Wine and Spirits Travel

The Colorado Tourism Board had scheduled Thursday as my free day to explore and I did just that, taking in as much of Denver as I could and spending some time at the biggest beer festival in the world. It had been a total coincidence that I ended up in Denver (with an unscheduled day) at the start of the Great American Beer Festival . The truth is, everyone knows about all of the breweries in Colorado and I was there to write about the spirits. There was also one other little detail…. I don’t drink beer. It’s not that I haven’t tried. An unfortunate incident years ago left me unable to even let it get to my lips. I’m working on it (anyone know a good hypnotist?), but despite the fact that I’m not a brew fan, I wasn’t going to miss a chance to check out the Great American Beer Festival, dubbed by everyone I know as the greatest in the world. Julia Herz, Craft Beer Program Director for the BrewersAssociation , took me around the convention center before the festival even s

My third day in Colorado  was spent tasting a multitude of spirits -- and enjoying more of the state's farm fresh food. I was picked up in the morning by JoAnne Carrelli-Stevenson, who is in charge of the Colorado Distillers Guild . We had a nice talk on our ride through Denver to Leopold Brothers about the growing distilling industry in Colorado , a state which now has 250 beverage producers. She also filled me in on the Great American Beer Festival, which happened to be starting the next day in Denver. I was thinking that I may just have to stop by there, but first it was spirits time. The tour at Leopold Brothers had already started as there was a group of distributors from Kansas I was joining. Todd Leopold took us through the fermentation and distillation process, and into both the bottling and barreling rooms.  This company is one of the few that distribute their products out of state and it’s quite a complex production center as they make a huge variety of prod

I go on a lot of wine country trips, but my Colorado adventure is based on spirits. On day two it was time to get to some serious sampling of what the area had to offer in food and drinks, but first I had some mountains to check out. After a good night’s sleep in my beautifully decorated room at Hotel Boulderado , Kim from Boulder’s visitor’s Bureau picked me up and we headed up to Chautauqua Park . It was a clear and warm day and she told me about this beautiful place as we walked the trail. I honestly could have spent the day in the fresh Rocky Mountain air, but I had a job to do and the first course of business was at Boulder Distillery & Clear Spirit Company. Boulder Distillery is just a bit bigger than most garages, yet you would not believe all the spirits that come out of there. They are most known for their 303 Vodka which is “infused” on the premises with seasonal ingredients. The Colorado liquor laws actually allow for distilleries to not only serve sample

I’ve been trying to remember how long it’s been since I’ve been to Colorado . I don’t think I’ve been there as an adult, but my memories from childhood are definitely good ones. My family and I frequently drove around the country and though we took various routes so we could see as much as possible, I seem to remember that we always went through Colorado. I know the mountains are beautiful and the air fresh and clean, but I was racking my brain for awhile trying to figure out why it was my father always made Colorado a must stop. Then, I arrived and it hit me the minute I saw it. Coors beer. You see, years ago, you couldn’t get Coors in New York. It was only available “west of the Rockies” and the Rockies were in Colorado. As much as my dad loved to drive through the Rockies, he also loved a good beer once in awhile and that’s why our yearly cross-country trip would almost always include Colorado! Beer was only a small consideration in my trip to Colorado. The big dra