Distilled spirits are intriguing. They go through such an involved process, from grain to glass. Yet we, as the average consumer of them, don’t give a lot of thought into that process – we’re too busy enjoying the end product. After meeting the man behind Spirit Hound Distillers in Colorado, with his interesting path to the role, his ability to explain things in a way the average person can understand, and his passion for what he does, I knew I had to have him as a guest on the Real Food Traveler Podcast. Click on the graphic below to listen.

Click on the graphic above to listen to our podcast conversation with Craig Engelhorn, co-founder and head distiller at Spirit Hound Distillers. Photos courtesy of Spirit Hound Distillers. Graphic by Real Food Traveler.

Presented with a delicious dinner on my plate and perfectly-paired spirits in my glass, I could have chalked up a terrific evening at Panzano restaurant in Denver to those two things alone. But the evening was made more memorable thanks to the good luck of sitting next to Craig Engelhorn and his wife, Amanda. Craig is the co-founder and Head Distiller of Spirit Hound Distillers whose vodka, gin and whiskies we were sampling that night.

Craig was so engaging and his story so interesting, I knew I had to ask him to be a podcast guest. But not just a guest for one of my podcasts, but for both. So, this is a double-whammy podcast episode, running on both the Colorado-centric In Good Taste Denver Podcast but also the Real Food Traveler Podcast which reaches people throughout the United States (where Spirit Hound products can be ordered), and around the world.

The logo on the top of a barrel of spirits from Spirit Hound Distillers. In this episode, Craig explains what’s behind the name.

In this episode, whichever one you might be listening to, Craig tells the roundabout path he took to being a spirits distiller (hint, it started with another kind of alcohol).

He also talks about his reasoning behind only using barley grown and malted in Colorado and snowmelt water from our Rocky Mountains.

Craig built the still they use at Spirit Hound, from the ground up, to make sure he had a design he really wanted. He tells us why that was important to do.

Craig Engelhorn and the still he built by hand for Spirit Hound Distillers.

It’s always interesting to hear which products are a maker’s favorites and how they like to consume them. Craig tells us which ones he enjoys most, although that’s a little like picking a favorite child.

Craig tells us which of his products is his personal favorite and how he likes it served.

Regular visits to Scotland are a pleasurable way to go to the source and research new methods and to learn from the best in the field. Craig tells us what those journeys are like and how they make him even better at what he does in Colorado.

If you’re in Colorado, or visiting, you can order Spirit Hound in numerous restaurants and enjoy it at their two tasting rooms. And if you’re out of state, most of you are in luck because you can order bottles of it to be delivered.

To learn more about Craig Engelhorn and Spirit Hound Distillers, visit their website here. Follow them on Instagram here and on Facebook here.

-By Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor of Real Food Traveler and host of the Real Food Traveler Podcast. Photos provided by Spirit Hound Distillers.

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