Imperial Barrel Aged Gin — Silver — Gin $25-$35

Corretto — Silver — Coffee liqueur under $25

Roundhouse Gin — Bronze — Gin Dry $25-$35

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“I started distilling with my grandfather when I was 10 years old,” he said. “I  had a microdistillery in California before moving back home to Colorado.”

That experience helped Palmer create what he calls the “New Western” style of distilling. Roundhouse produces an agave spirit called Tatanka, a barrel-aged gin called Imperial and a coffee liqueur called Corretto.

The process . . . → Read More: Microdistilleries are small batching]]> Roundhouse Spirits
Boulder, Colo.
Ted Palmer has been distilling and brewing drinks since his youth and decided three years ago to put all of that experience to use at Roundhouse Spirits, a young distillery that he purchased in Boulder, Colo.

“I started distilling with my grandfather when I was 10 years old,” he said. “I  had a microdistillery in California before moving back home to Colorado.”

That experience helped Palmer create what he calls the “New Western” style of distilling. Roundhouse produces an agave spirit called Tatanka, a barrel-aged gin called Imperial and a coffee liqueur called Corretto.

The process uses all-organic ingredients, with agave syrup sourced from Jalisco, Mexico, and coffee beans procured from a local roaster in Boulder.

During a visit, groups see the company’s two working stills and check out the bottling and packaging line. The tasting at the end of the tour involves samples of the finished products as well as a game: Visitors smell and taste botanical ingredients used in the distillation and then try to identify them.

From: Group Travel Leader

Roundhouse Punch

-2 Ounces Roundhouse Spirits Imperial barrel-aged gin -1-2 Teaspoons strawberry balsamic shrub -Squeeze of lemon -Tonic or sparkling water, optional

Combine the gin, shrub and lemon juice with crushed ice, and stir. Add tonic or sparkling water to taste, or enjoy as is! KNOCKOUT.

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From an early age, Roundhouse Spirits’ Ted Palmer had distilling in his blood.

At age 10, he was spending summer vacation at his grandfather’s house. His elder relative had mastered making wine and other spirits, and had decided to educate his young charge on the finer points of producing whiskey. This intrigued the young Palmer, but didn’t sit so well with his father. When his dad found out, Palmer recounts, “That was the end of summer vacation.”

But it certainly wasn’t the end of Palmer’s . . . → Read More: More than a local gin joint]]> From the Boulder Weekly, by Clay Fong, January 12, 2012.

Click Here for full story

From an early age, Roundhouse Spirits’ Ted Palmer had distilling in his blood.

At age 10, he was spending summer vacation at his grandfather’s house. His elder relative had mastered making wine and other spirits, and had decided to educate his young charge on the finer points of producing whiskey. This intrigued the young Palmer, but didn’t sit so well with his father. When his dad found out, Palmer recounts, “That was the end of summer vacation.”

But it certainly wasn’t the end of Palmer’s distilling experience, as his business card now reads “El Presidente” of three-year-old Roundhouse Spirits, now based in Boulder. One of approximately two dozen distillers in Colorado, Roundhouse, founded by attorney Alex Nelson, currently produces small batches of gin and coffee liqueur, with an agave spirit on the way.

Before achieving his distiller position with Roundhouse, Palmer served in both the Coast Guard and Navy. He was a navigator, a demanding job which included making sure the vessel safely sailed its way through treacherous minefields. In his off time, and particularly in venues where alcohol was verboten, he’d “make booze on board.”

Palmer became well-known for his “bilge wine,” canned juice fermented for a few weeks in a cool part of the ship.

Compared to vintages from other vessels, his tasted the most like real wine.

Palmer took pains to prevent bacteria from seeping in as well as to add just the right amount of yeast to facilitate proper fermentation. He says fellow sailors advised him to “quit the Navy and do this.”

Back in the civilian world, Colorado native Palmer ventured to Seattle, where he worked with Pyramid Brewing, and he also consulted with other microbrewers, including local favorite Upslope. But he could never shake those early distilling lessons, and Roundhouse provided him an opportunity to craft spirits, with the notable exception of vodka.

