liquid assets - Edible Communities

liquid assets
SPIRITS
OF THE WEST
BY CAROL O’MEARA
58 EDIBLE FRONT RANGE | WINTER 2009

The beauty of craft distilling is that it brings back
the snowflake individuality of what we do,
where each batch has its own personality.
Baby, it’s cold outside. After hitting the slopes or snowshoeing
a quiet trail, you’re ready for the slow, mellow warmth that
comes from lifting spirits.
“Pour a wee dram and sit by the fire with a book,” says Jake Norris,
head distiller for Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey in Denver. “It’ll
warm up all of your senses.”
While reading this magazine is not exactly opening a novel, getting
to know two of our first distillers in Colorado is a tale of two locations,
but one passion: the finest crafted spirits in the state.
Stranahan’s in the City
Standing in the barrel-filled rack room of the distillery at 2405 Blake
St., Norris was thoughtful about having just laid down his 900th
barrel of the amber liquid. “These 900, they’re five years of my life,”
he said, “Jim Beam makes 1,000 in three hours. But we’re not trying
to make the most, just the best.”
Norris and co-founder Jess Graber laid their first barrel of whiskey in
January 2004, waiting two years until it matured. Graber, then a volunteer
firefighter and construction worker in Woody Creek, had tinkered
with distilling whiskey. A chance meeting with George
Stranahan after a barn fire, then a link-up with Norris, a local bartender
and whiskey expert, and the dream of turning a hobby into
the first craft distillery in the state came to be.
Stranahan’s produces a unique Colorado-style whiskey, unlike scotch
or bourbon. Starting with 100 percent malted barley; the grain is fermented
by Oskar Blues brewery in Lyons with yeast selected for
quality and character. They shun the faster-producing genetically
modified yeasts some microdistillers use.
Each week, the liquid from fermentation is put batch by batch into
the unique 750-gallon copper pot-and-column still. Custom-made
by Vendome Stillworks in Louisville, Kentucky, the still combines
processes from scotch, made in a pot-style still, with the column-type
distilling of bourbon. Convincing the oldest, greatest still maker in
Stranahan’s co-founder Jess Graber. Photo by Ben Tremper
the United States to build for a small distillery was a coup, “like
getting Ferrari to build a go-kart,” Norris said.
Once distilled, the clear, sweet new spirit is merged with a little purified
water, then poured into American oak barrels, where it ages,
taking on amber color and caramel notes from the wood. They lay six
barrels every five days, and for optimum flavor, they’re kept at 65°.
“In here, we create the perfect summer’s day,” says Norris, who
prefers his summers cool, “that’s critical to getting the big whiskey
flavor we’re known for.”
The final step comes with hand selection of 10 to 12 barrels to make
the small batch, approximately 2,500 bottles. Tasting from barrels
young, old and in-between, the team of four distillers pulls together a
blend that is at once classically Stranahan’s, but individually unique.
“To create a whiskey of complexity, we have a person in touch every
step of the way. Each batch has nuances, subtleties all its own,” he
said. “I don’t believe in consistency of flavor, where every bottle tastes
exactly the same. The beauty of craft distilling is that it brings back
the snowflake individuality of what we do, where each batch has its
own personality.”
“There’s no wrong way to drink whiskey,” says Norris, nonetheless
offering suggestions on finding the right way to drink your
Stranahan’s:
• Serve at cellar temperature, neat, with no water or ice.
• Nose the whiskey first by placing the rim of the glass on the
skin between your nose and lip. Part your lips slightly and
inhale with both nose and mouth.
• Take your first sip as you would a hot cup of coffee, drawing air
along with liquid.
• Though the first sip overwhelms your palate, it quickly gets acclimated.
In the second and third sips, you’ll taste the finer
flavors.
• Add a small dollop of water, then taste again.
• Add two small dashes of water, taste again.
• Drop in a few ice cubes to chill the whiskey. The colder it gets,
the more some characteristics are suppressed, leaving a
sweeter, smoother taste.
EDIBLE FRONT RANGE | WINTER 2009 59

