The High West Distillery Experience . . . And More!

This view alone made the trip worth it!

While on my ski trip to Park City, Utah, I knew I'd be remiss if I didn't make my way over to High West Distillery, a quick 25 minute drive away. The timing was critical, though, as we wanted to be sure to get a solid day of skiing in before heading out, so my buddy Dave scheduled a 3:00 tour, the last of the day. This turned out to be the best decision we could have made.

After a morning and good portion of the afternoon of skiing some fresh powder thanks to the heavy snowfall the night before, we cleaned ourselves up and headed out. After taking the highway for 20 minutes or so, you then exit and drive a few miles along essentially an access road just off the highway. That road eventually dead ends into Blue Sky Ranch. We checked in there and got our parking passes as well as a warning to go slowly up to the distillery due to the abundance of wildlife.

We then proceeded up a winding mountain road with incredibly beautiful views and, as warned, dozens of deer and elk just off the road. The trip there alone made the tour worth it. Even walking up to the distillery we couldn't help but notice that the patio right outside the visitor's center, built over a nice, picturesque stream, seemed to also perfectly frame the incredible view of the valley below.

Ceiling of the visitors center made from used staves!

We arrived and immediately began perusing the gift shop, chatting up the woman working there and our tour guide, and making our decisions as to what we were going to purchase after the tour. Finally, Jack, our tour guide, kicked off the tour and across the patio we went to the distillery. The tour was limited primarily to one large room where they house the stills (a combination pot still and column still) and the mash tuns and fermenters. As was explained to us, with the recent purchase by Constellation Brands, expansion is on the horizon, and the next time I return I can expect to see a lot more equipment.

We got to view all their equipment up close, got a very thorough explanation of the distillation process from grain to bottle. However, we didn't get a chance to see the storage area or go into the bottling area, only getting to see that area from a distance.

Following the scheduled tour, however, the goodness then began! We sat down for our tasting, and the three of us there all agreed on the reserve flight, consisting of pours of the Valley Tan, the 14-Year Light Whiskey, the Bourye Limited Sighting, Midwinter Night's Dram and the American Prairie Reserve. The three of us also agreed that we ranked each of the pours from best to worst (worst being a relative term) in reverse order. The American Prairie Reserve (which was not available for purchase) was outstanding!

While sitting at the bar, enjoying our flight, we got to talking with not only our bartender (with the unforgettable nickname of "Bucket") but also the two guys sitting at the end of the bar who eventually informed us that they are the blenders for High West--the guys putting the product into the barrels. As the bar began to close down, these two guys, Tui and Dylan, who had just told us what they had been doing for the day--filling rye blends that had been finished in vermouth barrels--asked us an interesting question: "Wanna go smell some barrels?" As odd as that question may seem in retrospect, it was nonetheless at the time met with an immediate, "Hell yes!" And so the second portion of our tour began.

Dylan and Tui brought us back to the bottling area, the area the tour only let us view but not enter, and started popping the bungs off the barrels sitting in the queue to be bottled. They then invited us to enjoy some free smells of the sweet, vermouth-y Yippee Ki-Yay! Already this was more of an experience than I had expected. As we got to talking about the different products that High West has produced, the recent finishes on the Double Rye! (some of which I've reviewed here) and new products coming down the pike, they then took us even further into the facility, showing us some of the more recently filled barrels, including a Syrah finished rye where you could just see where the wine had previously seeped through! We also got some free smells of a barrel of A Midwinter Night's Dram!

Snortin' barrels of Yippee Ki-Yay!!

They then took us out of the building down the drive and into their warehouse, where their barrels are aging. Again, we got a sneak peak at some of the stuff that will eventually (hopefully) hit the shelves, including ryes aged in tequila barrels as well as Caribbean black rum barrels. We then went back up to the distillery and Dylan opened up one of the fermenters so that we could, again, enjoy some free smells of the fermenting beer (one of my favorite parts of any distillery tour).

Despite being the last tour of the day, and despite their having already worked their shift, Dylan and Tui spent another hour of their time giving us a personal and comprehensive tour, one which we spent in large part just shooting the shit about working for high west, filling barrels, the various high west products and our mutual enjoyment of whiskey in general. Despite that morning being the best skiing we had all trip, they made this easily the highlight of our trip!

