Little known American distilleries

LEOPOLD BROTHERS

Leopold Brothers is a small batch, family owned distillery in Denver, Colorado. The distillery is the mastermind of Todd and Scott Leopold. Todd received his diploma in Malting and Brewing from the Siebel Institute of Technology and Scott has a B.A. in Economics, a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and a Masters in Environmental Engineering, making this duo the perfect blend of brewmaster, scientist and businessman. Leopold Brothers focuses on environmental sustainability and aims to blend the art and science of fermentation and distillation in every spirit they create. They sell five whiskeys: the American small batch, the New York Apple, the Rocky Mountain Blackberry, the Rocky Mountain Peach and the Georgia Peach. In addition to whiskies, Leopold Brothers distills Silver Tree Vodka, Leopold’s Gin and a variety of liqueurs.

KOVAL

Located in Chicago, Illinois is Kovel Distillery, which is a modern distillery that focuses on using sustainable practices to serve up organic spirits that are bottled by hand. Koval opened in 2008 and is the first craft distillery within Chicago city limits since Prohibition. All the grains, herbs, fruits and flowers used in the distillation process come from the local Midwest region and every spirit is crafted from start to finish in house and by hand. No artificial colorings are added to the spirits. Koval started with five single grain white whiskeys: oat, rye, spelt, millet and wheat and has since grown to include six liqueurs, numerous brandies and the single-grain, single-barrel Lion’s Pride Organic Whiskey.

CORSAIR ARTISAN

Based in Nashville, Tennessee and Bowling Green, Kentucky, Corsair Artisan Distillery makes small batches of spirits only a few cases at a time. Relying on traditional distillation methods, Corsair uses pot stills and everything from production to bottling is done by hand. Corsair focuses on using local ingredients and several unusual techniques to make sure these small volume batches are of the highest quality. Currently Corsair offers a Gin-Head Style Gin, Red Absinthe, Vanilla Bean Vodka, Wry Moon Unaged Rye Whiskey and a Triple Smoke, American Single Malt but everything from a barrel aged gin to a pumpkin spice moonshine is in the works.

STRANAHAN’S

After a firefighter and a long-time liquor connoisseur were brought together over a blaze, the concept of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey was born. This full-bodied whiskey is based off of local Colorado ingredients. To ensure the quality and uniqueness of Stranahan’s, this whiskey is sold as a small batch, which in this case means 10-20 choice barrels are selected and combined to make the small batch. This allows for Stranahan’s to have a distinct yet reliable flavor.

THIRTEENTH COLONY

Americus, Georgia is the home to Thirteenth Colony Distilleries, which is the only craft d