On Valentine’s Day weekend, Dry Land Distillers of Longmont and Woods High Mountain Distillery of Salida released a collaborative whiskey blend called Tread Lightly, which is made of a combination of each distillery’s award-winning spirits. The limited-edition whiskey is made up of Woods’ Tenderfoot Malt Whiskey and Dry Land’s Light Antero Wheat Whiskey, which are both made from Colorado-grown grains.
The combination of the two spirits and the two Colorado distilleries is symbolic of Colorado’s diverse landscapes. “Creating an iconic spirit like Tread Lightly is our way of celebrating everything we love about Colorado,” Dry Land Distillers’ founder Nels Wroe told The Whiskey Wash. “Not just the landscapes, but the people and the communities that make this place home.”
Wroe said that the idea for a collaboration between the two distilleries initially came about four years ago. The Dry Land Distillers founders and Woods High Mountain Distillery founders, brothers Lee and P.T. Wood, have been acquainted for years, as the Woods are originally from Longmont. Then, earlier this year, Lee told Wroe that they had created a “tricky” whiskey that tasted “too mountainous” and needed to be “balanced out.” The distilleries combined the mountainous whiskey with Dry Land’s light whiskey, the “polar opposite” of Woods’ Tenderfoot Malt Whiskey, Wroe said, and the two spirits balanced one another perfectly. Thus, Tread Lightly was born.
The whiskey was released at Woods High Mountain Distillery and Dry Land Distillers on February 14 and 15, respectively. The idea behind releasing the blend on Valentine’s Day weekend, Wroe said, was to showcase collaboration on a holiday that celebrates connection and partnerships.
For the release, a mixologist team helped the distilleries create a signature cocktail called the Tread Lightly New York Sour, which was made partly with a red wine from Gunnison’s Buckel Family Wines, made from Colorado-grown grapes.
Tread Lightly’s label art was created by Colorado artist John Cross specifically for the product and is inspired by old national parks posters, Wroe said.
At Dry Land Distillers, about two thirds of the limited edition whiskey has sold in the last two weeks. Wroe expects the remaining supply to be available for about one month. Tread Lightly can be purchased at each distillery or online for $89.
Recipe for Tread Lightly New York Sour
Ingredients:
2 ounce Tread Lightly whiskey
½ ounce simple syrup
½ ounce lemon juice
¾ ounce egg white
1 ounce Buckel Family Wine Cabernet Franc
Orange twist with cherry skewered on bamboo or metal
Glassware: large rocks glass
Instructions:
Add whiskey, lemon, simple syrup, and egg white to a shaker. Dry shake, then wet shake. Strain into a large rocks glass. Add a scoop of ice. Pour cabernet franc over the back of a spoon to float on top of the cocktail. Add garnish.
