As the mastermind behind Mile High Spirits and a passionate enthusiast of both whiskey and space exploration, I’ve always sought to push the envelope in the spirits industry. That’s why in July 2021, I spearheaded an unprecedented project: sending a barrel of our award-winning Fireside Bourbon to the edge of space. This endeavor, in partnership with World View, marked the birth of our Strato Whiskey.
In this article, I’ll share the five driving reasons behind our decision to launch a barrel of bourbon into the stratosphere. From my personal love affair with space to our commitment to innovate within the traditional bounds of whiskey-making, each reason underscores a chapter of our journey at Mile High Spirits. So, let’s talk about how Mile High Spirits became the first whiskey brand ever to send a barrel to space.
Reason 1: Love Of Space
My wife, Chelsea, and I met in 2011 at a Red Rocks show and we hit it off as we discussed Shroedingers Cat Paradox. Chelsea works as a project manager in the aerospace industry and throughout years of dating and marriage, she turned my curiosity about space into a passion. For the past 5 years or so, we have conducted NASA and UAE field research on asteroids to help give spacecraft missions the information they need to fly by or land on asteroids.
Whiskey and space had become my two biggest passions and I knew that in order to combine the two, we would have to pull off something that has never been done before. My first idea, of course, was to send a barrel up to the highest elevations possible, only for it to return and be sold to the whiskey and aerospace communities.
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My wife, Chelsea, was able to connect me with Alan Stern and Ryan Hartman of World View and we hit it off. It helped that World View was as excited about the opportunity as we were! In July of 2021, we were able to bring our brand full circle when we got to send a barrel of Fireside Bourbon to the edge of space.
Reason 2: Pushing Boundaries
The spirits industry is rooted in tradition and offers little area for creativity. We have historically obsessed over our ingredients and grain bill at Mile High Spirits, but after distilling for 10 years, we wanted to do something groundbreaking while still showcasing the traditions of the whiskey process. Our stratospheric whiskey defies gravity, transcending tradition. It beckons us to explore beyond the ordinary, to taste the effects of the universe itself.
Reason 3: Education
This first launch was a passion project driven by the desire to be the first distillery to sell whiskey that was aged at the edge of space, but future launches will be more focused on research.
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Our barrel of Fireside Whiskey lifted off at 7:03 am on July 15, 2021 from Page, Arizona and then ascended through layers of the atmosphere. The barrel reached an apogee of 106,627 ft where it stayed at its peak for 94 minutes. It took the barrel 4 hours and 38 minutes to complete its trip experiencing temperatures as cold as -94℉.
The change in temperatures encouraged additional interaction between the whiskey and the wood of the barrel increasing the richness of flavor and complexity. Strato Whiskey aged in the stratosphere with such a vast range in temperatures, melding and evolving flavors. Additionally, ultraviolet rays permeated the barrel, coaxing out compounds and, as a result, notes of vanilla, caramel, and oak tannins can be noted.
We plan to use these details to send a variety of spirits and various expressions of whiskey up to the edge of space to better understand the impact on whiskey at a molecular level to better understand the complex flavors that are introduced to the whiskey giving it bitter liqueur notes on the backend.
Reason 4: Develop Colorado’s Booming Craft Spirits Culture
Mile High Spirits is a part of something really amazing, the Colorado Spirits Industry! Colorado breweries set the stage for premier Colorado alcohol decades ago but distilleries from Colorado are just now starting to get the recognition that we deserve. This is seen in reviews, articles, and awards issued from premier judging competitions like the San Francisco Spirits Competition.
Established in 2000, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition is touted as the oldest and largest competition of its kind, receiving 5000 entries from well-established and large distilleries around the world as well as much smaller micro-distilleries looking to showcase the love and care they put into their spirits. 15 Colorado distilleries received Gold and Double Gold, including us, proving that Colorado spirits deserve a spot on the shelf and should be poured in glasses around the world, and maybe beyond.
We have always set out to define thoughtful, flavored spirits with locally sourced ingredients. With a balance, complexity, and depth of flavor, our hyper-local spirit lineup aims to represent the balance of Denver’s craft spirit culture.
Reason 5: It Is Fun!
We have always lived by the motto that “we take our spirits seriously but not ourselves” and we thought that this project was a great way to embody our mantra. We took phenomenal whiskey and did something interesting and uniqe with it. We sent it to the edge of space!
Strato Whiskey was a passion project for me but I knew that it would also be fun for people who are subscribed to humanity’s desire to become interplanetary. We are going to see a lot of “firsts” for humanity over the next decade and I am glad that we can say that we were the first to send a barrel of whiskey to space and sell it to the public!
Strato Whiskey
Our Strato Whiskey is available to purchase on the Mile High Spirits website for $350. Those who find themselves in Denver can visit Mile High Spirits in person and purchase the bottle for just $300. Only 250 of these 50ml stratospheric treasures were produced.
Each purchase of Strato Whiskey will support our mission to produce truly unique American craft spirits. Plus, you can be one of just 250 people in the world to own whiskey that has been to space.
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