Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey is a 94 proof, small batch whiskey distilled in Denver, Colorado. Stranahan's was the first modern microdistillery to legally make whiskey in Colorado, and an early craft whiskey distiller in the United States.

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey
TypeWhiskey
ManufacturerStranahan's Distillery
DistributorProximo Spirits
Country of originUnited States
Introduced2004
Alcohol by volume47%
Proof (US)94
Related productsList of whisky brands
Websitestranahans.com

History

Stranahan's was founded by Jess Graber and George Stranahan, after whom the whiskey is named, in Colorado in 2004.[1][2] In 1998, Graber, a volunteer firefighter, met Stranahan, the founder and owner of Flying Dog Brewery, while fighting a fire at Stranahan's barn.[3][4] They struck up a conversation about whiskey, and were soon in business together.[4] One of the first craft whiskey distillers in the US,[5] Stranahan's is said to have "kicked off the Colorado distilling craze" with its whiskey and the designation it invented, Rocky Mountain Whiskey.[6] It was Colorado's first microdistillery,[7] and the state's first legal distillery since Prohibition.[8]

The first batch of Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey was distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2006.[4] Stranahan's was sold to New Jersey-based Proximo Spirits in 2010, with operations remaining in Colorado.[1] By 2012, Proximo had increased whiskey production from around 12 barrels per week to 30, with plans to grow into the high forties.[1][4] Stranahan's was sold in 38 states and 7 countries until 2010, when Proximo decided to scale down sales to mostly the Colorado area, maintaining the whiskey's availability in its home state.[4][9]

Since 2011, Rob Dietrich has served as Stranahan's head distiller, after taking over from original head distiller Jake Norris.[3]

Product description

Distillation and aging

Stranahan's is a straight whiskey, aged in new charred oak barrels, like bourbon, with the final whiskey a blend of 2, 3 and 5 year-old whiskeys.[7][10] It is distilled from a 100% malt barley base grain, with four barleys sourced from the Colorado area,[5] and water sourced from the Eldorado spring outside Boulder.[9] Stranahan's initially used wash from Flying Dog Brewery, before moving to a larger facility and making their own wash beginning in 2009.[10]

Packaging

Each barrel is bottled by hand, with each label hand-signed by the distiller, often including a note about, for instance, the music listened to during the whiskey's production.[5] The bottling process is done by volunteers, who receive a free tour and a bottle of Stranahan's for their efforts. Volunteers can sign up online on the Stranahan's website - a random lottery picks volunteers from this list for each bottling crew. Current estimates show the waiting list to be 20,000+ people long. The bottle features a metal cap, inspired by the old barroom practice of covering bottles with tin cups when the corks dry out.[5]

Stranahan's Blue Peak Whiskey

In 2020, Stranahan’s added Blue Peak to its line of Rocky Mountain whiskeys. In this process, they couple the high altitude distillation process and aging methods with a Solera finish, a maturation process typically used in wine, resulting in a rich and mellow whiskey. This is bottled at 43% ABV and is said the lowest-priced Stranahan's introduced to date [11]

Stranahan's Mountain Angel 10-Year-Old Whiskey

As a one time only release in 2020, Stranahan's released Mountain Angel 10-Year-Old whiskey. This was the brand’s oldest, rarest release to date. They say it is the first and only American single malt aged of its kind 10 years in new charred American oak casks with less than 500 bottles available at 47.3% ABV. [12]

Snowflake Series

Once a year, Stranahan's creates a limited Snowflake Series, available for purchase only at the Denver distillery, and so called because each batch is unique, like a snowflake. In the Snowflake Series, the standard Stranahan's whiskey is finished in oak casks previously filled with wine from local wineries or other spirits, sitting in the casks for roughly 18 months.[5][9] When new bottles of Snowflake are set to be released, Stranahan's makes an announcement on their Facebook and Twitter accounts, and people typically camp outside by the distillery the night before the release to secure a bottle.[9]

Beer

In 2012, Stranahan's began collaborating with Colorado's Breckenridge Brewery to create Stranahan's Well Built E.S.B., an English style bitter style ale 7.8% abv beer brewed by Breckenridge and aged in Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey barrels for three months.[1]

Television and film

Stranahan's was featured in "Whiskey", an episode of the History Channel's Modern Marvels that originally aired on March 17, 2008.[13]

Stranahan's appears to be the whiskey of choice for character Marty Kaan in the Showtime series House of Lies.

Stranahan's is consumed by Morgan Freeman's character "Monty Wildhorn" in the 2012 film The Magic of Belle Isle.

Honors and awards
  • Numerous batches received "Liquid Gold" status from Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2014
  • American Distilling Institute's gold medal winner, 2008[14]
  • Whisky Advocate Artisan Whiskey of the Year, 2009[10]
  • Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible 2009, small batch distillery of the year, 2009[15]
  • Malt Advocate Whisky of the Year, 2009[14]
  • Malt Advocate Best Artisanal Whiskey, 2010[4]

References
  1. Jonathan Shikes, “Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey has been sold to an East Coast liquid distributor,” Westword, December 28, 2010.
  2. Margaret Jackson, “Legend hangs a sale sign,” Denver Post, October 12, 2008.
  3. Sean Kenyon, “Is Stranahan’s the punk rock of whiskey? Ask the bartender…” Westword, September 6, 2011.
  4. Natasha Gardner, “Strange Brew,” 5280, September 2011.
  5. Geoff Kleinman, “Stranahan’s New American Whiskey,” Drink Spirits, January 25, 2011.
  6. Jeffries Blackerby, “Blithe Spirits,” New York Times Magazine, November 11, 2011.
  7. Jennings Brown, “The Colorado Spirit,” Cowboys & Indians, March 2010.
  8. Josh Chinn, “Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey Review,” Red White & Bourbon, March 27, 2013.
  9. Stephen Wayne Kasica, “Stranahan’s Snowflake Whiskey,” Outside, December 18, 2013.
  10. “Malt Advocate Whisky Awards ‘Artisan Whiskey of the Year’: Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey,” Whisky Advocate, February 2, 2010.
  11. "Stranahan's Blue Peak Single Malt Whiskey;". Bourbonblog.com. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  12. "Stranahan's Colorado Mountain Angel 10-Year-Old Whiskey;". Bourbonblog.com. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  13. “Whiskey,” Modern Marvels, The History Channel, March 17, 2008.
  14. “Stranahan’s Straight Rocky Mountain Whiskey,” Drinking Made Easy, December 13, 2012.
  15. Amiee White Beazley, "Jess Graber's Whiskey Business," Aspen Peak. Accessed October 7, 2014.
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