Distilleries in Colorado

Ein Prosit

Frisco, Colorado

At 9097 feet in Frisco, Colorado, Pullman Distillery makes no pretence. Rocky-Mountain spring water and local produce give its Alpine Gin, silver-medal single-malt whisky, and quirky small-batch potions a real, unvarnished quality. The spirits earn their accolades because they taste great, not because they're over-hyped, and there's no pretence today.

• Unique handmade sausages offered
• Distillery's Pullman bourbon is well-regarded

Moonshine Distiller

Winter Park, Colorado

Moonshine Distiller in Winter Park, Colorado positions itself as the definitive one-stop shop for home distilling. The catalogue packs rigs, mash-materials, and every “you’ll-need” accessory that turns an ordinary kitchen into a clandestine laboratory. Their torrent of video tutorials turn a novice into someone who doesn’t look like a bum and keeps seasoned amateurs from calling the police. Even if you own competition-winning gear, the site still offers tech-savvy tweaks to keep your operation tight. Customer support is an apologetic but efficient breed – they admit shipping blunders and fix them faster than you can say “too much sulphur”. Orders arrive lightning-fast, packages stay intact, and staff are honest when instruction sheets are thin. The only blemish? A handful of manuals don’t quite live up to the hype, but that’s a minor quibble when the overall package outshines most DIY spirit suppliers and you won’t have to hunt for a specialist.

• Distillery customer service is exceptional and responsive.
• Distillery takes responsibility for delivery errors.

The Village Pub, Pizza & Spirits

Saguache, Colorado

• Distillery has unique pizza flavors.
• Fresh lettuce on Caesar salad is appreciated.

Wood's High Mountain Distillery

Salida, Colorado

Wood's Remarkably High Mountain Distillery, above Salida, Colorado, is a right-hand-up of artisanal stubbornness and technical swagger. It clings to an 1880s Ashley still that still hums, while grains come straight from the San Luis Valley’s exceptionally rugged fields, a reminder that a mountain spirit needs real stuff. The result is spirits that taste as if the mountains themselves were distilled, including a gin that has earned a barrel-age record no one expected. Their tasting room, an accolade-winning joint on the Travel Channel’s Best Bars list, serves a cocktail menu that changes every other day, keeping it unpredictable. Tours are led by a head distiller who can explain every detail, and the staff offers suggestions with the confidence of a veteran who’s tried every flavour profile. It’s fine craftsmanship with cheek; if quality were a car, this place would have engineering you'd only find in a world-class, hand-built model.

• Offers creative and changing cocktail menu.
• Personalized tours led by knowledgeable Head Distiller.

Marble Distilling & The Distillery Inn

Carbondale, Colorado

Carbondale, Colorado, hosts Marble Distilling, where mountain air meets audacious ambition. The crew tout zero-waste: every litre of water is reclaimed, and every watt of heat is redirected to the furnaces. Efficiency at its finest.

• Unique distillery experience with expert cocktail artists
• Private outdoor patios in luxury guestrooms

Shelter Distilling

Montrose, Colorado

Shelter Distilling in Montrose, Colorado isn’t some fluffy postcard scene – it churns out mountain spirits as rugged as an Alpine ridge. With alpine snowmelt water and indigenous pinyon pine, the flavours are wild, not watered down. They pride themselves on small-batch production and experimentation, which keeps the product honest.

• Unique hospitality from staff.
• Freshly squeezed house-made juices offered.

Highlands Distillery

Grand Junction, Colorado

Highlands Distillery sits on the fringe of Grand Junction, claiming to be an ‘innovative craft’ place. The truth? It's a proper craft operation that refuses to let the cliches of ‘hand-made’ go off the rails. Their barrel-aged gin punches oak into gin-and-tonic lovers’ expectations. The Whipped Painkiller is that drink that will make you feel smug enough to call your mates a “pimp” for a moment. The Oryeon Rye, a tongue-in-cheek nod to Orion, bites with spice then softens after years in oak. Pieces of Eight pineapple rum, aged in whiskey barrels, turns a simple rum into a dignified statement.

• A unique gin selection, including barrel-aged options.
• Three distinct areas for sampling distilled spirits.

Durango Craft Spirits

Durango, Colorado

Durango Craft Spirits has rolled up the shutter in the western county’s only grain-to-glass distillery since Prohibition. They turn Colorado’s local, non-GMO corn, oats and rye into spirits that read like history textbooks in liquid form. Their “Soiled Doves Vodka” is the quiet, smooth sort of drink that would make a sober barista feel smug, while their Cinder Dick Bourbon is a robust, blue-corn masterpiece that will convince even the most cynical whiskey snob that good bourbon can still be crafted with a nod to the past.

