In a bourbon world seemingly shackled by its own history, the Leopold Bros distillery in Denver, Colorado is a welcome breath of fresh air. Originally founded in 1999 by Todd and Scott Leopold, the independently owned and operated distillery has been making waves in the industry by taking unusual approaches to making their spirits. For example, after building their new distillery in 2014, the brothers used old manuscripts to painstakingly recreate a Three Chamber Still (and the accompanying pre-prohibition varietal of grain) to create their Three Chamber Rye. When this was released in 2021, it was greeted by massive fanfare – and was noted as being one of the most interesting rye whiskies in years. The full video describing the incredible process can be found here.
But the brothers Todd and Scott don’t just build unusual stills. They also take the extra steps when choosing and creating the ingredients that go into their whiskies. Leopold Bros distillery also use their own floor malted grains – joining an elite group of American distillers who practice the age old tradition of floor malting. This extra step is both expensive and labor intensive – but demonstrates just another example of their commitment to truly making bespoke, interesting, and completely unique products.
Today, we are going to dive into their latest and oldest offering to date – an 8 year cask strength bourbon finished in Three Chamber Rye barrels. Using a pot still, a long 120 hour fermentation, and barrels that previously held their famous rye offering, I expect this to be a bourbon unlike anything else I’ve had recently. It features a mashbill of 65% corn, 15% rye, and 20% Leopold Bros floor malt and comes in at 55.6% ABV. For such a smaller distillery and at such a good age, its MSRP of less than $70 feels like a steal. So let’s dive in and see what old Leopold Bros bourbon at full cask strength is all about!
