Colorado's Abbott & Wallace Distillery: Succeeding with Spirits

In downtown Longmont, Colorado, Abbott & Wallace Distillery makes rum and whiskey on equipment built by one of its founders. Originally called Longtucky, they source grains from a farm just five minutes down the road. Abbott & Wallace was founded in 2015 and opened its doors in 2017 and while the original plan was to open a brewery, the founders quickly realized they were uniquely positioned to make a bigger mark on Colorado’s burgeoning craft whiskey scene instead.

From Beer to Whiskey

Founders H.K. Wallace and John Abbott Young — Founders HK Wallace and John Abbott Young

“We realized that there were a ton of breweries out here, and our passions lie in distilled spirits,” recalls John Young, co-founder and general manager of Abbott & Wallace Distilling. “H.K. Wallace (his co-founder) started a company manufacturing copper pot stills, and I bought their very first still. It was Hammered Copper Works out of Boulder, Colorado. He started it with Ted Palmer from Vapor Distillery. He was the old owner of what is now Boulder Spirits.”

He shares, “What started as a dream to make beer turned into whisky and then we moved on to other spirits,” Young recalls. “That has since taken a different course.”

Abbott & Wallace’s greatest demand comes from its own tasting room and cocktail bar, a concept that showcases the founders’ visions of Southern hospitality.

“Our tasting room is really our number one product,” Young says. “We have a very well-rounded portfolio of spirits, and we have a great bar staff that make a lot of great cocktails. You really feel that sense of hospitality coming through that initially set us on this path. We want to welcome people in and make them feel comfortable and share something truly unique and exceptional with them.”

Gin, Young says, is their best seller, which makes sense because they were trained by a gin distiller. “Not our original inspiration, but it made a lot of sense and kind of kind of works since we’re creating our own pathway now,” shares Young.

The Longmont Story

Longmont, Colorado takes its name from Major Stephen H. Long, who arrived in the area in 1820. Gold was discovered there in 1858, and the removal of the local native peoples began just a decade later. The railroad arrived in 1870 and the town of Longmont was established as a mining town. Wars, droughts, and even the KKK took a toll on Longmont in the 1900s. Today it’s mostly known for outdoor activities and breweries.

“Longmont is a really great little community,” Young says. “It’s a quickly-growing town in Boulder County, Colorado. It has a real small-time, family-friendly vibe. It feels really community-oriented. What defines this area is our craft beverages. Longmont is home to Left Hand Brewing, Oskar Blues, Wibby Brewing, Bootstrap Brewing, and a host of other smaller breweries, and now three distilleries. And it’s a business-friendly environment. It’s a community that cares about its local establishments.”

And, of course, you can’t have great whiskey (or beer) without great water.

“We have really great water,” Young says. “Longmont is at the base of the foothills and has secured amazing water for a long time to come. I think that’s what attracted some of its original breweries, but it supports the thriving industry as we just have this delicious, amazing water, and we always will. That’s a really big element when it comes to brewing and distilling, and then also proofing down your spirits — that water is a key element.”

Beer for Whiskey

These days, Abbott & Wallace still works with the local breweries to source beer wort for distilling whiskey, but they do much more than that.

“We still do work with breweries to make a malt whisky base, but when we got serious about making whisky, I did the Moonshine University Distillers Course in Louisville, Kentucky and learned how to make bourbon and rye whisky,” Young says. “At the time, there weren’t as many distilleries here in Boulder County making bourbon and rye. We thought that was a good opportunity because bourbon is king right now. So I’d say our focus is on bourbon, but rye whisky is one of our best products. It is just a really amazing double pot distilled rye. Our farmer is just 5 miles down the road from here. All of our grains are coming in fresh. He’s a 5th generation farmer here on the front range and his family’s been growing barley for Coors for like a hundred years. We’re super lucky to have a farmer that cares for the land. In combination with my partner making the alembic pot stills,we can really capture the essence of the land and gives us a pure distillation process that is very characteristic of a Colorado expression.”

Local Grains

Abbott & Wallace Colorado Straight Rye Whiskey

Not only does Abbott & Wallace use locally-grown grains, they also use heritage and pedigreed varietals of grains like Aroostook Rye.

“We love the Aroostook because it’s a little bit of the balance of the sweet grassy character and the phenolic spice that’s characteristic of rye whisky,” Young explains. “It has it, but it’s not over the top. We tried a few different rye varietals and we think Aroostook gives a great spice profile, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s not just like a two by four hitting you in the mouth. With our customer base, we’re kind of introducing them to bigger and bolder flavors. The Aroostook seems like the right balance. These days we do use an Abruzi seed rye in that tends to be heavier in those proteins and oils that will give off more intense flavors. They’re more approachable in flavorful rye grain for us.”

As far as aged whiskeys go, Abbott & Wallace is producing Bourbon, rye, and American Single Malt whiskey. The older brands of unaged whiskeys are being phased out. There are some single barrels and higher proof offerings available in the tasting room, which is a popular local destination.

The Role of Hospitality & Education

“Our cocktail program and our tastings we do within the tasting room are more important for the growth of our brand in the industry and people turning to local spirits, but I do think the tours are super important,” Young says. “That’s one area we keep pushing and trying to promote is doing more tours, but I would say that our cocktail program is a much larger influencer for us right now. On tours, we’ll come into our main distillation area and as long as we’re not in the middle of processing or cleaning, which we often are cleaning, we try and bring the patrons in to see the stills and look inside and get a feel for our production process. Everything is grain to glass. So we point out the grains, where we bring them in from the farmer, Our mash cooker that’s a real kind of traditional Kentucky style mash cooker, our fermentation tanks, and then the double pot distillation process. And from there, we’ll show them the barrel room where the whiskeys go to age. We’ll show them some of the processing techniques, and then our canning and bottling line.”

Canning for RTD’s

Young explains that the canning line, which they use for RTD cocktails, is often more impressive to those touring the facility than the bottling process, which is fairly straightforward.

“That’s how we cut our teeth in the industry is canning beer and focusing on that hospitality and our cocktail program,” Young says. “We put two and two together. It’s like, we need to make these to go. And so we have a pretty well-developed canned cocktail RTD program with exceptional flavors that we really dial in and make sure they’re really high quality.”

Tours

Tours conclude with sampling of the products made onsite. Abbott & Wallace is open Tuesday thru Sunday, and the kitchen is open Wednesday thru Sunday. Please visit abbottandwallace.com for more information.