively low tolerance of alcohol and tend to get ill rather than drink enough to get drunk. I hear that may be due to my Jewish heritage, though I don’t know for certain. I usually am happy to be the designated driver if I go out with friends, and they’re usually happy to have a DD along. Still, if I’m only going to get a single drink, I want it to be something I enjoy the first time rather than having to go searching for one and have a few while finding “the one” I like.
The tasting sessions consist of four tastes, where you find out what you’ve sampled after a blind tasting of each one.
The first sample was an Irish whiskey. I have inherited some Irish whiskeys in my collection, but I haven't tried them. For some reason I've always thought they would be somewhat minty. I think that has to do with the four-leaf clover that appears on some of the labels, though I'm not sure why clover is associated with mint in my mind. Maybe it has to do with the green color. The one we tasted had a relatively “meh” taste compared to the whiskeys I do like, which tend to have a sweeter taste. With a dash of water added, it seemed to mellow the taste even more. It’s something that didn’t make me want to rush out and have any more of it.
The second was a WhistlePig Rye. Aged 6 years because the Stanley’s staff like it better for mixing than the popular 10 year found in many stores. It had a strong flavor. When I added some water to it, I thought it was better, but I do have both a 10 year and 12 year old bottles of their Rye from purchases in stores and I liked those more than this. I haven’t mixed the older ones, though, other than with Coca Cola, so maybe in a mixed drink like an Old Fashioned or Manhattan, maybe the stronger taste is better to stand up to the other flavors.
The third was a Yellowstone whiskey. This is a brand that has a long and interesting history, detailed on their website. I have a bottle of their Yellowstone Select whiskey, but this was from a barrel, chosen for its unique profile. While I liked it, especially after the addition of water, I didn’t remember it as fondly as I did the bottle I had at home.
The fourth was the beginning of a barrel of Laws bourbon whiskey. We were the first group to try this particular barrel. From Denver, this is a whiskey I hadn’t tried, but I do have a four-pack of small Laws bottles that are probably about 100ml apiece. After trying this taste at the Stanley, I’m not in a hurry to break open the four-pack to see how they taste. Like the others, I wasn’t thrilled with the tastes of the Stanley’s barrels, but I do like the commercial ones that are sold in quantity in the stores. I can’t really recall my reasons for not liking this one from Laws, but I had a few samples by that point and my tongue was rather numb.
In sum, I decided I wasn’t that fond of the “special” tastes of the barrel whiskey, but I do like the ones sold in the liquor stores, where they’ve blended the barrels to achieve a consistent, signature taste. I’m just a mass-market kinda guy.
It is important to note that everyone has different tastes, and there are lots of different ways of drinking whiskey. I do know I’m not fond of the Scotch earthy / peaty / smokey whisky (note the different spelling, without the “e” and I’m much more fond of bourbons. My favorites have been Maker’s Mark, Angel’s Envy, Yellowstone, Jack Daniels Black (definitely a different taste) and Four Roses, but I don’t begrudge those who enjoy others like Pappy’s or non-bourbons like Canadian whisky, Scotch whisky or who don’t care for whisk(e)ys or even any alcohol at all. Vive la difference!
My whisk(e)y collection. It has taken years to grow this large, and some are still unopened.
To have a political facet to this story, “Alcohol to go” was begun during the pandemic to allow people to take their drinks or bottles in “to-go” containers from bars and restaurants. The same law allowed for delivery of alcoholic beverages as a delivery item to go with food and I think also for liquor stores to deliver alcohol, though I’m not absolutely sure on that last point. From ColoradoPolitics.com:
SB 020, a bipartisan initiative, would remove the scheduled repeal of existing legislation allowing licensed businesses to continue selling alcoholic beverages for delivery or takeout permanently. The measured on Thursday cleared the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee.
To address concerns about drinking and driving, the bill requires all beverages to be sealed in tamper-proof containers and delivered by an employee over the age of 21. Customers must also be at least 21 with valid ID to purchase the beverages.
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The bill is sponsored by Sen. Dylan Roberts, D- Frisco, and Reps William Lindstedt, D- Broomfield, and Rose Pugliese, R- Colorado Springs.
Let me know in the comments below if you want more of these types of mostly apolitical open threads or if you wish more political ones. Or if you wish to comment on the snowstorm, what’s happening in your world, the world outside of Colorado or anything else at all. I am back on a timeout again for one of my recommends (along with 28 others) so I can’t recommend your comments, but know I will read every comment.
Again, I ask for a substitute from March 19th through April 22nd, so please let me know if you’re interested in writing any/all of the open threads during that time. The floor is yours...