Even without the "extra" tour, this distillery is well-worth the visit, from the enjoyable drive to the beautiful facility to the incredible views (we even watched a bald eagle fly across the valley) to the delicious whiskey, this was one of the more enjoyable tours I've experienced. The extra time that Tui and Dylan spent just to let us whiskey nerds in on more of the operation, however, made this an incredible experience, one I'm never going to forget. And, whether he knows it or not, Tui (who could play Ice-T in his biopic) is now my new best friend!

Below are just some barrel-porn pics for everybody:

Pilgrimage to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail - Day 1 - The Arrival

Day 1 - I've been drinking bourbon and enjoying the stuff for number of years now. In fact, I've been enjoying it so much so, that it has more or less turned into a hobby. About two years ago I started this blog, and I took what was just a regular enjoyment of whiskey and turned it into . Yet, despite it being only a 5 1/2 hour drive away, I have never been to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail--I have never been to my bourbon Mecca.

Well, as of yesterday morning, all that has changed. In celebration of my making partner at my firm, my neighbor, who is celebrating his 40th birthday, and I, along with our wives, embarked on a roadtrip to Louisville, where we have plans to visit six distilleries in two days. I'm so excited for this trip that I went to bed early last night and woke up early this morning without the need for an alarm or one of my three kids waking me up with screaming, yelling, thumping, etc.

After a mostly uneventful drive down (though we found a great sandwich shop in Lebanon, IN called the Fig Tree--I highly recommend it), we pulled into the incredibly beautiful Inn at Woodhaven. This bed and breakfast will serve as our home for the next three days as we explore the Bourbon Trail and see all that Louisville has to offer.  Plus, they keep free booze for all their guests in the common sitting room.

Despite the stormy weather when we arrived, we headed straight downtown for some food and drinks. We started off at Hillbilly Tea where I enjoyed some barbecue frog legs and a pour of Elmer T. Lee.  From there it was on to Down One, the first stop on my trip where I was absolutely impressed and amazed by their bourbon selection. I didn't go too crazy and simply enjoyed a pour of Calumet Farms (quite tasty!) along with my pulled pork, pork belly and bacon sliders (Three Little Piggies). I initially ordered a Rock Hill Farms, something I just can't find by us, but unfortunately they were out of stock.

From there we had intentions of making our way to Haymarket, but that is when the skies decided to open up and we were forced to run underneath an awning of a building to escape the torrential downpour . . . only to have that building be struck by lightning! So, soaked and a bit shaken up, we decided to drive till we found somewhere with close parking where we could get drinks and some more food.  We ended up at El Camino, a taco joint that was open until 2:00 a.m. Although their bourbon selection is not very big (their tequila and rum selections are quite impressive, though), what they did have were all private select single barrels, so I enjoyed one of their Eagle Rare offerings to go with my tacos, which were really good!

All in all, despite the driving and the storms, it was a fun day, and a good appetizer for the next day's events.  We booked our tours through Mint Julep Tours, and our tour stops on the first day include Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey and Four Roses. On day two we will be visiting Maker's Mark, Barton 1792, and Heaven Hill.

It's quite the full boat, and yet each evening I expect that we will continue to partake in the local restaurants, bars, more great food and, obviously, more great bourbon. I cannot wait for the meat of this trip to begin! I feel like a kid getting ready to go to Disney World!

Distillery Tour - Portland's Distillery Row and More

Last week my wife and I made a trip to Portland to visit my family.  Portland has a nice up-and-coming craft distillery scene, and I was going to make certain that at least some of my time was spent getting to know that scene a bit more.

My brother-in-law shares in my enjoyment of whiskey, so I had my partner in crime.  Distillery Row is comprised of seven craft distilleries near downtown Portland, all, for the most part, within walking distance of each other.  To do a tour, all you have to do is stop by any one and purchase a Passport for $20, which gets you tastings at each distillery.  I couldn't really go wrong!

Our first stop was at House Spirits Distillery, makers of the Westward Oregon Single Malt Whiskey that I've reviewed previously.  Obviously I was already a fan of their whiskey, but I was eager to try their other products as well, including their best-seller, Aviator Gin.

After there we went to Eastside Distilling, New Deal Distillery and Stone Barn Brandy Works, hitting more than of Distillery Row on the first day.  We also went across town to check out Clear Creek distillery, a distillery known for growing pears and apples inside the bottles they use for their brandy.  It's really nothing more than a gimmick, as they merely pour the brandy over the fruit when bottling, but pretty neat nonetheless to see a full pear inside a bottle of brandy.

