Elevate Your Holidays with Breckenridge Distillery's Award-Winning Whisky

While some people may dream of receiving a new cashmere sweater or a desired golf club this holiday season, for a whiskey fan there’s no better gift than a trip to their favorite producer. When it comes to fans of Breckenridge Distillery, however, you can enjoy the experience without ever leaving your home. That’s because the experience is inherently baked into every bottle.

Located 9,600 feet above sea level, Breckenridge Distillery has been the world’s highest distillery since its founding in 2008. Because it has such a unique setting, you can taste that terroir in every glass. The pure water used in the mash, in fact, comes from the Rocky Mountains.

“We’re getting snowmelt that’s filtered, with perfect minerality for our spirits,” explains Billie Keithley, the distillery’s “liquid chef” who was named bar manager of the year at Icons of Whisky. This minerality doesn’t just allow the flavors of the whisky to fully shine, but it adds incredible texture, what some describe as a velvety “chew.”

This distillery’s nearly two-mile-high elevation also impacts the maturation of the whisky in truly unique ways that differ from what you would get in Kentucky or Tennessee. Higher altitude means more pressure, allowing the wood pores in the barrel to open up more. Because the air is drier, the water evaporates from the barrel before the spirit, leading to more concentrated, though less sweet whiskey.

You can taste that terroir in their flagship, called Bourbon Whiskey A Blend; it’s a high-rye bourbon aged for a minimum of three years in charred American oak barrels. It is cacao and brown sugar–forward with notes of vanilla and white pepper. It won a Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and was named Best American Blended at the World Whiskies Awards.

Breckenridge’s Distillers High Proof is bottled at 105 proof, giving it a rich, dark caramel flavor on the palate with notes of toasted almonds, chocolate, and a spicy finish. It claimed the title of World’s Best Blended Whiskey 2023 as well as Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Breckenridge is no stranger to experimentation either, utilizing retired Pedro Ximenez wine barrels from the Andalusia province of Spain, Tawny Port barrels, and well as their own rum casks to create top-notch finished whiskeys.

Breckenridge Whiskey PX Cask Finish offers complex flavors of fig, orange, and licorice—it’s an ideal dessert sipper after a holiday feast. Breckenridge Port Cask Finish offers a unique flavor of sultana raisin and maple syrup. While Breckenridge Rum Cask Finish has notes of candied apples, cinnamon and allspice, and even hints of the tropics.

As the daylight disappears and the weather chills, these Breckenridge whiskeys are an ideal companion for a cozy night inside with family and away from the elements. Whether sipping them neat, or in holiday cocktails like Après Ski or Holiday Highball (recipes below), no matter where you are in the world, when you taste Breckenridge’s award-winning whiskeys you can’t help but be transported to a snow-covered distillery in the Rocky Mountains. If you are visiting Colorado, a stop at the Breckenridge Distillery is a must. Take a journey through the senses with tours, tastings, dinner at their modern-American steakhouse and for the whiskey enthusiast, blend your own Breckenridge Whiskey with their distillers.

Recipes

Après Ski

2 oz Breckenridge PX Sherry Cask Finish
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/4 oz allspice dram
Stir ingredients with ice. Strain over large cube.

Holiday Highball

1-1/2 oz Breckenridge Bourbon 105 High Proof
Soda
Cranberry Collins cube*
Place Collins cube into Collins glass, add Breckenridge 105 and top with soda.
Make sure all ingredients are COLD.
Garnish: cranberries
*Cranberry Collins cube: freeze cranberries in a Collins cube mold.

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