Occasionally you come across a hidden gem! Boy did we discover one while in Winter Park, Colorado.
As you may know, the hubs and I try to find distilleries to visit while traveling (read our Breckenridge, CO recap). It is something we’ve done over the years and enjoy meeting the people and seeing their process. Plus the tasting is always worth a stop. 😉 While in a liquor store near our hotel in Winter Park, Colorado we noticed a display for Idlewild Spirits and asked the staff if it was a Colorado distillery. The staff member replied yes AND they were local…as in down the street. We asked if they gave tours and tastings and she said we needed to stop in for happy hour, because they create wonderful drinks and the place is cozy.
A few days later we found Idlewild Spirits. A small place at the end of a center with restaurants and ski rentals. We knew we had missed happy hour, but wanted to check it out anyway. The interior is masculine and cozy. Kind of how you may imagine a mountain speakeasy. There are tables and small groupings of chairs and sofas for casual conversation spots. Find Idlewild Spirits
The staff greeted us, gave us a spot by the fire, and explained the menu. We instantly started ordering tastings of the different spirits and a few mixed drinks. Every staff member who came over was nice and very welcoming. We asked one staff member if the master distiller was in and if way might speak with him.
Jeff Ruhle, Idlewild Spirits’ creator, came over and began explaining how he got into the business and what was new at Idlewild Spirits. You could immediately tell he has a passion for what he does and is forward thinking. We saw the production area, chatted about the beautiful bottles he had worked hard to have designed, and of course enjoyed our tastings and drinks.
The products we tried were delicious and high quality, but my personal favorite was the vodka. Each of us bought a bottle, Jeff signed them, and we concluded our visit.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday | 3:00pm – 5:00pm
If you are in the Winter Park area (living or visiting) and enjoy distilleries I highly recommend this hidden gem. Jeff has set this company up to do great things and I know it will grow and be on more shelves (not just in Colorado) very soon. Can’t wait to see Idlewild Spirit in Texas. Thanks for the great visit Jeff and staff!
Until next post…xoxo Becca
Hi! Welcome! On Cyber Monday we purchased tickets to Denver for a steal! When the tickets were purchased we had no idea where in Colorado we were going, but we had tickets lol Winter Park ended up being our choice since it was fairly inexpensive (compared to places like Vail) and we hadn’t been before.
Today I’m sharing pictures from our trip and a bit of a diary style day by day recap. Later I will write a more formal “travel guide” in case anyone is thinking of going.
The travel day started early with a flight at 5:40am! Of course when we landed in Denver we made a stop at Snooze. It’s our favorite place for brunch. Luckily they have expanded their restaurants and have locations in Texas too. Now if they’d just open one in The Woodlands I’d be over the moon. hint hint Snooze 😉
Before leaving brunch we asked the waiter what he recommended seeing before leaving Denver. He said the Red Rocks Amphitheatre was a must since it was such a clear, beautiful day. We swung by Coors Brewery first. The tour and tasting are free! Then headed to Red Rocks Amphitheatre. It was breathtaking! Including physically haha the thin air and hike to the top was hard, but completely worth the views. So many people were exercising on the stadium style seating. I think they’re all nuts. Mostly because I feel like I would pass out trying to run “Rocky style” up those tiers!
After taking in the views we headed for Winter Park. Our hotel was in Fraser, just minutes from the Winter Park Resort.
Early morning snowmobiling tour with Grand Adventures. Our guide, Aubrey, was fantastic. The temperatures in Colorado have been higher and snowfall less than usual so the trees weren’t snow covered 🙁 It was still gorgeous though. We spent the afternoon exploring Winter Park Resort.
Headed back to Winter Park Resort to check out the Coca-Cola Tube Park. We loved tubing when we were in Breckenridge and knew we wanted to do it again. It was fun, but Breckenridge (technically Frisco) was better. It ended up snowing that night and everything was beautiful. I shared a lot of videos on Snapchat and IG stories. Hope you caught those!
Our last full day in Winter Park we opted to tube again, but at a park across the street from our hotel. Ironically there were two tubing hills right next to each other. We asked the hotel staff which was better and Colorado Adventure Park was the winner. We got there when it opened and had the best time! The hubs also got to play with his new drone and was in heaven. Videos coming soon, including my tubing crash haha
After tubing we went back to the Winter Park Resort to have lunch and watch the skiers/snowboarders. On the way back to our hotel we stopped in at Idlewild Distillery. We had seen their products in a local liquor store and asked the staff if the distillery was local and had tours. The store staff said we had to go because it was a great atmosphere and drinks and food. It certainly didn’t disappoint! We met the master distiller, Jeff. He was so nice to take time out of his afternoon to talk to us and show us around their production. Can’t wait to see his business grow because their products are amazing!
Travel day back to Houston. Overall it was a fantastic trip. The weather was beautiful the whole time we were there, the food was great, and the people friendly!
Thanks for visiting the blog to see our travel photos. Come back soon to see a formal “guide.” Until next post…xoxo Becca