Black Canyon distillery brings ‘mystery and romance’ to whiskey business

    Fred Lesnick has a simple motto: “You can’t rush whiskey.”
    This philosophy has led Lesnick to open a new distillery and develop a new whiskey, both named after the Black Canyon of Colorado.

Photo by Ben Wiebesiek

Master distiller Fred Lesnick, left, runs Black Canyon Distillery with son and promotions director Chris Broadfoot, wife and co-owner Susan Lesnick and daughter and managing sales representative Jeanetta Broadfoot.

Buy this photo

    Black Canyon Distillery, in Longmont at 13710 Deere Court, Unit B, is the brainchild of Lesnick, who said he discovered the mystery and romance of combining tried and true recipes with a personal touch to make a one-of-a-kind sour mash saloon whiskey that will please the pallet of the most discerning whiskey drinker.
    “My wife, Susan, and I were trying to think of things to do for retirement,” Lesnick said. “And at first it was just kind of a joke.”
    Susan said that the idea started to look more and more appealing as the couple considered it.
    “Fred’s always loved tasting whiskies, and he has a taste for it,” Susan said. “So we started thinking that this is something we could do.”
    Fred has a wry smile at the idea he’s in retirement.
    “This is still a lot of work – a lot of 12-hour days,” he said. “But’s it’s something I really enjoy doing.”
    The name came from a trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison the couple took while visiting their daughter.
    “We were looking for a name that would fit,” Susan said. “And there were a lot of names we couldn’t agree on. But when we thought about Black Canyon Whiskey, we knew it was a perfect fit.”
    Black Canyon Distillery uses the spent mash from the process of making the whiskey to feed local cattle.
    “Sour mash, it sounds funky. You talk to people and they don’t think it’s going to do anything, but it does great things for the whiskey,” Fred said. “It just really improves the taste; it just really adds a great flavor.”
    Black Canyon Whiskey, a 100 percent Colorado sour mash corn whiskey, has a corn aroma with a hint of vanilla and an earthy hint of oak to its flavor.
    “Our whiskey is 100 percent corn, and we get our corn from Greeley, so it’s all local,” Susan said.
    Although the distillery opened this year, Black Canyon Whiskey has been selected to be served at Boone’s Tavern, 1135 E. Evans Ave. in Denver, near Denver University.
    The tavern opens Nov. 11, and general manager Jason Klein said Black Canyon fits perfectly with Boone’s “stateriotic” theme.
    “In these economically challenged times, we at Boone’s choose to celebrate our local breweries and distilleries,” Klein said. “Colorado is home to some of the best beers, vodkas, whiskies and bourbons. And with Black Canyon, it was word of mouth really. We came across them a few months ago, and right away we liked the small, family-run business, their organization and everything they’re doing. We knew they’d be a good fit for ‘stateriotic’ products that we have. Here, it’s all about taking care of the small guy.”
    Fred agrees that Colorado is a great place for a distillery, mainly because the water quality is so good here in the mile-high state.
    “You have to have good water to start with,” he said. “That’s important for making a good whiskey.”
    One of the next projects will be developing a Black Canyon Bourbon, but this will take some time.
    “For it to be a true bourbon, the whiskey will have to sit in barrels for two years,” he said. “That’s what it takes. And we won’t know how it turns out until then. The nice thing is that if you put in good whiskey, the bourbon usually turns out good, too.”
    If he’s anxious about the results, Fred doesn’t show it.
    He’s not about to rush his bourbon either.

Contact Ben Wiebesiek at 303-659-2522, ext. 206, or email bwiebesiek@metrowestnewspapers.com.