Scaling to New Heights 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Co.
WRITTEN BY JEFF CLARK, INDUSTRY EXPERT FOR THE WINE AND CRAFT BEVERAGE LIVE OAK BANK PHOTOS BY ADAM ALPHIN, PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEO PRODUCER/DIRECTOR AT LIVE OAK BANK WWW.ARTISANSPIRITMAG.COM
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ombining their love of whiskey, passion for the mountains, and inspiration from military vets, Christian Avignon and Ryan Thompson created the 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Company with a key location in the heart of Vail, Colorado, and an excellent business plan. “It was just a natural progression when Christian and I were ready for a new challenge—to seek something out that hadn't been done here in Vail Valley yet. We both enjoy our spirits and thought starting a whiskey company was a good idea,” says Thompson. “We knew that sooner or later, someone in town was going to make spirits, and we said, ‘It might as well be us.’ So here we are today.”
SURMOUNTING OBSTACLES “What most people don’t know about the business is the midnight oil we burn—either on the legal side of it, or the craft design of it, or talking about what we're doing next, or running the War Angel, which is our 500-gallon still, or bottling, or barreling,”
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