On the Spirits Trail
Copywriting • Photos
There are good days at work, and then there are the days you get paid to drink great whisky.
In the last halcyon days before the pandemic, Springs Media needed a story about the burgeoning whiskey industry in Colorado. Following in the footsteps of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, the Colorado Distillers Guild compiled a list of the best and brightest makers of bourbon, malt whisky and beyond.
In what would be a dream assignment for many, I spent two weeks traveling around Colorado, often with a ragtag crew of volunteers in tow to see what sort of booze the Centennial State had to offer. Tastings were followed by behind-the-scenes tours of distilleries tucked in mountain towns and old grain elevators. Impossibly scenic drives over the Rockies let my models sober up before it was time to hit the next tasting-room.
My liver may have protested by the end, but after two weeks of trying hidden secrets thieved out of barrels and rare labels pulled out from secret stashes, I delivered the words and photography for a feature piece that became a jewel in the crown of Springs Magazine’s reporting that year.
Shooting and writing the same story brings its own challenges, and many a distillery worker or slightly tipsy friend had to hold my off-camera flash, but the end result was a comprehensive and engaging look at the whiskey scene in Colorado delivered on time and on the word count my editor demanded.
My coverage of the Colorado Spirits Trail improved Springs Mag’s coverage of the food and beverage sector, and it did wonders for my personal whiskey collection as well.
See the Work
You can see the original story by downloading the PDF below, or viewing the article on Springs Magazine’s website.
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