“I don’t drink vodka,” he declares. “I drink stuff I can taste.”

If not vodka, then what? “I’ve always loved gin,” he says. “It’s an easy way to get started. It’s a white spirit that you don’t have to age.”

But he’s quick to point out that despite this drink’s relative simplicity, not all gin is created equal. The key, Palmer notes, comes from the nature of the aromatics. He explains that gins that lead to numb noses and fingertips as well as harsh hangovers are the product of pesticide poisoning from the flavorings. Distilling concentrates these toxins.

To combat this problem, Roundhouse Gin contains 11 organic aromatics. But before explaining what these are, Palmer shares a brief history lesson, explaining that there are five styles of gin. The first is the original Dutch style, which was essentially a pharmaceutical beverage mixed by apothecaries. The English emulated the Dutch, although they relied heavily on readily available ingredients, namely juniper and coriander, which impart a woodsy flavor. Says Palmer, “It’s like licking a pine tree.” French distillers adopted a floral approach, adding aromatic blossoms for flavor. Americans mostly copied the English product, although the New World version distinguished itself through the addition of citrus.

For a beverage to be considered gin, juniper berries need to be the most significant ingredient by weight, and Roundhouse adds this to distilled neutral grain spirits. Other botanicals include the required coriander, as well as floral elements like hibiscus, lavender and chamomile. Asian star anise also contributes flavor, as does the most expensive ingredient, sencha green tea. The result is a more nuanced alternative to the British-influenced drink. Roundhouse’s product is an exemplar of the newest category of this beverage, known as New Western Gin, which applies to spirits in which the juniper is de-emphasized and other artisan flavors share the spotlight.

Roundhouse’s top-of-the-line product is Imperial Gin, which is barrel-aged.

Palmer eschews the fad of lauding the age of a particular gin, calling it essentially “meaningless.” He explains that a small barrel will reach peak flavor long before a larger one, so aging is size-dependent. That said, the charred sections of the white oak barrels containing Imperial gin are “where the chemistry changes things.” The barrel breathes, trapping and releasing the contents and allowing new flavors to develop, including, says Palmer, a cinnamon tone.

Roundhouse’s other signature product is Corretto, a coffee liqueur based on a family recipe from Alex Nelson. The critical element in this beverage is cold-brewed coffee from Boulder’s Unseen Bean, which Palmer lauds as the “best coffee around.” A lengthy cupping session with Palmer and Unseen Bean Master Roaster Gerry Leary led to the selection of a particularly smooth-tasting blend for Corretto. The coffee’s lack of bitterness reduces the need for added sugar in this spirit. Many distillery visitors acknowledge it’s free of the off-putting syrupy qualities of a certain java-based liqueur, and express a preference for this small batch product over its mass-market predecessor.

“It’s the Kahlua killer,” Palmer says.

Roundhouse’s beverages are available at eateries such as Salt Bistro and retail outlets like Liquor Mart. Distillery tours are also available at 5311 Western Ave., Suite 180, Boulder. Palmer himself leads the tours, which run from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays. Samples are included, and Roundhouse’s facility also serves $5 cocktails and $4 shots.

But be warned: A visit to the Roundhouse distillery may cost you.

Over the holidays, one gentleman sampled the signature gin.

“He hadn’t tasted it before,” says Palmer, “and he then left with a case to take to Nebraska.”

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When it comes to spirits, you don’t get much different than whiskey and gin. One relies on oak and time for its flavor, the other on intricate combinations of juniper berries and botanicals. Whiskey is slow and mysterious, almost alchemical — who knows what goes on in those barrels? — while gin is quickly efficient and rational. Whiskey is made by wizards; gin comes from scientists.

And I love them both. Which is why I greet the current fad for barrel-aged gin with open arms (and . . . → Read More: The Entirely Defensible Fad for Limited-Edition, Barrel-Aged Gin]]> From The Atlantic, by Clay Risen, January 12, 2012.

