Downslope Distilling Whiskey & Distillery Review

I’ve been living around the Denver area for a couple years now, and I’m not but 20 minutes away from Downslope Distilling in Centennial, CO, but I’d never been to their distillery. I’ve had their whiskey once or twice throughout the years, but I figured it was time to stop in and really check out their whiskey and tasting room.

While my focus is going to be on the whiskey I tasted, I’ll cover a bit about their distillery and tasting room as well. I’m going to cover Downslope Distilling Malted Rye, Single Malt, and Port Finished Single Malt. I also tried a gin, wine finished rum, and agave añejo.

As a note, I’m not paid or compensated in any way for this review, nor did I disclose that I was going to write about my experience there, so I received no special treatment – maybe outside the fact that I was the only one there at 2:00 pm on a Thursday afternoon.

Downslope Distilling Overview & History

Downslope Distilling was founded in 2009 in Centennial, CO. All of their spirits are made in house, and all of their spirits are small batch.

Downslope Distilling Distillery

Located off of Arapahoe Rd in Centennial, CO sits Downslope Distilling. They are a craft distillery that focuses on malt whiskey but also make agave spirits, rum, gin, and vodka. Let me just jump into some of the things I really like about them.

In a world (American world) of bourbon and rye whiskey, Downslope Distilling makes single malts, malted rye, malted wheat and they age their whiskey in new and used bourbon casks as well as solera port casks. They are emulating scotch whisky, just here in America. It’s not that I like scotch or malt whiskey over bourbon – I don’t, really – it’s just a nice change-up.

Next, I liked the vibe of the distillery. Good music was playing, they had videos going on of freestyle skiing which kept me fairly entertained, and stuck to their namesake of Downslope Distilling. One of the owners sat with me and kept me company and answered any and all questions about their whiskey and distillery.

Lastly, I was very pleased with their prices. Every guest receives 3 free .25 oz tasters, which I used on their gin, a rum, and an agave spirit. I also purchased three .75 oz drams for $10, or you can get five for $15. Essentially, I tasted 6 of their spirits for $10.

If you’re around the Denver/Centennial area and you want to check them out, I definitely recommend stopping in.

Downslope Distilling Malted Rye Review

• Spirit: Malted Rye Whiskey
• Owned By: Downslope Distilling
• Distilled By: Downslope Distilling
• Aged: NAS, 4+ years, new American oak, port solera finish
• ABV: 40%, 80 proof
• Mashbill: 51% malted rye, 49% malted barley
• Price: $65

I love malted rye. High West, Chattanooga Whiskey, and New Riff are just a couple of my favorites that use malted rye in their mashbill, so I was excited to try Downslope Distilling’s Malted Rye Whiskey. I figured Downslope’s malted rye would be a bit different from the others considering that it’s pot stilled and uses 49% malted barley as well, but I wasn’t quite expecting this.

When Downslope Distilling first started producing whiskey, a big knock on them was the age of the whiskey. That’s not surprising. They didn’t source whiskey, and it’s tough to keep a distillery up and running when you have to wait 4 years to get a NAS whiskey, even with producing other spirits. However, as time’s gone on, they’ve been able to age their whiskey longer.

Tasting Notes

Typically, I would go in depth on the nose, palate, and finish here, but I was a little out of practice tasting at a distillery and taking some small notes on my phone with a .75 oz pour. Instead, I’m just going to talk about the general experience.

My experience with Downslope Distilling’s malted Rye was much closer to that of an aged tequila with vegetal notes, citrus, and green pepper. There was a little bit of rye spice with honey and pear, and a touch of chocolate covered peanuts. The finish was primarily green pepper and some hay.

Overall, this was a very different experience than what I was expecting or hoping for. The mouthfeel was pleasant and it was an easy sipper at 80 proof, but a little more vegetal than what I like for a whiskey.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a quality pour, just not up my alley.