Peak Spirits in the Country
“If we couldn’t farm we wouldn’t be doing this,” says Lance Hanson,
who with his wife, Anne, founded Peak Spirits in Hotchkiss. “It’s the
lifestyle and where we spend time—that’s the important thing.” A
love of the land he works has led Hanson to become certified in biodynamic
farming by Demeter USA, part of a nonprofit group
founded in Europe in 1928 to promote the agricultural methods of
Dr. Rudolf Steiner, father of the biodynamic movement. Viewing
farms as living organisms, Steiner believed that by healthful, natural
management, farms could be self-sustaining.
Shutting off his tractor after giving his vineyard a late-season
nightcap of compost and herbal tea, Hanson explained this type of
farming.
“Biodynamic practices are a holistic approach; it’s a superset of organic
methods, taken further by using your natural resource assets to
farm better.”
That means Welsh mountain sheep placidly graze the 22-acre
vineyard to keep weeds low and add rich manure. The margins along
their land are left as refuge for wildlife, including pheasants, chukkar,
partridges, and insects.
“Rather than wiping everything out, we foster all on our property.
That’s nature’s way of keeping things in check,” he said.
Tasting the difference biodynamic farming gives to his products is
subjective, Hanson notes, but healthier vines produce sweeter, richer
fruit that sets their spirits apart from others.
Hanson, Anne and their two children, Evan and Hatley, moved to
western Colorado in 2000 from California, giving up a life in
software and teaching to run a vineyard. Producing vodka, gin,
grappa and Eau de Vie, a brandy, in addition to their wines was a decision
that came from looking at how a farm could be sustainable
beyond a single crop.
In 2005 they fired up their still, bottling Eau de Vie, expanding every
year to their current production of vodka, gin, grappa, and wine.
Peak Spirits showcases quality, local fruit grown in the nearby orchards
of the North Valley. Their Eau de Vie is redolent of peaches,
apples or pears, and though it’s drier than mainstream brandies, the
essence of the fruit blooms in your mouth.
“It takes a lot of fruit to produce a split [350 ml]—about 25 to 30
pounds per bottle. That much is expensive, but it’s the best way to do
it. We could stretch the fruit with water and sugar but the brandy
wouldn’t be as expressive in taste, which is what this is all about.”
For the Hansons, the beauty of their industry is exploration, trying
new ways to distill perfection. Their adventurous spirit can be tasted
in the anise, lavender and rose petals infusing their CapRock Gin, a
dry elixir with an apple base. Or treat yourself to CapRock Vodka,
distilled from grapes instead of potatoes or grains. The silky, crystal
clear liquid is complex and fruity, perfect for enjoying with friends.
Enjoy your spirits with Hanson’s tips:
• Eau de Vie, “water of life” in French, is assertive and intense.
Many are not prepared for the unique flavors of this dry
brandy. The intense aromatics bring you right to the orchard
floor, where you smell everything: the skins, seeds and pulp.
Perfect for after dinner as a digestive; savor it by itself, but if
you find it too strong, counter it with coffee.
• Freezing is not for finer vodkas or gin, as the chill dampens nuances
and flavors. “The mark of any good spirit is that you can
enjoy it at cellar temperature [55° to 65°],” says Hanson. Serve
it neat, on the rocks or in an elegant martini.
Carol O’Meara, a freelance writer who loves all things botanically
based, can be reached at omearac@yahoo.com.
“This is an undocumented art; there’re no textbooks on craft distilling,”
he said. Learning was elusive, but luckily, the national community
of distillers is a friendly one, and the Hansons found many
who shared advice.
Lance Hanson, co-founder of Peak Spirits.
Photo by Michael Brands, courtesy of edibleASPEN magazine
If we couldn’t farm we wouldn’t be doing this
...It’s the lifestyle and where we spend time
—that’s the important thing
60 EDIBLE FRONT RANGE | WINTER 2009

EDIBLE FRONT RANGE | WINTER 2009 61