Denver Distilleries

Denver Distilleries

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey

Stranahan's lays claim to being the first Colorado-born whiskey, and the company remains committed to making the smoothest, most distinctively flavored whiskey on the market. How do they do it? By using handcrafted distilling techniques and Colorado's finest natural ingredients. The connoisseurs of the beverage world are taking notice, too: Stranahan's Batch 49 was voted Artisan Whiskey of the Year in 2009 by Whisky Advocate magazine. And that's not the company's only award: Stranahan's Baker cocktail lounge was ranked the No. 1 whiskey bar in the U.S. by Yelp reviewers! Tours ($22) of the distillery last approximately one hour and include an overview of the company and a guided stroll through the production brewhouse, still house and rack house. See the bottling room floor and — most importantly — get a taste of Colorado's most precious gold, Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey. All tour guests will receive $10 off one bottle of 750mL whiskey purchased from Stranahan's General Store the day of the tour. 

Laws Whiskey House

Laws Whiskey House, located just off South Broadway, is all about the long game. Each batch of its A.D. Laws Four Grain Straight Bourbon is produced via traditional open-air fermentation, aged a minimum of two years in 53-gallon charred American White Oak barrels and includes meticulously sourced ingredients: water, yeast, corn, barley, wheat and rye. (Hence the name "Four Grain.") Speaking of grain, Laws uses only heirloom and heritage grains from family-owned farms. And that attention to detail has paid off: Laws took home top honors for their Bottled in Bond San Luis Valley Straight Rye at the 2020 World Whiskies Awards, as well as a bronze medal in the non-Kentucky category for their 6-Year Bottled in Bond Straight Four Grain Bourbon. Grab a glass in the tasting room or schedule a tour to see how it's done. Tours cost $25, and a credit of $10 will be issued at the end of the tour toward any product purchased in the tasting room. Can't make it in person? Read about our visit to Laws' Church of Whiskey. 

Spirit Hound Distillers — Denver Tasting Room

Looking for your next favorite hangout in the Highland neighborhood? Enjoy hand-crafted cocktails made in-house, guided spirits tastings, mixology classes, live music, and events like trivia and Throwback Thursdays. Spirit Hound established its craft distillery in Lyons, Colorado, gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. They have won more than 60 awards in the last decade, including “Whisky of the Year” and “Coffee Liqueur of the Year.” 

The Family Jones Spirit House

Featuring the perfect pairing of food and spirits, The Family Jones Spirit House in LoHi offers up craft cocktails made with their in-house spirits, as well as innovative, Colorado-forward dishes like birria panini and green chile & chips. And if the spirit moves you, why not peek behind the scenes by taking a tour? 

Leopold Bros.

You'll find spirits from this family-owned (hence the name) distillery on cocktail menus across Denver. Whether your tastes run to whiskey, gin, vodka, fernet, absinthe, liqueur or aperitivo, Leopold Bros. doesn't disappoint. Locals especially love their unique flavored spirits, such as the Rocky Mountain Peach Whiskey, Rocky Mountain Blackberry Whiskey, Three Pins Alpine Herbal Liqueur and Frenchpress-Style American Coffee Liqueur. Visit their Northfield tasting room to try five spirited samples for $5, or schedule a distillery tour to taste up to 15 of their different spirits! Tours cost $20, and a credit of $10 will be issued at the end of the tour toward two bottles purchased in the tasting room. The other $10 will be donated to one of four local non-profit organizations. Want to up your home bartending skills? Leopold also hosts private and group cocktail classes. 

Denver Distillery

Denver Distillery is the city's first distillery-pub, meaning you can enjoy creative in-house spirits like strawberry kiwi liqueur, apple pie moonshine and spiced rum, along with beer, wine, cider and spirits from other local makers. Enjoy a hand-crafted cocktail or a British-influenced bite from Pasty Republic. This micro-distillery is located inside a repurposed historic hotel on South Broadway and specializes in creating small-batch, grain-to-glass spirits from natural and local ingredients using traditional distillation techniques. The $12 tour includes two samples and 10% off a bottle or merch. 

Deviation Distilling

The first thing you’ll notice here are the vibrant rectangular bottles, designed for optimal eye-catchiness. But once you peel your eyes away from the stunning colorful designs and let your taste buds in on the action, you’ll notice that Deviation’s roster of gins are pretty darn fantastic. Besides straight sipping, the best way to sample their gins is in their Dairy Block tasting room, in cocktails like the Heat Waves (made with blood orange gin, guava hot honey, lime and chili bitters) or the crisp Cucumber Basil with mountain herb gin. Just be sure to take home one of those bottles that doubles as drinkable art.

The Block Distilling Co.

The Block, located smack dab in the middle of RiNo, prides itself on doing everything the hard way. From starting with the finest raw ingredients, blending everything in-house and waiting (and waiting) for the barrel-aged bourbons and whiskeys, every drop has been painstakingly crafted. Try their Pink Dry Gin, Helluva Wheat Whiskey, Amaro, Vodka and more at the bustling tasting room, or schedule one of their Friday afternoon tours ($15). The non-alcoholic creations and coffee drinks are almost equally impressive.

Nearby Distilleries

State 38 Distilling

Trivia question: What's the 38th state? Answer: Colorado. This distillery (founded in April 2013) has been making a big splash on the spirits scene by providing Golden with a large portfolio to choose from. They have all the familiar staples like bourbon, vodka and gin, but for the adventurous in true mountain town fashion, try blanco, reposado and anejo agave spirits, absinthe, rye, and wheat and peat-smoked whiskeys. They have hand-built stills and a tasting room. Their motto: "Live adventurously, drink authentically."

Talnua Distillery

Arvada's Talnua Distillery claims to be America’s first single-pot still whiskey distillery. Taste the history of this American spirit with an Irish soul in the cocktail lounge, or go on a guided tour and tasting to learn all about it. 

Branch & Barrel Distilling

From humble beginnings in Boulder to their current home in Centennial, the team at Branch & Barrel Distilling provides some of the state's finest small-batch, handcrafted bourbon and whiskey, using only Colorado-grown ingredients. Take a tour of the distillery for an exclusive look into their unique distilling process and finish with a tasting of their year-round and seasonal bourbons.

Downslope Distilling

Downslope's goal is to produce and sell the highest quality distilled spirits available, to do so locally and to make those products first available to the Colorado community. This distillery's unique and award-winning products include Cane Vodka (made from the juice of Maui sugar cane before it's processed into sugar), Pepper Vodka (infused with New Mexico dried red chilies and black pepper from Indonesia), Double Diamond Whiskey (aged in both red wine casks and small new charred American oak casks), Ould Tom Gin (distilled from cane instead of grain and infused with 11 botanicals) and Gold Cane Rum (created in the same barrels used for tequila). Plan a visit to their Englewood facility just south of Denver for tastings and tours.

Boulder Spirits

Boulder's award-winning Boulder Spirits (formerly Vapor Distillery) makes its spirits in exceptionally small batches, using only the finest raw ingredients and traditional copper pot stills. In addition to standards such as vodka and a variety of whiskeys, try the Boulder Pink Gin, made with grapefruit zest and pink rose petals, or the Boulder Ginskey, which won a gold medal at the World Gin Awards for Best American Matured Gin. Visit the tasting room to enjoy a flight of the distillery's award-winning whiskeys or a cocktail (or two!), or schedule a $20 tour, which concludes with a tasting flight of four spirits. 

Distillery Tours

Craft (pun intended) your own tour of some of Colorado's finest distilleries along the Colorado Spirits Trail. Or check the in-house tours offered at many of Denver's distilleries.