History

Idlewild Spirits was founded in 2015 by Master Distiller Jeff Ruhle in an effort to offer locally sourced and produced premium craft spirits and cocktails. They use exclusively Colorado-grown grain varieties and mill their local grain no more than 12 hours before mashing. The distillation, aging, and bottling take place about 100 meters away from Vasquez Creek, which is also used as water in the stills. The distillery sits at an elevation of 8,787 ft in the Colorado mountains, which they claim gives true Colorado spirits.

Production and Manufacturing

Idlewild focuses on small-batch Colorado grain-to-glass spirits. The grains are milled shortly before the mash tun and the entire process – distillation, aging, and bottling – is performed close to the source; the water used in the stills comes from Vasquez Creek. Production takes place in the Colorado Rocky Mountains to deliver genuine Colorado spirits.

Products / Whisky Series

• Woodcutter’s Straight Bourbon
• Mash bill: 60% corn, 20% wheat, 10% rye, 10% barley
• As something special, the whiskey is aged with three different types of wood to achieve a complex flavor profile.
• Colorado Single Malt Whiskey
• Mash bill: 100% malted barley
• A quadruple-malt recipe, mashed, fermented, distilled, and aged in Winter Park, CO.
• Colorado Rye Whiskey
• Mash bill: 93% rye, 7% barley
• Not a typical rye whiskey – delivers a smooth, approachable dram with rounded warmth and a balanced spicy finish.

Philosophy

Idlewild Spirits focuses on premium and captivating modern-era spirits. They use exclusively Colorado-grown grains and malt them close to the mash tun. Distillation, aging, and bottling take place at high altitude in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and they emphasize small batches and local sourcing as well as using water from Vasquez Creek in their stills.