MEET COLORADO’S
WHISKEY SISTERS Connecting craft distillers with high-quality grains direct from farmers
The Whiskey Sisters, Stephanie (L) and Felica (R) Ohnmacht
W
hen discussing whiskey production, we consider many details — closed versus open fermentation, the types of barrels it rests in, how long it spends there, pot versus column versus hybrid distillation, and the skills of the person or persons who crafted it. More and more now, we also turn to the farmer who grew the wheat, barley, or rye that provides the whiskey’s foundation. The Ohnmacht Sisters of Colorado’s Whiskey Sisters Supply (WSS) want to remind everyone that what’s in the glass was first in the field. The sisters, Stephanie and Felicia, grew up on a farm near Burlington, Colorado, near the Colorado-Kansas border. The property has been in their family for over 100 years, since their grandfather Charlie homesteaded there in 1907. After going to college at CU Boulder and getting big-city jobs, they thought they were done with farming. Then a chance conversation Stephanie had with Al Laws of Laws Whiskey House at a 2015 Denver event sparked something new. After sampling his whiskey, Stephanie,
114
WRITTEN BY CARRIE DOW PHOTOS PROVIDED BY WHISKEY SISTERS SUPPLY
a fashion designer, asked where he got his grains. He mentioned he was searching for a Colorado corn supplier so he could produce a completely Colorado-made whiskey. “I said, ‘You’re talking to the right person!’” laughed Stephanie, knowing that her family’s farm was experiencing tight finances at the time. “That was the beginning of the relationship with Laws and the beginning of a business.” Today the company works as a brokerage connecting craft distillers with high-quality grains direct from farmers. They not only work with their family, but five other area farms, and can supply almost anything a distiller could want: millet, oats, rye, wheat, barley, flax, blue and white corn, triticale, and soon sorghum. “If it can grow in the United States, we can grow it,” noted Stephanie. “Colorado has a great ability to grow almost everything.” Besides Laws, WSS provides grains to 17 of Colorado’s best-known distilleries, including 291 Colorado Whiskey, Breckenridge Distillery,
Bear Creek, The Family Jones, Ironton, Spring 44, and Mile High Spirits. Felicia also announced they have partnered with Troubadour Maltings of Fort Collins to malt barley to supply Colorado’s multitude of breweries. The farms WSS works with can also take requests, so to speak. If a distiller has the time, the 3,000-acre Gergen Family Farm run by The Ohnmacht’s parents can grow whatever a distiller wants (i.e. heirloom grains). For example, the blue corn Ironton Distillery wanted to use in their Colorado bourbon whiskey was grown by the sisters’ family. If you need a quicker turnaround, Felicia, who handles logistics, can find it for you. The farmers handle everything on-site, from hammer milling to bagging and transporting grains by truck. “Obviously that’s going to take some time,” clarified Stephanie, “but it can be done. We can grow almost anything, within certain quantities.” Working directly with distillers has changed and even improved how the farms do business. They are no longer at the mercy of global markets.
WWW.ART ISANSPI RI TMAG.CO M