Ironton Distillery Tasting Flight

While visiting Denver in November, we made a stop at Ironton Distillery and Crafthouse, located in the River North Art district (RiNo) close to a number of breweries including Blue Moon, Left Hand Brewing and Black Shirt Brewing Company, making it the perfect kickoff for a Saturday evening pub crawl.  In addition to a deep line of craft distilled spirits, woman-owned Ironton Distillery features a two full kitchens with a menu including wood fired pizza and has an excellent dog friendly outdoor patio.

In addition to a deep line of whiskies, they also make a rum and a variety of botanical spirits, including gin, aquavit, genievre, and absinthe.  They naturally also make a vodka as ell and a handful of liqueurs.

When we arrived there was a drag show taking place in the bar area, and a pretty good crowd taking in the hilarity but the afternoon show was winding down, so we decided to take a seat on the patio and enjoy the abnormally warm weather. My son ordered an old fashioned, and I picked out a flight including the distillery's three core straight whiskies in addition to two limited release pours, a Coffee Cask Single Malt and a Veteran Bourbon.

Ironton Distillery Tasting Flight

The  distillery uses three custom hybrid pot/column stills nicknamed Karl (stripping), Margo (spirit), and Tamilla (botanical) for its spirits, ages them in a relatively light char 2 53 gallon barrel, and bottles all of them at 86 proof. Grains are sourced locally and milled on-site. 

Colorado Straight Rye Malt Whiskey

An undisclosed blend of Colorado Pale and Chocolate Rye Malts and malted barley. Aged at least two years in 53 gallon new American white oak barrels. 86 Proof

Nose: Grass, vanilla, malt
Palate: Malt, grain, black pepper
Finish: Pepper, vanilla

Ironton Straight Single Malt

Made from locally sourced roasted malt barley. Aged at lease 2 years in char 2 new American White Oak Barrels. 86 proof.

Nose: Floral, vanilla
Palate: Toffee, nutmeg, caramel, stewed fruits
Finish: Leather, caramel

Ironton Straight Bourbon

Undisclosed four grain mask bill of "red, white and blue" red wheat, malted rye, malted barley, and heirloom Colorado blue corn. Aged a minimum of two years in 53 gallon new charred American oak barrels.

Nose: Vanilla, cookies
Palate: vanilla, wheat bread, citrus
Finish: licorice, light pepper

Ironton Coffee Cask Single Malt

This now sold-out single malt whiskey was finished in a used whiskey barrel that was used to age coffee beans and cold brew by Bluegrass Coffee, a local Denver coffee house.

Nose: Coffee, cocoa
Palate: Coffee, cocoa, vanilla
Finish: leather, coffee

Ironton "Veteran" Bourbon:

This single barrel selection was hand selected by the group Warriors & Whiskey a group of veteran whiskey enthusiasts, with proceeds donated to the American Warrior Foundation. Uses the same grain bill as Ironton's straight bourbon.

Nose: caramel, citrus, oak
Palate: caramel, pepper, dark red fruit
Finish: pepper, leather, oak

What I Took Home, And What I Wish I Had...

I usually call this paragraph "closing thoughts," but it almost always features the bottle I took home from the distillery, so let's just call it what it is! This time, I brought home the Coffee Cask Single Malt, partly because it was a limited release, and partly because it was one of the best coffee-based whiskey expressions I have ever tried. I really enjoy having a pour now and then with a nice sweet dessert after dinner. While preparing for this article, I noticed it has long since sold out, but I have been thinking on my next trip back I might pick up the straight rye, which offers an interesting twist on the traditional rye profile by using all malted grains. If you're in the area, definitely stop in!