One craft distillery is fighting to put Colorado on the bourbon map.
Breckenridge Distillery is located 9,600 feet above sea level in Breckenridge, Colorado. Founded in 2008, the distillery has won its fair share of awards with its countless products made from “snowmelt water from the Rocky Mountains.” Breckenridge produces every possible kind of whiskey you could think of, along with rums, vodkas, and even a gin. But as the saying goes: “Jack of all trades, master of none.”
When Breckenridge began, they sourced their bourbons from another distillery. Well, that’s at least how the rumor goes. Sourcing bourbon is a decently common practice for new distilleries like Breckenridge, but while other companies like New Riff or Willett have been pretty up front about that, things are a bit more mysterious with Breckenridge.
To date, Breckenridge doesn’t exactly proclaim whether it is or isn’t making 100% of its bourbon, but there is one little clue printed right on the bottle: “Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey – A Blend.” Now, when it comes to bourbon, “blend” can get tricky. A blended bourbon must be at least 51% straight bourbon, but the other 49% is basically the Wild West. On the one hand, a distillery could go crazy and add fake color, flavor, or even gin if they wanted. (Which technically, in our opinion, would make it a “whiskey” instead of a “bourbon blend,” but that’s another story). But on the other hand, someone could just add in really young bourbon to that other 49% and call it a day. And that someone might just be Breckenridge Distillery.
While the brand is extremely up front with the “blend” declaration, the “100% bourbon whiskey” is in fine print at the bottom of the back of the barrel. So after all that effort to make the extra 49% bourbon, why tuck that little detail away? After tasting this bourbon blend though, it all makes a bit more sense.
Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey touts an interesting combination of flavors. As a high rye bourbon, there is a good deal of white pepper, rounded out by some sweet butterscotch, brown sugar, and even orange and apple flavors. But somehow, the bourbon was still a little lackluster. Sure it could be the 86 proof not delivering the punch we’re looking for, but really, the bourbon just tastes young.
The distillery claims the bourbon is aged for “a minimum of three years,” but it can’t be more than three years and a day. Our guess with Breckenridge’s blended bourbon is that 51% is distilled and aged on site, while the other 49% is sourced from who knows where.
Hopefully that custom 51% is the future of Breckenridge because with a bit more time and a bit more love, the distillery could really be something special.
STATS: Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey
- Price for us: $44 for 750 mL
- Proof: 86
- Aged: At least 3 Years
- Distillery: Breckenridge Distillery
- Recommendation: Neat
