Laws Whiskey House Visit & Tour

Laws Whiskey House
1420 S. Acoma St.
Denver, CO
lawswhiskeyhouse.com
Visit – Review – Tour – Photos

We were fortunate to visit Laws Whiskey House recently, and spend some time with Brand Manager, Casey Rizzo. We learned about Laws’ history and whiskey, took a tour, tasted some whiskey and took plenty of Laws Whiskey House photos! Read on as we share what we learned with you!

Laws Was Founded in 2009

Laws Whiskey House was founded in 2009 by Al and Marianne Laws. Originally from
Canada, Al moved to New York to take a job with Merril Lynch (now Merrill). Al had also been
thinking of starting his own distillery, originally in Brooklyn. Time changed that idea when he was transferred to Merrill’s Colorado office. Colorado suited the family, and they decided to make it their permanent home. Consequently, Laws became one of Denver’s first distilleries.

Bill Friel Joins The Team

To help get the distillery started, Al took a trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, for research purposes, of course. During that trip, he had arranged a brief meet and greet with Bill Friel, who had been Master Distiller at Barton prior to retiring. Their short meeting turned into an hours long discussion. One thing led to another, and soon Bill was headed out to Denver to help Al build and set up the the distillery. Bill also worked with Al on the creation of Laws’ bourbon mash bill.

Four Grain Bourbon

Al wanted to make a four grain bourbon, as he had enjoyed the few that he had tried. His goal was to capture both the drinkability of the wheat and complexity of the rye grains. Eventually, Al and Bill arrived at a mashbill of 60% corn, 20% wheat, 10% rye and 10% malted barley. Together, they laid down the first barrel of Laws Bourbon on July 4, 2011. Soon after, Bill returned to Kentucky and Al continued distilling, all the while continuing with his day job. He honed his skills with practice and from what he had learned from Bill. In addition, he also continued his schooling from reading many, many books. 

All Laws Whiskeys are Distilled In-House

Law’s Whiskey House has always distilled their own spirits. They have never sourced. Therefore, during the long wait for their whiskey to come of age and be sold, Al continued working at Merrill. He initially planned on releasing a straight bourbon, which means that it had to age at least 2 years. However, when 2 years arrived, everyone felt that while the bourbon was good, it could use more time. So, after another year, with just over 3 years in the barrel, the first Law’s Whiskey House Four Grain Bourbon was released in October of 2014. 

Laws Whiskeys Are Growing Older

For the first few years, all Laws whiskeys were aged at least 3 years. However, fast forward to the present, and all Laws whiskeys are, or will soon be, bottled when they are 4 years old, or older. In addition, Laws Whiskey House was also the first Colorado distillery to release a bottled in bond spirit. Furthermore, in addition to meeting all the requirements for a bonded product (see my bottled in bond bourbon article to learn all of the regulations), Laws also uses whiskeys made from grains that are harvested in only one season, as well.

Laws Uses Colorado Heirloom Grains

Laws Whiskey House uses only Colorado grown low yield heritage and heirloom grains. The grains all come from two family farms, the Cody Family Farm in the San Luis Valley and Whiskey Sister Supply in Burlington, CO. In addition, malting of their grains is done in-state, at the Colorado Malting Company, also owned by the Cody’s. Once the grains arrive at Laws, they are stored in large silos outside the distillery. As needed, the grain is ground on-site using their hammer mill.

The Laws Whiskey House Distillery

Inside the distillery, mashing takes place in a 1000 gallon cooker. Fermentation and distillation are done “on the grain” (the grain is not removed after cooking), as is typical for American whiskeys. Fermentation lasts 3 1/2 days at Laws Whiskey House. Then, the distillers beers heads to the stills. Laws’ 2000 gallon stripping still and the 500 gallon finishing still were both made by Vendome Copper & Brass Works, in Louisville, Kentucky. After distillation, the new make then goes into the barrel at 105-110 proof. Laws uses barrels made by Independent Stave of Lebanon, MO. The barrels are char 3 and were made using staves seasoned for 12-18 months. Finally, the whiskey is aged in one of two traditional rickhouses, both located off-site.

A Few Unique Things in Laws’ Distilling Process

There are a few unique things in Laws’ distilling process. First, the 2000 gallon pot-column hybrid still is too large to have a heating jacket inside it. Therefore, it has a unique reboiling system that externally recirculates the liquid, heats it, and returns it into the still. Second, Laws Whiskey House has a unique way of handling their stillage, the liquid and grain that is left over after distillation. They use some of it as setback for their sour mash, which many distilleries do. However, the remainder is passed through a liquid-grain separator. The dried grain is then used as animal feed. As for the liquid, Laws is involved in a pilot program with a Denver wastewater management company. It turns out that the liquid waste from the distillation can be used to effectively denitrate the Denver wastewater. The project is ongoing, but has been successful so far.

Laws Makes A Wide Variety of Whiskeys

In addition to Laws Four Grain Bourbon, Laws makes many other whiskeys to choose from. After the bourbon, the next whiskey that Laws made was their rye, followed by their wheat whiskey and malt whiskey. Interestingly, the rye, which is made from 100% rye, uses a combination of 50% malted and 50% unmalted San Luis Valley Rye. All of the whiskeys are also available as barrel proof and bonded versions. Additionally, a variety of finished releases, including honey cask finished, Cognac foeder finished and Madeira cask finished bourbons, are available as limited releases.

The New Tasting Room & Cocktail Bar

A new building was in the works during our visit to Laws Whiskey House. It will house the new tasting room, “whiskey church”, gift shop and cocktail bar. Interestingly, to be in compliance with Colorado law, Laws can only use alcoholic beverages that they produce on-site. So, they also make other spirits for this purpose, including an agave spirit and rum, as well as a variety of cordials, apple brandy and curacao. The rum, however, is also made for another very important reason. It turns out that Marianne is not a whiskey drinker, but instead favors rum. Therefore, from the start, she was promised that Law’s would make a rum. That time has come, as Marianne’s Promise Rum will soon be released.

A Must See When In The Denver Area

Laws Whiskey House is a unique distillery with a strong commitment to quality and innovation. By using Colorado-grown heirloom grains, employing traditional as well as novel distilling techniques, and aging their spirits to perfection, they have established themselves as a notable player in the American whiskey scene. Their dedication to sustainability, as seen in their innovative handling of distillery byproducts, further sets them apart. Therefore, Laws Whiskey House is a “must see” for any whiskey enthusiast living in or visiting the Denver area. In fact, if we still lived in Denver, I would be there all the time! Cheers!🥃

We hope you enjoyed reading about our Laws Whiskey House tour and visit, and seeing our Laws Whiskey House Photos! If you would like to read about other Colorado distilleries, then check out our Leopold Bros Distillery Tour Review and our 10th Mountain Whiskey – Distillery Tour and Chat with Founder Ryan Thompson.

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!