While it may look like an aged bourbon, Devil’s Head Distillery’s Barrel Rested Aquavit is a modern take on the Scandanavian spirit dating back to the 15th century. The base spirit is closer to a gin, using caraway instead of juniper as the main flavoring botanical. Devil’s Head adds their own pallet of spices to round out the flavor.
Devil’s Head’s Aquavit is 80 proof off the still and is a clear, but flavorful spirit. A portion of the liquor is bottled for retail sales as well as being used in the tasting room cocktails. The remaining Aquavit is stored for up to three years in new, charred American oak barrels. Like whiskey, time in the barrel brings on a caramel coloring and instills the flavors from the charred oak.
Using their four base spirits, Aquavit, Vodka, Gin and the Barrelled Aquavit, the tasting room has a solid list of cocktails to serve. The hand-crafted drinks look as good as they taste, and if you can’t find the flavor combination you want, Devil’s Head offers a “make your own” option to build a drink to your own taste.
The tasting room menu offers Devil’s Head Crafty Cocktails which includes the “Bellringer Martini”, an Aquavit based martini with red bell pepper, mint, honey and lemon. Garnished with a red bell pepper slice, the fruit forward flavor combination is delicious.
“Note of a Dirty Old Man” is the distillery’s take on an old fashion. Using the Oak Barrel Reserve Aquavit and house-made bitters, the drink is flavorful with an appropriate bite. For those who don’t care for the whiskey burn, the “Mountain Jam” is a vodka based cocktail along the lines of an Arnold Palmer. But be warned, this drink is so smooth and tasty the 80 proof vodka may catch you off guard.
Owner Ryan White said the tasting room just reopened five weeks ago following the covid pandemic. The Colorado native attributes local store sales in helping the business survive and is glad to be back open to the public.
The summer evenings are a perfect time to roll up the big garage door in the tasting room and enjoy the variety of cocktails offered by the distillery. With a long walk-up bar and large seating area, Devil’s Head Distillery is currently open Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.
