Stranahan's Distillery

Beginning with what's surely the most unusual meet-cute in whisky history, founders Jess Graber and George Stranahan met when Graber – then a volunteer firefighter – was called out put out a barn fire near Aspen, Colorado. The barn belonged to Stranahan who owned a local brewery, and the two hit it off. This was back in 1998.

Soon Graber and Stranahan began experimenting with the idea of making a distinctly Colorado whiskey. Drawing on Stranahan’s brewing experience and the region’s high-quality barley and Rocky Mountain water, the pair developed a recipe based on 100% malted barley. In 2004, they officially founded Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, opening what was Colorado’s first legal distillery since Prohibition.

The first Stranahan’s Original was released in 2006. The early batches even used beer mash from Stranahan’s Flying Dog Brewery connection, tying the whiskey directly back to George’s brewing roots.

Since then, Stranahan’s has continued to experiment with cask finishes and longer-aged releases, developing a cult following in the US, especially with their Snowflake series. Each annual limited edition gets debuted at its own Snowflake festival where “Strana-fans” gather to celebrate this American whiskey pilgrimage. These editions often don't see the end of the festival, and if they do, they'll likely end up on auction sites where keen punters will bid in the thousands for the pleasure of adding one to their collection. Not bad for a distillery founded on the younger side of this century!