Leopold Bros.

Leopold Bros. is a family-owned and operated distillery located in Denver, Colorado. 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 onsite.

Leopold Bros.
TypePrivate
IndustryDistilled beverages
FoundedAnn Arbor, Michigan (1999)
HeadquartersDenver, Colorado
Key people
Scott Leopold, Todd Leopold
ProductsGin
Vodka
Absinthe
Fernet
Whiskey
Liqueur
Aperitivo
Websitewww.leopoldbros.com

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.[1] Many have won awards in international competitions.[2][3][4][5]

History

Brothers Scott and Todd Leopold, opened a brewpub on South Main Street at the site of a renovated brake factory in Ann Arbor, Michigan 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, interned in four German breweries, and went to distilling school in Lexington, Kentucky. Scott Leopold, an environmental engineer, was crucial in the design stages attempting to create as near a zero-pollution factory as possible.[6] The microbrewery 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.[7][8]

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.[9][10] To keep up with exploding demand, Leopold Bros. opened a new facility with triple the production capacity of their previous facility, which also includes the only malting floor at a distillery outside of Scotland.[11][1] Many have won awards in international competitions[2][3][4][5] They received Distillery of the Year award from the American Distilling Institute in 2015.

Spirits
  • American Small-Batch Gin: Gold Medal, San Francisco World Spirits Competition
  • Leopold's Summer Gin
  • Navy Strength American Gin: Gold Medal, Beverage Tasting Institute; Winner, Good Food Awards
  • Aperitivo
  • Absinthe Verte: Silver Medal, 2008 London International Wine and Spirits Competition;[12] Bronze Medal, 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition[13]
  • Fernet Leopold - Highland Amaro: Gold Medal, San Francisco World Spirits Competition
  • Silver Tree American Small-Batch Vodka: Gold Medal, 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition;[13] Silver Medal, 2007 San Francisco World Spirits Competition; Gold Medal, 2006 Beverage Tasting Institute
  • Thomas & Leopold Single Barrel Dark Rum Discontinued
  • Pisco (Gold Medal, 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition)[13] Discontinued

Whiskies
  • American Small Batch Whiskey
  • Maryland-Style Rye Whiskey
  • Rocky Mountain Blackberry Flavored Whiskey
  • Rocky Mountain Peach Flavored Whiskey
  • New York Apple 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[13]
  • New York Sour Apple: Gold Medal, 2007 Beverage Tasting Institute
  • New England Cranberry: Best in Show, Fruit Liqueurs 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition;[13][14] Gold Medal, 2007 Beverage Tasting Institute;
  • French Press-Style American Coffee: 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: Gold Medal, 2007 Beverage Tasting Institute; Bronze Medal, 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition[13]
  • 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[13]
  • American Orange Liqueur: Gold Medal, Beverage Tasting Institute
  • Maraschino Liqueur: Winner, Good Food Awards

See also

References
  1. Felten, Eric, "American entrants in the gin game", Wall Street Journal (April 11, 2009)
  2. Schniper, Matthew. "High spirits", Colorado Springs Independent (March 5, 2009)
  3. Brown, Douglas, "Absinthe emerges from the shadows", Denver Post (July 23, 2008)
  4. Brown, Douglas, "Reviving the spirits", Denver Post (October 8, 2008)
  5. Fillion, Roger, "Spirited times for craft industry", Rocky Mountain News (October 25, 2008)
  6. Hogg, A.J., “Leopold Brothers Brewery: Two brothers brew up an idea, and end up distilling the essence of sustainability”, Michigan Daily (February 7, 2006)
  7. Tsu, Bonnie, "Ann Arbor's other side", Boston Globe (March 23, 2005)
  8. Enders, David, "Leopold's expands its niche", Michigan Daily (October 16, 2002)
  9. Berman, Jillian “Popular A2 bar Leopold Bros. to close this summer”, Michigan Daily (February 7, 2008)
  10. Mathis, Jo and Gershman, Dave, "Ann Arbor brewpub to split for Denver", Ann Arbor News (February 6, 2008) Archived October 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  11. Peterson, Eric, "A Week for the Ages: Distilleries Leopold Bros. and Laws Whiskey House Open Doors in Denver", Confluence Denver (November 12, 2014)
  12. IWSC 2008 Results Archived 2008-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
  13. WSC 2009
  14. 2009 Best in Show Awards, San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Further reading
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