Leopold Bros. is a family-owned and operated

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

located in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. They are well known as an independent distillery that floor malts, mills, mashes, and ferments all the grains in their spirits, as well as distills, ages, and bottles their entire portfolio at their one and only distillery in northeast Denver. They currently have the largest traditional floor malting room of any distillery in the United States, where they malt Colorado

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

onsite. Leopold Bros distills over twenty hand-numbered, small-batch products, all made from scratch and natural ingredients, which are distributed in over twenty states, the District of Columbia, and parts of Europe. Among the distinctive methods used by Leopold Bros. is the separate distillation of each botanical used in flavoring its products prior to blending and final distillation.Felten, Eric, "American entrants in the gin game", ''Wall Street Journal'' (April 11, 2009)
/ref> Many have won awards in international competitions.Brown, Douglas, "Absinthe emerges from the shadows", ''Denver Post'' (July 23, 2008)
/ref>Brown, Douglas, "Reviving the spirits", ''Denver Post'' (October 8, 2008)
/ref>Fillion, Roger, "Spirited times for craft industry", ''Rocky Mountain News'' (October 25, 2008)
/ref>

History

Brothers Scott and Todd Leopold, opened a

brewpub Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

on South Main Street at the site of a renovated brake factory in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

in 1999. Later, operations expanded to include a micro-distillery. Todd Leopold, brew- and still-master for the brewery, after graduating from the Siebel Institute of Technology in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, interned in four German breweries, and went to distilling school in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. Scott Leopold, an environmental engineer, was crucial in the design stages attempting to create as near a zero-pollution factory as possible. The

microbrewery Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

operated as an "eco-brewery" using organic hops and barley, and used equipment and procedures designed to reduce wastewater and other waste by-products in the beer-making process. Leopold Bros. closed its Ann Arbor location in the Spring of 2008, relocating to Denver, where it discontinued brewing and began operating as a micro-distillery alone. To keep up with exploding demand, Leopold Bros. opened a new facility with triple the production capacity of their previous facility, which also includes one of only a few malting floors at a distillery outside of Scotland. Many have won awards in international competitions They received ''Distillery of the Year'' award from the American Distilling Institute in 2015.

Spirits

* American Small-Batch

Gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands ...

: Gold Medal,

San Francisco World Spirits Competition The San Francisco World Spirits Competition was founded in 2001 by Anthony Dias Blue as an off-shoot of the San Francisco International Wine Competition. It assesses hundreds of entrants annually (1,407 in 2013 from 63 countries) with tastings i ...

* Leopold's Summer Gin * Navy Strength American

: Gold Medal, Beverage Tasting Institute; Winner, Good Food Awards * Aperitivo *

Absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavored Liquor, spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. His ...

Verte: Silver Medal, 2008 London International Wine and Spirits Competition; Bronze Medal, 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition * Fernet Leopold - Highland Amaro: Gold Medal, San Francisco World Spirits Competition * Silver Tree American Small-Batch

Vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

: Gold Medal, 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition; Silver Medal, 2007 San Francisco World Spirits Competition; Gold Medal, 2006 Beverage Tasting Institute * Thomas & Leopold Single Barrel Dark

Rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

''Discontinued'' * Pisco (Gold Medal, 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition) ''Discontinued''

Whiskies

* American Small Batch Whiskey * Maryland-Style Rye Whiskey * Rocky Mountain

Blackberry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

Flavored Whiskey * Rocky Mountain

Peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

Flavored Whiskey * New York

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

Flavored Whiskey * Michigan Cherry Whiskey * Georgia Peach Flavored Whiskey

Liqueurs

* Rocky Mountain Blackberry: Gold Medal, 2006 Beverage Tasting Institute; Silver Medal, 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition * New York Sour

: Gold Medal, 2007 Beverage Tasting Institute * New England

Cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not th ...

: Best in Show, Fruit Liqueurs 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition; Gold Medal, 2007 Beverage Tasting Institute; *

French Press A French press, also known as a cafetière, ''cafetière à piston'', ''caffettiera a stantuffo'', press pot, coffee press, or coffee plunger, is a coffee brewing device, although it can also be used for other tasks. The earliest known devi ...

-Style American

Coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

: Silver Medal, 2007 Beverage Tasting Institute; Silver Medal, 2007 San Francisco World Spirits Competition * Rocky Mountain Peach: Gold Medal, 2007 Beverage Tasting Institute; Bronze Medal, 2007 San Francisco World Spirits Competition * Michigan Tart

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

: Gold Medal, 2007 Beverage Tasting Institute; Bronze Medal, 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition * Three Pins Alpine Herbal: Gold Medal, 2007 Beverage Tasting Institute; Silver Medal, 2007 San Francisco World Spirits Competition; Bronze Medal, 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition * American Orange Liqueur: Gold Medal, Beverage Tasting Institute * Maraschino Liqueur: Winner, Good Food Awards

References

External links

Leopold Bros.
{{Vodkas Manufacturing companies based in Denver Distilleries in Colorado Cuisine of the Western United States Family-owned companies of the United States Food and drink companies established in 1999 1999 establishments in Michigan