The World’s Highest Distillery Just Made the Perfect End-of-Summer Whiskey

Like the crisp burst of a fresh mountain breeze, biting into a newly harvested Colorado peach represents a simple-if-too-rare pleasure in life. That emotion is distilled into liquid form with Breckenridge Peach Whiskey, a just-released and yet expertly timed offering from the world’s highest distillery. 

With its Gold Rush-era heritage, Breckenridge seems to serve as a more rustic counterpart to other booming Colorado mountain towns like Aspen, complete with one of the oldest working bars west of the Mississippi. 

Saddle up and take a sip or two, the town seems to say, and that includes the latest whiskey from the award-winning distillery. 

Add in the elbow grease behind the Colorado peach harvest, and there’s a distinct salt-of-the-Earth approach to making an uncommonly great flavored whiskey.

As I found out during a late July visit to the mountain town, a down-home, authentic approach supported by the region itself adds character to the flavored whiskey category, far beyond a certain red cap-topped flavored “whiskey,” for instance. 

It’s not all fun and games when crafting a flavored whiskey, as I discovered during a late July tour of the compact-but-mighty Breckenridge distillery. 

Noticeably thin air at more than 9,000 feet in altitude presents its own particular set of challenges in the way of the “angel’s share,” or the amount of whiskey lost from a barrel year-over-year through evaporation. 

At this particular altitude, about 15 percent more whiskey is lost on average than would commonly occur at sea level, the distillery notes. And yet, Breckenridge soldiers on. As does the quest to find harvested-just-right peaches fit for its latest whiskey.

The farm-to-glass approach reflects the spirit of the state itself, said Breckenridge Distillery Founder Bryan Nolt. 

“Palisade peaches are one of Colorado’s most iconic agricultural treasures, and we wanted to showcase them in a way that feels authentic to our home state,” he said. “This whiskey captures the flavor of a Colorado summer—from the orchard to the glass—and celebrates the farmers, ingredients and craftsmanship that make it possible.”

Even its pleasing, light orange-toned label showcases imagery of “harvested peaches from the Western slopes of Colorado.”

The whiskey maker already boasts one of the highest-rye-content bourbons on the market, leaning on a blend of 56% corn, 38% rye, and 6% malted barley, adding some “oomph” to the peach flavor of its latest liquid. 

Behind the high-rye approach is the fact that distillery founder Nolt is a major Scotch fan, which means that you might call the flagship blended Breckenridge Bourbon “a Scotch lover’s whiskey.” 

In matters of lineage, for what Breckenridge lacks in years of operation (it was founded in 2008), it makes up for in hardware, including a slew of Double Gold wins at world spirits competitions in San Francisco and New York through the years. Even more incredibly, Breckenridge’s bourbon beat out a covetable 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle bourbon by one point at New York City’s 2012 Ultimate Spirits Challenge. 

Breckenridge even dabbles in the burgeoning world of American Single Malt whiskey via the Breckenridge Dark Arts series, which Nolt, the Breckenridge founder, likens to a “Ferrari monster truck” of a whiskey, as distillery reps noted on a summer media tour. 

Breckenridge (which is owned by consumer beverage and wellness giant Tilray Brands) extends its own focus on innovation past its flagship releases, with its new peach whiskey joining a whiskey made with Goldswarm Raw Honey. 

That honey also, rather improbably, has a Colorado connection. Goldswarm founder Omar Lababidi is the grandson of Richard S. Kitchen, a key figure in the founding of the Denver Broncos. 

Its honey whiskey represents a full-circle moment for a distillery that makes the official bourbon of the NFL’s Broncos. Your next autumnal tailgate sipper, it appears, is well sorted. 

But on a pleasantly breezy late July Colorado evening, all eyes are on the dinnertime launch of a delectable peach whiskey from the famed distillery, complete with overflowing fruit bowls and a menu bursting with peach-inspired flavor and memorable cocktail pairings. 

At the height of the season for Palisade peaches hailing from Western Colorado’s Grand Valley, the latest Breckenridge flavored whiskey represents family as much as it does an utterly delicious new seasonal sipper. The distillery worked with Talbott Cider Company and Charles Talbott, its owner and director of operations, on sourcing peaches that went into the 36 percent ABV whiskey. 

With about 360 days of sunshine yearly and distinctive canyon winds, the valley proves ample for growing everything from Palisade peaches to wine-ready grapes, Talbott said of his family’s namesake farm while sipping on a dram of the new expression beneath a setting Colorado sun. 

Palisade peaches are the highest-priced peach on the market, Talbott notes, coming from a uniquely small growing region that ends up delivering some serious bang for your (flavored whiskey) buck. Between dealing with everything from drought to unexpected early freezes, there’s a distinct scientific formula (plus old-fashioned farmer’s almanac know-how) that’s not unlike growing grains for whiskey or aging whiskey in barrels at high elevation. 

The introduction between Talbott and Breckenridge Distillery itself was made by Breckenridge Brewery Head Brewer Jimmy Walker, who has “been in cahoots on many collabs” with the Talbott family over the years, he said with a chuckle. 

The partnership between distillery and brewery also feels symbiotic, as both are owned by Tilray Brands. 

The brewery’s ever-popular Palisade Peach Wheat is an oft-requested fan favorite at beer festivals and its charming Breckenridge brewpub. There’s now a new member of the clan, so to speak, via the latest Breckenridge flavored whiskey.

“For me, it’s just…family,” Walker said over cocktails as the delicious whiskey made its media debut underneath a woodsy awning surrounded by Breckenridge Distillery barrels. 

Time will tell how popular the peach whiskey might become, but Walker says his own brewery’s Palisade Peach Wheat brew has outgrown its Breckenridge roots and is now produced at the company’s much larger Denver facility as it morphs into a treasured beer fridge staple. 

The whiskey certainly has its own set of chops in terms of delightful flavor, with white peach and floral notes on the nose and palate. Make no mistake, this isn’t an ordinary flavored whiskey. It’s replete with fresh peach notes aplenty in almost remarkable fashion. 

The high-rye mashbill also lends the whiskey a touch of backbone that cuts through any overly fruity notes. Balance is the key, an approach also on display in a range of floral, flavor-forward cocktails developed by Breckenridge Liquid Chef Billie Keithley.

Keithley’s recipes represent a delicate alchemy allowing the latest from Breckenridge Whiskey to shine through, and the online version of the Breckenridge Cocktail Lab delivers plenty of ways to make Breckenridge whiskey your very own. 

Intrepid sippers should take note. Breckenridge Peach Whiskey comes in tailgate-approved 50mL bottles as well as a 750mL, offering and an ambitious 1-liter package. 

Out West, the whiskey is now available in 750mL bottles at Colorado retailers ahead of the Broncos season. 

And if one can’t quite make the climb to the world’s highest distillery, interested whiskey enthusiasts should take solace, as the new expression arrives nationally at an SRP of $35 this coming fall and can also be secured via home delivery where permitted. 

Your bar cart will be feeling peachy-keen in no time at all.