After years of being fans - particularly drawn to what always seemed like genuine passion and attention to quality - we finally got to visit Leopold Bros. for a distillery tour.
As we entered the warm, open tasting room, we were quietly buzzing with excitement seeing many of the spirits we had already grown to love (like the Blackberry Liqueur), and others we had been waiting until this day to try. At $20, we figured we were in for a simple, quick tour of the facility; tasting a few of the distillery's standard products. Little did we know we were in for a tour that not only showed us things we had never seen, but allowed us to taste some of Leopold Bros. most exquisite releases.
The tour started with our first taste of whiskey (not going to spoil every detail of the tour) and a quick trip to the malting floor - a process Leopold Bros. is defined by. While we didn't see any of the floor malting in action, we were immersed in the space - surrounded by the scents of grain and letting our imaginations run wild with what the experience must be like.
Next, we headed to the room where most of the action takes place. Upon entering, there is a lot to take in. A production line where bottles are filled and labels are added, rows of open wooden tanks next to a wall of windows, what looks like the world's largest barrel towering in the center of the room (we'd later find out that is was a Foeder that has literally been used all around the world, but most recently at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado), and in the last section, a line of several different of stills, most recognizably the copper pot still.
Tasting along the way, our incredible guide Alyssa, brought us to the fermentation tanks. The entire group was curious as we all peeked over the top to see the bubbling mash inside, alive with energy. Come to find out, in the summer, the windows next to the tanks are opened wide so the natural pollination occurring in the garden drifts in and adds to the fermentation. This felt like magic to me.
At this time we walked over to the section where all of the stills were. We tasted a variety of spirits, learned about the intention Leopold Bros. puts into selecting the best version of each ingredient (reminding us of our visit to Alpine Distilling in Park City, Utah), and then we got to see the icon in the room. The Three-Chamber Still. The Leopold Bros. brought this type of distilling back from its glory days (pre-prohibition) using what they could find from history to have one built for themselves. Learn more about the story of the Three-Chamber Still from Todd Leopold himself here.
Seeing it in person felt epic, like we were in the midst of greatness. Our biggest surprise of the day came when we actually got to taste the latest release of Leopold Bros. Three Chamber Rye. As part of the tour! We couldn't believe it. The newest expression is aged 8 years, and we were nothing short of grateful to experience it. Lusciously coating the glass and then our mouths, it was rich, balanced with spice, and something every whiskey lover has to experience.
Our final stop was the barrel house. Now, we did this tour in February so think cold and at 5:00pm it was about the time of sunset, so getting pretty dark. Everyone bundled up and walked over to building directly across from the tasting room. Inside, we all huddled around our guide, staying warm with another taste of whiskey. We stood there, surrounded by aging barrels that were only dimly illuminated by a couple of small windows. With no electricity, there were no other lights, no heat, but it felt extremely special to be there hearing stories about some of the special barrels that were housed there.
We knew there had been a reason we have been drawn to Leopold Bros. for so long, and the time we spent there that day made that very obvious. I would imagine you could learn a new detail every time you visited that explains why the products are so rich with quality. Truly, the experience was so wholesome, and we are incredibly eager to see what they do next.
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