There is some damn good whiskey being created inside the Centennial State’s borders these days. In the high-country stalwarts such as Breckenridge Distillery and Wood’s High Mountain High Distillery churn out some smooth sippers that pair perfectly with the long winter nights and outdoor fun. Along the Front-Range Stranahan’s and Leopold Brothers set the bar high with award winning bottles that bring crowds to their tasting rooms.
But, one of the best, if not the best, in the entire state is Laws Whiskey House in Denver. A passion project of Al Laws, a relocated Canadian who left a career in the oil and gas industry to start a second life as a distiller in Colorado, it is home to some of the most complex full-flavored liquid you can find.
Distilled under the stated motto of “Craft over commodity. Quality over quantity. Whiskey above all.” Laws has laid out a state-of-the-art facility that houses hundreds upon hundreds of barrels of whiskey filled with a variety of different styles of the spirit popularized in numerous Cowboy movies.
Using grain from Alamosa, and corn from Burlington, they eschew straying from the traditional pathway for making Bourbon and whiskey—no flavored stuff here. Instead they use pure Colorado water, yeast, and charred American White Oak barrels mixed with the above ingredients. That’s it.
One particular niche that they have carved out for themselves is in four grain bourbon (corn, wheat, rye, and barley—most bourbons skip the rye). Nicely balanced whiskeys with hints of forward spiciness and back of the mouth sweetness their concoctions have gained notice winning awards and accolades.
To celebrate the fact that they have been so well received, and to highlight the fact that they have built up a sufficient backlog of liquid, they have just released a 6-year Bottled in Bond Four Grain Bourbon. Made with the same painstaking care and focus of their other bottles this whiskey really takes their portfolio to a higher level. Made in a single season with ingredients harvested in the same season (hence the Bottled in Bond label) it brings a subtlety and nuanced set of flavors. Each sip still retains the hit of fire endemic to most good whiskey, but it quickly dissipates as more flavors leap to the forefront. Each sip leaves you longing for more.
So, grab a bottle to toss in your cupboard to break out as the days get shorter and the nights get colder. You won’t be upset.
