Tenderfoot Malt Whiskey

Tenderfoot American Malt whiskey is made from three types of malt barley (including two-row plus a blend of chocolate and cherry wood malts), malt rye and malt wheat to give it balance with a hint of smoke, chocolate and a long spicy finish. It’s not a “Single Malt” since we use malted rye and malted wheat in the mashbill, rather this is a whiskey that is pioneering the return of the little-known category of Malt whiskey. This young whiskey’s age is belied by the intense effects of aging at 7089ft (2159m) in the Colorado mountains. Aged two-years in #1 Char New American oak barrels, and bottled at 45% (90 proof).

Tenderfoot Whiskey has a rating of 85 points from Whiskey Advocate, and an 89 point “highly recommended” rating from the Beverage Tasting Institute

How do we make our whiskey?

Tenderfoot is a malt whiskey made from 100% malted grains.  The mash bill is:

• 77% malt barley, including two specialty grains: chocolate malt (6%) and cherrywood smoked malt (9%)
• 13% malt-rye
• 10% malt wheat

Pick up a Backcountry Bottle in our lightweight, infinitely recyclable, shatterproof, resealable, go-anywhere bottle for camping, boating, festivals, hut trips and other outdoor adventures.

Alpine Rye Whiskey

It is aged for two years in new oak barrels and bottled in Limited Release batches, so it is only available a few times a year.

Alpine Rye features a mash bill of 73% malt-rye and 27% specialty barley malts. Aged a minimum of two years in new charred American oak barrels. Spicy rye malt and specialty barley malts make a unique, assertive rye whiskey that has a flavor profile of smoky rye spice, followed by a hint of dark chocolate, orange peel, and cinnamon toast and finishes with caramel, coffee and spice. Bottled at 49% ABV, Limited Supplies.

Alpine Rye Whiskey received a rating of 91 points from Whiskey Advocate Magazine.

Alpine Rye is a rye whiskey made from 100% malted grains.  The mash bill is:

• 73% malted rye
• 5% chocolate barley malt
• 5% cherry wood smoked barley malt

Dawn Patrol Single Malt Whiskey

This is a special whiskey named for hard-core skiers who are up before dawn to snag powder lines while others sleep. This whiskey, which honors those intrepid skiers (oh yeah – and British WWI Flying Aces), started out five years ago as an experiment with cherry-wood smoked malt barley. We wanted to see what would happen if we made a whiskey with a significant percentage of cherry-wood smoked barley (in this case 45%) and the balance of two-row malted barley. We aged it for five years in #3 new American oak and with the magic of high-altitude Colorado aging we have a produced a fully mature spirit that stands up to the legacy of early-morning ski mountaineers and WWI fighter pilots alike. Dawn Patrol, like all our whiskies, is a big whiskey that is bursting with leather, smoke, chocolate and baking spices. It’s wonderfully balanced and the finish goes forever.

This Limited Release typically consists of only 250 bottles per release. It is  only available in the Salida Tasting Room or for online orders.

Mashbill:

55% two-row malted barley
45% Cherrywood smoked malted barley
Aged 5 years in #3-charred New American Oak

49% ABV

Distiller’s Reserve Whiskey Series

Release #1: Distiller’s Reserve Alpine Rye Whiskey

The Distiller’s Reserve label is given to only our most exceptional barrels. In this case, we have two barrels that have earned the label of Distiller’s Reserve. Both feature our standard rye mashbill and aged 6 & 7 years, respectively. These barrels are both incredible on their own but we decided to blend them for a really mind blowing whiskey.

• Very Limited! Only 375 bottles were made and it is currently only available at the tasting room in Salida.

Additionally, this release is special because these are the last two barrels of whiskey we have that were distilled on our antique German pot-still Ashley (which graces each label).

This release of Distiller’s Reserve shows gentler, incredibly integrated rye whiskey that beautifully melds the flavor profile our traditional Alpine Rye with of smoky rye spice, cinnamon, caramel, orange peel and coffee – just heightened. Aged in a combination of 6 and 7 year old new #3-char American oak barrels. Distilled and aged in our distillery at over 7000′ in Salida, Colorado from grains sourced in the San Luis Valley and bottled at 101 proof.

Mashbill:

73% Malted Rye
13.5% Cherrywood Smoked Malted Barley
13.5% Chocolate Malted Barley
ABV: 50.5%