Arkansas Valley Libations Society merges brewers, distillers, vintners

PT Wood, owner of Wood's Mountain High Distillery in Salida, samples a batch of his whiskey. Wood's company is a member of the new Arkansas Valley Libation Society, a guild of craft brewers, distillers and winemakers from around the region. (Jason Blevins, The Denver Post)

SALIDA — PT Wood is delving deeply into a snifter of gin as Lenny Eckstein details the botanicals used in distilling his subtle concoction.

Some peppercorns, caraway seeds, cardamom. A lot of citrus.

"I like the pennyroyal coming in early, but I miss the juniper fragrance," says Eckstein, owner of Buena Vista's Deerhammer Distilling Co., which opened a year ago and recently sold out of its first run of single-malt whiskey.

"It's really interesting," says Wood, owner of Wood's High Mountain Distillery in Salida. "It's nice."

The two distillers are part of a craft-libations boom in the Upper Arkansas Valley, where soon 11 breweries, distillers and winemakers will be crafting beer, aging whiskey and First Drafts: Beer Blog

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