American Single Malts: Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey

Alcohol Professor continues its American Single Malts series, following profiles of Westland Distillery, Virginia Distillery Company, Balcones Distilling, and Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery, with Colorado stalwart Stranahan’s. Read more: Why is American Single Malt Becoming the Newest United States Official Whiskey Designation?

Stranahan’s: A Story of Fire & Friendship

Jason Levinson photo courtesy of Stranahan's

In the landscape of American Single Malt distillers, Colorado’s Stranahan’s is one of the pioneers of the style, single malt being their first and only product when the distillery began in 2004. “American single malt was always the goal,” says Jason Levinson, Whiskey Educator for Proximo Whiskey Brands, which isn’t to say the brand was exactly founded on a notion of making single malt whiskey. It also has one of the most American stories where whiskey brands are concerned: mountain man moonshiner/volunteer firefighter meets tavern and brewery owner who decide to go into barrels together. (“Born of fire and friendship” is straight from the Stranahan’s website.)

Recreational moonshiner Jess Graber met George Stranahan of Woody Creek Tavern and Flying Dog Brewery when Graber responded to a call about a barn fire. Having put out one flame, another was sparked, however, when Graber convinced Stranahan to put their mutual love of whiskey toward their own distillery. Stranahan agreed to provide several barrels of old Flying Dog with which Graber could experiment.

“It really started with that mash of Flying Dog,” says Levinson, “which at the time was 100% malted barley. Jess distilled that, and it made a really fruity, really delicious distillate. He already had the new American white oak barrels, and it ended up being really right in that line of American Single Malt whiskey. But it started out as just being a good distillate, and something that he liked.”

From those auspicious beginnings, Stranahan’s is now one of the largest distillers of American Single Malts, with 6-plus different expressions, a production team of nearly 30 people, and a distillery that accommodates various on-site events such as daily tours, pairing experiences, and cocktail classes.

Colorado Terroir

One of the most unique elements of American Single Malt, in my opinion, is that the incredibly wide geographical parameter allows for so many different growing conditions and climates to produce whiskeys that share a similar category. While not every American distillery can source barley from close to home, Stranahan’s has a deep Colorado footprint in this matter: “Most of our barley is actually coming from Southern Colorado, in the San Luis Valley,” says Levinson. “I'd say roughly 90% of our barley is from Colorado, but it's all from the Rocky Mountains,” with none other than Rocky Mountain snowmelt providing the water source.

Climatically, Colorado also has one of the more volatile aging environments, which also puts its stamp on the whiskies. (Everyone I’ve spoken to so far in the American Single Malt series has foregone climate control in order to let regional weather conditions have their way.) “We have these wild temperature swings throughout the year,” says Levinson, not only between seasons, but sometimes within a day. “It's very common that we will have a 40 degree temperature swing in 24 hours,” he says, “and we have these weird storms year round that come in and really fluctuate our temperature. Because of that, the barrels experience so much movement and so much swelling, that it really moves the whiskey more than it would in other places. What may take seasons for other distillers is really happening very quickly for us.”

Colorado Single Malt Whiskey

The American Single Malt category is especially permissive with barrel requirements, which allows distillers to experiment when it comes to finishes. “We've always been new American white oak as our first barrel that we go into,” says Levinson, but then various finishing casks employed by Stranahan’s include everything from oloroso sherry to Irish whiskey.

Their signature product, Stranahan’s Original Colorado Single Malt Whiskey, was a Gold Medal Winner at the 2022 New York International Spirits Competition (along with Stranahan’s Sherry Cask, and Bronze Medal Winner Stranahan’s Blue Peak.) Aged in new American oak barrels, containing a blend of 4 to 7 year old whiskeys, and bottled at 94 proof, Levinson describes it as a particularly fruit-forward whiskey: “You'll always get the caramel and the vanilla,” he says, “but I also get a little bit of green apple, and frozen banana chips. Since someone pointed it out on a tour, now I always get a little bit of overly ripe cantaloupe, and apricot as well,” he says balanced by earthy notes of tobacco and leatheStranahan’s currently labels their whiskies as Colorado Single Malt, and Levinson doesn’t believe that likely to change, given the approval of the new American Single Malt whiskey category, which is not surprising, given how much of Colorado goes into the bottles. The hope for many distillers, including Stranahan’s, is that the new category will help delineate shelf space for like-minded, American Single Malt products, so that interested consumers can more easily find them.