THE SPIRIT HOUND ORIGIN STORY
COLORADOAN CRAIG ENGelHORN WAS ON AN ADVENTURE.
In 2011, after having struck gold with one of his home-brewed beer recipes (Dale’s Pale Ale, christened at Oskar Blues in Longmont, Colorado), Craig began dreaming up new creations, this time with a higher proof.
As it turned out, other like-minded, spirit-loving friends in the town of Lyons, Colorado had similar aspirations. They formed a scrappy pack and caught a whiff of opportunity in the form of an old motorcycle repair shop that had just gone up for sale.
The small-town Colorado shop soon transformed into a distillery. The pack of friends formed Spirit Hound Distillers and began creating exceptional gins, vodkas, and other clear liquors while waiting for their first run of single malt whisky to age.
Conveniently, Craig had just put the finishing touches on the distillery’s iconic all-copper pot still, a marvel of craftsmanship that took over 500 hours to complete.
Rocky Mountain snowmelt water was paired with locally sourced botanicals like wild Juniper berries hand-picked in their surrounding river basin and raw honey sourced from our neighboring apiary.
It wouldn’t be long before word would spread about the little distillery making big waves throughout Colorado, the surrounding region and internationally. Spirit Hound had earned a reputation for hand-crafting everything, from the spirits themselves to the very labels and bottles used to identify and preserve them.
Today, the tireless pursuit of what’s possible makes Spirit Hound proud to offer 17 (and counting) varieties of craft spirits, each with its own unique, Rocky Mountain-inspired flair.
WHAT IS A SPIRIT HOUND?
The world is brimming with opportunity. Everywhere you look, and in everything you do, there’s an experience to savor. As soon as you’ve indulged in one life-changing sensation, another one beckons from afar.
The hunt is always on for greatness.
The Spirit Hound embodies the passion for the new and the bold.
Inspired by the insatiable curiosity and boundless optimism of dogs, Spirit Hounds are ardent seekers of purity, quality, and—perhaps above all—the best experiences life has to offer. The Spirit Hound never settles. It’s nose belongs in the wind, attuned to sense and eager to explore new possibilities. Maybe you’re like us. Maybe you, too, have the same insatiable appetite for discovery.
Heed the howl, and join the pack.
DISTILLERY OF THE YEAR
8 Years Running from Best of Boulder
whisky of
the year
2022 London Spirits Competition
95 points
Gold Medal New York International Spirits Competition
colorado
liqueur distillery
of the year
2023 New York International Spirits Competition