Montanya Platino Rum. As part of my Southwest roadtrip last month from Vegas to Denver, I made sure we took a detour to Crested Butte, Colorado to visit surprise surprise, a small craft rum distillery nestled in the Colorado mountains. Let me say that Montanya Distillers is definitely worth a visit if you ever find yourself even remotely in the area.

While most rum in the world is made in the Caribbeans, Montanya Distillers is out to make a name for themselves using truly all-American ingredients and materials. At its base, this rum is made from Louisiana-grown sugar cane, which is transported to their small Colorado operations where it’s fermented, distilled, and aged in used Colorado-whiskey oak barrels. The water used to dilute the spirit comes from the nearby aquifer that’s charged with crisp mountain spring water and fresh snowmelt. It’s not aged long, but the dynamic temperatures from the high altitude help with the permeation of flavors from the oak to the spirit, and the end product (which is filtered thru coconut husks) has a beautiful flavor that will remove any preconception that “white rum” tastes boring, harsh, or flavorless.

The most amazing part of the visit was seeing that their entire fermenting and distilling operations happens in their small facility/restaurant&bar that’s not much larger than the size of a living room, which houses 2 small copper pot stills. Not only are the operations super intimate and personal, but the food and cocktails served there are also fantastic. Huge kudos!