Talnua Distillery is the winner of Best American Pot Still Whiskey at the World Whiskies Awards for the third year in a row and will celebrate its 5th Anniversary on St. Patrick’s Day.
It’s an exciting time for the team at Talnua Distillery in Arvada, Colorado. 2024 is off to a great start for many Colorado distilleries as they continue to garner national and international recognition and awards for their whiskies. Congratulations to Patrick and Meagan Miller as they enter their 5th year. To learn more about Talnua, check out Bourbon Lens Episode 151 with the Founders from way back in November 2021.
Crafting Award-Winning Whiskey
Over the last half decade Talnua has experienced significant growth and is garnering attention both nationally and abroad. Growing from just two gins and two core whiskeys at launch, the distillery now offers four core whiskeys, rotating special release whiskeys, and the popular distillery-only products Coffee Liqueur and Eggnog. The true stars of the show, Talnua’s Pot Still style whiskeys, have earned gold medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the International Wine and Spirits Competition, the American Distilling Institute, and the World Whiskies Awards.
Currently, these offerings are only available regionally in Colorado, where the distillery is based. After hiring a Sales Director in 2022, the amount of on and off premise accounts has doubled in the state, making the spirits more available to Colorado whiskey enthusiasts. Lucky for whiskey drinkers outside of Colorado, Talnua is hoping to partner with a distributor to expand to other states late this summer.
Production Expansion Continues
This distribution expansion is possible due to the production space growth that has occurred over the past 5 years. The most visible example of the distillery’s growth can be spotted outside the facility in the two 60,000 lb grain silos storing the barley that is the heart of the Talnua mashbill. Production over time has grown by 8x. Talnua has traded in the humble beginnings of a single hand-made pot still making two barrels per week, for three custom designed copper pot stills with a production capacity of 17 barrels per week. This upgrade has increased production from 100 barrels per year to nearly 900 barrels per year, with a 2025 expansion plan for over 2500 barrels per year. All of this growth has also enabled the distillery to start doing contract distillation while maintaining a steady amount of Talnua spirits production.
Expanding Hospitality and Entertainment
The growth occurring at the distillery is not limited to its production capacity. Talnua’s footprint has tripled from 5,000 to 15,000 sq ft with a new tasting room and patio in the plans for later this year. To support the production and hospitality needs of the distillery, the Talnua team members have doubled as well. The tasting room proudly boasts awards for Best of Denver’s “Best Distillery Taproom”, Top of the Town’s “Best Cocktail Menu”, and Best of the Best Arvada’s “Best Distillery” as well as a 4.9 star review on Google Reviews and 5 stars on Yelp and Trip Advisor.
Talnua’s events programming continues to evolve with a rise in philanthropic events featuring special releases that benefit local organizations dear to its team members. Recent beneficiaries include Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital.
The future looks bright for Talnua as they continue to build out both their production space and a new Tasting Room to expand private event space and visitor capacity.
2024 Olde Saint’s Keep Special Release Whiskey Event
Whiskey lovers should not miss this year’s Olde Saint’s Keep special release whiskey unveiling at Talnua’s annual St. Patrick’s Day event. This year’s celebration will be held March 15th and 16th and marks the distillery’s 5 year anniversary. The 2023 expression of Olde Saint’s Keep Whiskey won Talnua “Best American Pot Still Whiskey” at this year’s World Whiskies Awards and this year’s expression featuring sherry, port, amburana, and virgin American white oak promises not to disappoint! At the event visitors can acquire their bottle of Olde Saint’s Keep whiskey while enjoying live music, food truck fare, pipe and drum bands, and specialty cocktails. Visit talnua.com for more information.
Talnua Distillery’s 2024 Olde Saint’s Keep Special Release Whiskey is American Single Pot Still whiskey featuring sherry, port, amburana, and virgin American white oak. This year’s release is bottled at 100 Proof (50% Alc/Vol) and fewer than 1000 bottles are available.
About Talnua Distillery
Talnua Distillery is an artisan small batch distillery that proudly hand crafts each of our spirits. Established in 2017, we embarked on a mission to define a new chapter of whiskey history with the introduction of our American Single Pot Still Whiskey.
True to gaelic-style distilling practices, and unique to the new world, our spirits are produced using a mashbill of un-malted and malted barley and triple distilled in copper pot stills. Located on the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the altitude, changing seasons, crystal clear mountain spring water, and local barley all lend a uniquely American terroir to our products. We are honored to carry on the traditions of our Irish ancestry and are proud to be leading the way as America’s First Single Pot Still Distillery.
It all began with husband and wife team Patrick and Meagan Miller. In a Galway pub on their honeymoon, they sat watching the 2011 Ireland vs. USA Rugby World Cup Match. An eager bartender was thrilled to share with them the first single pot still whiskey to be released in decades. He regaled them with the history of this nearly extinct style of whiskey and with the passion that one day, single pot still would regain its rightful place on the world stage. The love affair was instant, and the couples’ passion was forever ingrained in the story of single pot still whiskey.
With family history rooted in Irish ancestry, the couple returned to Ireland every year and knew that single pot still whiskey would forever be a part of their story. Knowing that single pot still whiskey was not yet available in the US they set out to create the first Single Pot Still distillery outside of Ireland. They wanted to bring this style of whiskey to America and imbue it with the nation’s terroir while honoring Gaelic distilling traditions, the immigrant soul, and the pioneering spirit of the American people.
Our whiskeys and gins are produced using Single Pot Still distillation methods with a mashbill of 50% un-malted / 50% malted barley and triple distilled in copper pot stills. We age in the finest oak casks to mature every drop. For more information on Talnua Distillery, please visit talnua.com.
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