• Traditional blue corn bourbons excellent quality
• In-house distilled bourbon, moonshine, and vodka used

Stoneyard Distillery Tasting Room

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

• Spicy Bloody Mary a standout cocktail creation
• Pickle and garlic shot a unique shot option

Stoneyard Distillery

Gypsum, Colorado

Stoneyard Distillery sits on a bed of 4,000-year-old lava rock in Gypsum, Colorado – a place where the earth still remembers the fury of the dinosaurs. The founders have taken that geological heft and turned it into a still, a thing of engineering that makes your spirits taste of stone, not sugar. They draw water from the Eagle and Colorado rivers – pure enough to be practically drinking on the rocks – and pour it over local beet sugar with the care of a watchmaker. The result? A range of small-batch vodkas that could make a hipster weep, from Horchata-flavoured to barrel-reserved in Breckenridge bourbon casks. They also sell pre-made canned cocktails and a line of bitters only the owner can produce, and the tasting room is oddly dog-friendly, a sign that this is more about honest craft than boutique chic.

• Distillery offers pre-made canned cocktails.
• Unique bitters flavors created by owner.

Crestone Spirit Center Liquor

Crestone, Colorado

• Huge selection of liquors despite small space
• Friendly staff with a welcoming atmosphere

Storm King Distilling Co.

Montrose, Colorado

Storm King Distilling Co. sits on a plateau overlooking Montrose, Colorado, where the air is so clean you might think a gust of wind did the cleaning. The small outfit insists on locally sourced, hand-picked ingredients and throws the “import everything” nonsense out the window.

• Distillery's aged tequila is unique.
• Whiskey is aged in their own whiskey barrels.

Telluride Distilling Company

Telluride, Colorado

• Distillery's unique atmosphere with a speakeasy feel.
• On-site pool table and comfy seating areas.

Salida Distillery

Salida, Colorado

Salida, Colorado – where the mountains look taller than the pretensions of the distillery world. Salida Distillery claims to fuse tradition with innovation, yet I’ve seen more ambition in a toddler’s crayon sketch. Their solar-powered electric still turns the place into a renewable-energy hobby shop, and the water-saving system promises to safeguard the local ecosystem. It’s a community hub that prides itself on cocktails described as “handcrafted” and “balanced”, though my first pour felt more like a textbook definition than a creative brew. The owners throw “MARTini Mondays” with special concoctions and “Tour Tuesdays” for the curious, but the real draw is watching a line of well-meaning locals attempt to out-drink their own production. Sure staff can sound like a frat with personalities, but spirit is genuinely good. All in all, a green-fashioned distillery that serves drinks and a laugh at the same time.

• Adorable distillery with live views
• Blue tick hound dog Snoopy Batman VIP

K J Wood Distillers, LLC

Ouray, Colorado

• Unique taproom atmosphere with eclectic decor.
• Tenderized rye whiskey for smooth flavor profile.

1874 Distilling LTD

Del Norte, Colorado

Del Norte, Colorado’s 1874 Distilling LTD is a shockingly honest distillery that refuses to lean into the cliché of ‘cozy mountain retreat’. It’s simply a place where locals hand-craft spirits from water that could make a saint and grains grown in their own backyards. They collaborate with Three Barrel Brewing Co. for the mashing process and the Colorado Malting Company for premium malts – proof that a simple potato can turn into vodka that tastes like a walk across an open field. Their Greenie Mountain Gin and seasonal liqueurs are drinks that would make any pretentious barroom blush.

• Offers exceptional whiskey with great complexity
• Elegant design of the distillery with history

Dune Valley Distillery

Mosca, Colorado

Dune Valley Distillery sits at the edge of Mosca’s high-altitude wasteland and refuses to be anything but a place to make and enjoy vodka. It churns pot- and quinoa-based spirits, a throwback to Anthony Carbone’s first post-Prohibition licence in Colorado, and partners with Carbone Wines for a dry-wine-spirit hybrid that’s sophisticated and a touch of rebelliousness, just.

• Distillery features a handcrafted Potato vodka.
• Drinks are made with locally sourced ingredients.

Shelter Distilling - Montrose Regional Airport

Montrose, Colorado

Shelter Distilling occupies an odd corner of Montrose Regional Airport, a place where flight plans meet fermentation. The Mountain West turns into spirits: bold Ridge Runner Bourbon, with its four-grain mash, and Little Green Monster Absinthe that makes pretentiously-priced London clubs look like a speakeasy of vintage flair and daring.

• Unique distillery located within the airport
• Varied selection of craft cocktails and drinks