A Visit to the Law's Whiskey House Tasting Room

Recently I made a trip out west to help my son move from Seattle to Denver.  As much as I'll miss visiting my favorite Seattle distilleries, the move opened up the whole new world of Colorado distilleries, and we managed to squeeze in two new spots in that first few days in Denver.  

The first of these was Law's Whiskey House in the South Broadway neighborhood of Denver on S. Acoma St. The distillery mills its own grain, ferments in open vessels and distills in a custom made four plate pot still. All of the Law's Whiskey House products are straight whiskies aged a minimum of two years in American white oak barrels.

We came in too late in the day to enjoy one of the distillery's tours, but we did manage to sample a nice flight in the tasting room.  

Law's Four Grain Bourbon Tasting Notes

I ordered the Bourbon Flight, which includes three variations of the distillery's signature four grain bourbon: their regular 95 proof bourbon, a bottled in bond, and a cask strength bourbon.  The distillery gets all of the grains for its four grain bourbon from two Colorado family farms. The wheat, rye, and barley are heirloom varietals.  

Law's Four Grain Bourbon: 

Mash bill of 60% corn, 20% heirloom wheat, 10% heirloom rye and 10% malted barley.  3 year age statement. 95 proof.

Nose: Wheat, oak
Palate: grain, caramel, oak
Finish: Pepper, mild burn in upper throat

Law's Four Grain Bonded Bourbon:

Mash bill of 60% corn, 20% heirloom wheat, 10% heirloom rye and 10% malted barley.  4 year age statement. 100 proof.

Nose: caramel, brown sugar, ethanol
Palate: caramel, coffee, leather\
Finish: leather, black pepper, moderate burn in upper throat.

Law's Four Grain Cask Strength Bourbon:

Mash bill of 60% corn, 20% heirloom wheat, 10% heirloom rye and 10% malted barley.  3 year age statement. 

Nose: Vanilla, caramel
Palate: caramel, wood, pepper baking spice
Finish: black pepper, moderate burn

Final Impressions

Like so many craft distilleries, Law's is differentiating itself with a non-traditional mash bill and unique locally sourced grains, and they produce a very nice craft bourbon.  I found the 3 year straight to be a little grain forward, but both of the higher proof bourbons were outstanding. As the distillery continues to grow its inventory of matured spirits, I think the straight will benefit greatly for a little more exposure to oak and oxygen. The Bottled-In-Bond provides a nice preview of what that would look like, and I was impressed enough with it to bring a bottle home for myself, along with a Cask strength for Dan.

If you find yourself in Denver sometime, I recommend a stop by, and am hoping to return for the full tour at a future date.

Cheers!

Trevor