By Emily Baker

While Kentucky and Scotland have historically been known as the whiskey greats, Storm King Distilling Co. in Montrose has helped put Colorado on the whiskey map.

The small distillery’s Side Gig blend was awarded Best American Whiskey at the 2023 World Whiskies Awards in February.

Long before concocting an award-winning whiskey, Storm King began simply as an attempt to rescue a historic building that had fallen to disuse. Once the home of the Montrose Fruit and Produce Association, David Fishering and his father-turned-business-partner Greg, purchased the building along with the warehouses on the property in 2017. During the COVID-19 shutdown they were successfully able to get the property on the National Register of Historic Places, and then were left with a new question: what to do with it?

Years prior, while working at the Department of Defense in Washington D.C., David and his wife took two whiskey-themed vacations, Scotland and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which spurred a dream to one day open a distillery. Suddenly, the owners of an empty warehouse, the Fisherings were presented with the opportunity to do just that.

The early days of Storm King presented quite the learning curve. He and his wife began to tour many of the distilleries around the state. “We told them exactly what we were doing, and everyone was very supportive, teaching us what to do,” Fishering says of the Colorado distilling scene.

This camaraderie is still alive and well today. “We are all competing with each other, but it’s not an adversarial community at all,” Fishering says. “A rising tide floats all ships. If Colorado spirits are perceived as higher quality in the national market, that’s better for all of us!”

But what sets Storm King’s spirits apart? Passion, process and patience are the hallmarks of their brand, Fishering says. For the process, similar to most other Colorado-based distilleries, Fishering believes that using local quality ingredients is integral to the taste of the spirits. All of Storm King’s whiskeys are aged for at least two years, if not longer. Though shorter barreling periods would allow them to produce significantly more, “we don’t sacrifice quality to make a buck,” Fishering notes.

Most importantly, however, Fishering just really loves whiskey, using his home library of over 300 whiskies for guidance. Passion is truly at the heart of the distillery’s success.

While Colorado showed growth when it comes to distilling great whiskey (Breckenridge Distillery, Talnua Distillery, 291 Colorado Whiskey and Hogback Distillery also won awards at the 2023 World Whiskies Awards), Montrose itself has seen rapid expansion as well in recent decades. Fishering and his wife are members of the planning commission and school board, respectively, and Fishering grew up in Montrose. They have witnessed the growth firsthand.

The city has seen extensive expansion and urbanization but owes much of its development to the Montrose Regional Airport, according to Fishering. “We have one of the fastest growing airports in Colorado, if not the country.” With daily flights to Denver International Airport and countless other travel hubs, Montrose and the Western Slope are becoming more accessible by the day.

Clearly, Storm King has a promising future, and Fishering plans to build on his win at the World Whiskies Awards. For a full inventory of Storm King’s spirits, check out stormkingdistilling.com or better yet, plan a visit to the tasting room.

Emily Baker is a Denver native and lifelong resident of Colorado. In her spare time you can find her reading, riding horses, hiking with her two dogs, and working on her novel.