The Spirit of Community
Community Crafted
The art and science of distilling spirits have always been about the land and the people on it. In the U.S., distilling started as a cottage industry born largely from farmer-distillers making spirits for themselves, their family and friends. Local crops, local equipment, and of course, local imbibing.
For me personally and Abbott & Wallace as a company, our locally-crafted, grain-to-glass process is far more than some kind of marketing mantra that we believe sets us apart. While what we advertise about our local values is true, the Longmont and Boulder Valley community has had a hand in crafting Abbott & Wallace in many more ways than just spirit-making.
Let’s start there, with the spirit-making. As I recently wrote about our bourbon-making, we’re driven by exploring what the land provides here, and how we can best preserve the character and integrity of the land where our spirits rise. For starters, our farmer, Paul Schlagel, and his family are fifth-generation Longmont farmers. Paul is known as a bit of an innovator when it comes to conservation, designing and building some of his own equipment and irrigation structures to manage the water for his crops.
Water access is becoming a more critical issue for all of us in Colorado, and I’m convinced people in the tasting room appreciate Paul’s efforts to think of more than himself and his crops while they appreciate an Abbott & Wallace spirit.
Our malting company, Root Shoot Malting, is only 15 miles away. They view the land here as a “commodity that ... is scarce and depleting exponentially.” They have entered into a Conservation Easement with Colorado Open Lands to permanently limit the use of their 112 acres in their effort to maintain the “pace, quality, and permanence of protected agriculture in our region.” This “100-year lease” on the property is all about community and history. Here’s a teaser of a short film they made about it, complete with sweeping views of the Longmont and Boulder Valley community we love.
The Abbott & Wallace production process is designed to create a pure expression of our community land. We want to showcase the love and generations of hard work our farmers have put into their crops and their sacrifices to maintain them.
Local materials and ingredients are, basically, an obsession for Abbott & Wallace spirits. I’ve hand-forged juniper from the Indian Peaks myself for our gin. If we could, we’d find a Longmont cooper for our barrels. As it is, we partner with local distilleries to at least share our barrels for some amazing cross-distilling adventures.
But our community supplies more than the ingredients, as critical to Abbott & Wallace spirits as that is. We simply wouldn’t be a company without the community here. That’s the true spirit of community in our spirits.
We landed our first business loan in 2015, and to make it happen they insisted we also raise money from investors. So we did, asking the community to join us as original partners. Most of the original 26 investors live locally, literally helping us build the distillery. They’re still some of our best customers.
We wouldn’t have survived the pandemic without our quality spirits, but it was the community that also kept us going. They rallied to support us: Crushing fundraising goals as new community members discovered us as the call to “support local” was amplified. The City of Longmont’s Downtown Development Authority helped us with grants, keeping the distillery operating to the standard and with the local dedication with which it was launched.
We’re active participants in the Boulder County Farmer’s Markets, some of our favorite events because we can shake hands and share in the spirit of community with people who understand the value and local connections we deliver.
And some of our most important business partners are local restaurants. The customers at Rosalee’s Pizzeria, 300 Suns Brewing and The Pumphouse (just to name a few) crush through Abbott & Wallace products. The owners at these and other spots share our passion and know that local flavors simply enhance local flavors. These restaurant partners are a major portion of our distribution revenue, and also showcase what we’re after in our distilling.
When you enter the Abbott & Wallace tasting room, one of the first things you’ll see is a sign that says “Community Crafted.” Made by a local artist—as most of our artwork is—and likely with a soundtrack supplied by a local musician on our stage. That sign is a reflection and reminder of how a glass of Abbott & Wallace whiskey, gin, or rum has come to be.
And always will be.
Cheers,