On the second day we finished the tour, hitting Rolling River Spirits, Vinn Distillery (offering gluten free products made from rice, including a spirit called Mijiu, which I've never had before), and Wild Roots Vodka, specializing in infused vodka.

I've dedicated this blog to whiskey reviews, so I'll keep the focus on whiskey.  However, below I've also identified what I think were the best of the best in other categories.  As to the whiskey, I knew I was already a fan of House Spirit's Westward Oregon.  Only one other distillery, however, had bourbon. 

Eastside Distilling offered Burnside Bourbon, a young bourbon aged 4 years, and Burnside Oregon Oaked Bourbon, a double barreled bourbon.  I found the 4 year bourbon much to my liking, offering many of the notes and flavors expected in a bourbon.  However, it's age showed, as it was missing the depth and boldness of a more well-aged bourbon.  The Oregon Oaked bourbon was a lighter bourbon, reminding me more of a single malt.  It was not a very complex bourbon, and lacked any sweetness or spiciness found in traditional bourbons.  They also had cherry and marionberry infused whiskies, both of which I found far too dominated by the fruit flavor, and would expect these to primarily be used as mixers.

New Deal Distillery did not have any whiskey offerings.  However, they had a special event the following day, and in conjunction with that event, they were releasing a small batch bourbon.  Because I enjoyed all the other products New Deal had to offer, I went ahead and purchased a bottle, which will surely be the subject of a review once I find the bottom.  Again, however, because of the bourbon's young age (aged only 1 year), other flavors came to the front, notably orange peel.

Stone Barn Brandy Works offered one of the more unique whiskeys, a white Oat Whiskey.  I found it interesting, but lacking in flavor for the most part.  Their Hoppin' Eights Whiskey reminded me of a Canadian Whiskey, but with a little more bite. 

Finally, Clear Creek Distillery, which specializes more in Eaux de Vie and Brandy, had a single malt whiskey, much in the Scotch tradition.  For a 3-year old whiskey, this was a smooth pour, carrying a slight peatiness and a mild oak flavor.  It had a clean finish, and I expect that at some point I'll be tracking down a bottle of this to give it a full try.

As to the other spirits I was able to sample, here are the best of the rest:

Best Gin:  There was a progression here.  I started with Aviator Gin, an excellent Gin from House Spirits.  I then tried the Portland Dry Gin 33 and Gin No. 1 from New Deal, and I was torn as to which I liked best.  However, on day two I finally made my way to Rolling River Spirits.  They only had two spirits available, a vodka and a gin, and their extra attention and focus to the craft of these spirits definitely showed in the final product.  The Rolling River Gin is possibly the best gin I've ever tasted.  It's light, mildly fruity, with notes of lavender.  This was one of my favorite spirits I tasted the whole trip!

Best Vodka:  I am not a vodka drinker, and I was not jumping at the opportunity to try every vodka put in front of me.  However, the Rolling River Vodka was very impressive.  It was a very smooth vodka, with minimal burn that went down very well.  I don't drink much vodka, but I could enjoy this stuff!

Best Flavored Vodka:  I couldn't pick just one here, so I've got three.  The first is the raspberry infused vodka from Wild Roots.  This stuff tasted like raspberry jelly.  I could just pour it over ice and drink it.  New Deal Distillery had two incredible flavored vodkas.  Mud Puddle is a cacao infused vodka which tasted like baking chocolate and was phenomenal.  Their other flavored vodka was a product called Hot Monkey.  This hot pepper flavored vodka not only has a great name, but it's flavor and kick were great, really profiling the flavor of the peppers, and not just the heat.

Best Coffee Liqueur:  Being in Portland, nearly every distillery had a coffee liqueur, each getting their coffee from a local brewer.  While each and every one was very good, the Coffee Liqueur from New Deal Distillery (made from Water Avenue Coffee) was at the top of the list for me.  This may be a personal preference more than anything, however, as this was the sweetest of the coffee liqueurs that I tried. 

Honorable Mentions:  The Oregon Brandy from Clear Creek Distillery was excellent, a very complex spirit that I actually enjoyed even more later the next evening, as my brother-in-law had picked up a bottle.  The rhubarb liqueur from Stone Barn Brandy Works was like drinking dessert.  Finally, the Below Deck Spiced Rum from East Side Distillery was excellent, one of the better spiced rums I've had (topping an admittedly short list).