Click Here for full story

When it comes to spirits, you don’t get much different than whiskey and gin. One relies on oak and time for its flavor, the other on intricate combinations of juniper berries and botanicals. Whiskey is slow and mysterious, almost alchemical — who knows what goes on in those barrels? — while gin is quickly efficient and rational. Whiskey is made by wizards; gin comes from scientists.

And I love them both. Which is why I greet the current fad for barrel-aged gin with open arms (and liver). Over the last two years a clutch of small distilleries have been releasing limited-edition brown gins, usually aged for about six months. The result is a rich, oaky flavor, a great alternative for classic gin and whiskey cocktails alike — and not bad straight, either.

This spring, Roundhouse Spirits, out of Boulder, Colorado, offered a limited-edition Imperial Gin, the result of resting their standard gin in oak barrels for six months. Others, including Corsair, Breukelen, Rusty Blade, and Ransom, have likewise released barrel-aged gins, though the Ransom is the only one you’re likely to find in your liquor store: the rest are limited and very, very local.

My favorite so far (and the most widely available) is Lucas Bols’s Barrel-Aged Genever. Unlike most gins available in the United States, Bols and other Dutch gins, or genevers, use a maltwine base, a combination of corn, rye, and wheat. They are also less intensely distilled, and usually through pot, rather than column, stills, producing a robust whiskey-like quaff, which connoisseurs prefer to drink chilled and neat. It’s thick, like a liqueur; you wouldn’t think to mix it with tonic for a summer-day quencher.

Bols then lays up the gin for 18 months in barrels made from French oak from the Limousin region. As wine drinkers know, French oak has a tighter grain than its American cousin, resulting in a slower and more subtle diffusion of flavors. Which may explain why, despite a year and a half on wood, Bols Barrel-Aged Genever has a delicate honey color, while the nose and flavor retain unmistakable juniper notes. But there’s also a lot of honey and ginger in there, too, making it a nice choice for an after-dinner drink. Treat it like whiskey, mix it like gin: This liquor plays many roles, and plays them very well.

From our friends at PouredPure.com

2 oz. Roundhouse Imperial barrel aged gin

.5 oz. lemon juice

.5 oz simple syrup

a “whisper” of absinthe

egg white

Shake all ingredients over ice. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Click here for a video of the cocktail being mixed

[Our Distiller, Ted] Palmer’s exuberant about his distillery’s agave, called Tatanka — Lakota for “bison” — made with 100 percent blue weber agave nectar direct from Jalisco, Mexico. Also known as mezcal, agave tequilana is a sugar-rich plant that is the base substance in tequila proper.

The first batch of Roundhouse’s agave was started in February and Palmer says it’s “just now getting so that you can actually drink it.” He continued that the spirit takes a long time to ferment (four to five weeks, with a week to distill) and that there must be many . . . → Read More: Boulder’s Roundhouse Spirits to release new agave: Colorado Daily Article]]> Full Article Here

[Our Distiller, Ted] Palmer’s exuberant about his distillery’s agave, called Tatanka — Lakota for “bison” — made with 100 percent blue weber agave nectar direct from Jalisco, Mexico. Also known as mezcal, agave tequilana is a sugar-rich plant that is the base substance in tequila proper.

The first batch of Roundhouse’s agave was started in February and Palmer says it’s “just now getting so that you can actually drink it.” He continued that the spirit takes a long time to ferment (four to five weeks, with a week to distill) and that there must be many fermentations to garner enough product for a bottling run.

Roundhouse is starting with their blanco, followed by their reposado that must be barreled for a few months. Another year and their añejo will also be ready. Palmer says the public will not be able to purchase bottles of the agave until Roundhouse has received its federal label approval.

A slightly “tweaked” brand of Roundhouse’s agave will be available as the house tequila at the Los Oasis Latin Grill located in downtown Boulder where the Draft House once stood. And it can be sold in cocktails exclusively from Roundhouse’s distillery, which will be opening its cocktail room for the warmer summer season starting with this Saturday’s agave release party.

Excerpted From:  ColoradoDaily.com, 6/16/11

By: Matt Klickstein