Downslope Distilling Single Malt Review

• Spirit: Single Malt Whiskey
• Owned By: Downslope Distilling
• Distilled By: Downslope Distilling
• Aged: NAS, 4+ years, new & used American oak, port solera finish
• ABV: 45%, 90 proof
• Mashbill: 67% malted barley, 33% peated malted barley
• Price: $65

Downslope Distilling’s single malt combines peated and non peated malted barley. The 33% peated malt comes in at 50 ppm, placing that third of peat between Laphroaig (40ppm) and Ardbeg (55ppm). However, that is just 1/3 of the mash, so the total will come out closer to 16.67 ppm.

Downslope’s Single Malt is also proofed slightly higher than their standard Double Diamond and Malted Rye at 90 proof, 45% ABV.

Tasting Notes

I’m not a huge fan of peated whiskey, but I like Downslope Distilling’s Single Malt. When it comes to peat, I don’t mind the smoke, it’s usually the salty characteristic that I’m not a fan of. Well, being aged in the Rocky Mountains is much different than on the shores of Scotland, so you get the smoke and not as much brine and seaweed.

Smoked meat. That’s what I mostly got. There were some lighter fruits in there – pear, apple, a touch of cherry – and just a bit of salt that was more salted caramel than seawater.

Overall, this is a good American single malt that showcases peat but doesn’t over-do it.

Downslope Distilling Cherry Port Finished Single Malt

• Spirit: Single Malt Whiskey
• Owned By: Downslope Distilling
• Distilled By: Downslope Distilling
• Aged: NAS, 4+ years, new & used American oak, finished in returned cherry port casks
• ABV: 45%, 90 proof
• Mashbill: 67% malted barley, 33% peated malted barley
• Price: $70

Take the Single Malt we talked about just above and finish it for 6 months in returned cherry port casks, and this is what you’ve got. Downslope Distilling sent their used port casks to Purgatory Cellars Wine in Parker, CO. Purgatory barrel ages their wine, sends it back to Downslope, and Downslope Distilling finished their Single Malt for 6 months.

Tasting Notes

I liked their Single Malt, but I REALLY like the Cherry Port Finish Single Malt, and it’s because of the cask finish.

Brisket. A nice smoked brisket that you spray with some cranberry juice and vinegar to get a nice bark. On top of that, you’re smoking it with some cherry wood chips or pellets. Maybe I’ve just been thinking about smoking a brisket lately, but this got my olfactory senses working.

Downslope Distilling Value

It’s hard for me to talk about value because I didn’t buy their whiskey. Their Malted Rye and Single Malt are $65, and their Cherry Port Finish is $70. I tried all three for $10. And no matter what anybody says, it’s a lot easier to feel good about a whiskey you didn’t spend the money on (yes, even the whiskey bloggers who get free bottles for their non-biased reviews… There will always be bias).

With that said, I would buy Downslope Distilling Cherry Port Finished Single Malt for $70. I’d definitely pass on their Malted Rye – as I mentioned, it’s not bad, just not up my alley. When it comes to the Single Malt, it’s very similar to the port finish, that I’d feel no need to have both, and I prefer the cask finish.

Downslope Distilling Gin, Agave Añejo, & Wine Finished Rum

I don’t have some in depth review of these spirits I tried. I figured I’d just briefly cover my thoughts on them.

Downslope Distilling Oulde Tom Gin – I almost walked out of the distillery with this bottle. I’m not a huge Gin drinker, but if I were, this would be my go-to. Perhaps my favorite I’ve tried (Again, not a huge Gin drinker).

Agave Añejo – Made from 100% Blue Weber Agave. The only thing keeping this from being Tequila is the fact that it’s distilled in Colorado, not Mexico. Aged for a year, lots of vanilla, solid and enjoyable.

Wine Barrel Aged Rum – Single cask and hand selected pairings. I was very excited to give this a try, but I can’t say I was a fan. More weird and unique, which made it interesting to try, but not as sweet, fruity, and delicious as I was hoping.

Downslope Distilling Summary

Downslope Distilling has a supporter in me. Yes, I’m biased… I live down the street. But I also liked their whiskey, I enjoyed stopping in, and they have a lot of different, unique spirits to try, too.

If you live close by, stop in to try their whiskey. If you see their spirits on the shelves, don’t be afraid to try them for yourself. I know I’ll be picking up a bottle of their Cherry Port Single Malt fairly soon.