Some nights are made for the ambience of a tasting room or to be out on the town. But sometimes, a drink at home is the best way to unwind at the end of the day or play host to your friends. So what should you stock in your home bar? Here are five essentials:

Montanya Distillers makes its home at the end of the road in a mountain town, but the remote location doesn’t keep owner and CEO Karen Hoskin and her family from exploring the world. Her pursuit of quality spirits takes her from hidden gems in the Colorado Rockies to the busy streets of San Francisco and Miami. In this new blog series, we share some of Karen’s best finds.

There’s nothing like warming up with a hot cocktail on a winter day. This two-volume set of cocktail recipe books includes plenty of cold-weather recipes, including a Montanya twist on Bulletproof Coffee. Click to learn more (and try out that coffee recipe).

When you are looking for gifts to give your adult friends that don’t cost an arm and a leg, but leave a lasting impression, consider making a batch of steamy cocktail mix with Montanya Rum! Decorate your own jar, bottle or container and give the gift of holiday spirit (literally!)

If you are skiing at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, you probably know The Avalanche Bar and Grill - one of CB’s iconic slope side bars and restaurants. The Avalanche has become known as the place to go for a Painkiller made with Montanya Oro Rum!

This cocktail is called The Super Chocolata because it is made from several superfoods: raw cashews and raw cacao.  Adding Himalayan salt and coconut milk also add highly nutritious elements.  Why not give yourself a healthful boost during cocktail hour too? 

We are now a certified B Corp! This honor comes in recognition of the work we’ve done to be good for our people, our community, and the planet.

Allysa has moved her way up the ranks at Montanya Distillers by bringing quality to every one of the many roles she plays at our company.

Gavin Hermann joined Montanya Distillers in January of 2017 and has been working full time with our crew ever since. His roles include merchandise shipping, booking the bands, serving, and most importantly, bartending. 

We knew we picked the right bottle supplier when we partnered with Owens Illinois. O-I was the first beverage packing company in the world to become certified under the Cradle to Cradle certification program.

In our July Bartender Feature, we talk with John Culbert of Flip Side in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Our collaboration with been such a blast. She is a highly trained chef and a true culinary artist with a flair for menu development.

We’ve partnered with terrapass® to offset carbon emissions from distilling, business travel, outgoing freight and inbound shipping.  Through the partnership, Montanya is offsetting about 52 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2018. The offset will help fund a Forest Management Project, which absorbs and stores about 2,500 more metrics tons of CO2each year than neighboring forests.

When Karen Hoskin, owner of Montanya Distillersand a founding member of Ladies of American Distilling (LOAD), took over as interim leader of the organization in February, one of the first things she did was change the name to The Women’s Distillery Guild (WGD).

Ten years ago this month, in the tiny Colorado mountain town of Silverton, in an 800 square-foot stone building that was a brothel a hundred years ago, Karen and Brice Hoskin hatched a crazy idea to start a craft rum distillery called Montanya Distillers.  

In our March Bartender Feature, we talk with Laura Banning of The Hornet in Denver, Colorado.

The Hornet was one of our very first bar/restaurant supporters in Denver when our distillery was just getting its start.  They have been committed to featuring our rums on their cocktail menu for YEARS and we couldn't be more full of appreciation for this amazing place. This year, Montanya Distillers celebrates our Tenth Anniversary and we will bring the party to Denver to host a party at The Hornet on May 20th.  Details to come, stay tuned!

Renee Newton joined our Montanya team in early 2013 and has dabbled in numerous different positions over the years including distilling, bottling, tasting and proofing rum, as well as in special events, tours, sales, deliveries, bartending and managing at the tasting room.

Brandon Muller is our General Manager at Montanya. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of our Tasting Room, which include preparing and ordering food, sourcing local products, and contributing to new menu ideas. He also manages employee scheduling and oversees our Tasting Room operation as a whole.

In this December bartender feature, we talk with Laurie Hall of The Farm Bistro in Cortez, Colorado. Since 2009, The Farm Bistro has been serving the best produce and meat from their back yard in Montezuma County. Their “comfort food with style” menu offers homemade (and award-winning!) simplicity in a warm and lively atmosphere. They have an all-Colorado beer, wine and spirits lounge, with a delicious prickly-pear Montanya cocktail. If you are in the area, be sure to stop in!

Some of the very original bars and restaurants that embraced Montanya Rums when we started nearly 10 years ago were in rural Colorado. These have been some of our most consistent and growing customers since the early days. While the big cities were still getting used to the idea of small craft distilleries back in 2008 and 2009, small venues in the mountains were saying a resounding "yes" to local products made with care. Moonlight Pizza was one of our early customers and has been a consistent purveyor of great cocktails.  It is well worth building your ski, bike or kayaking vacation around a sunny afternoon on their patio in Salida.