In its 11th year, Colorado’s Branch & Barrel Distilling is enjoying unprecedented growth, from its Centennial tasting room to retail shelves across the state. Over the past 12 months, the distillery recorded all-time sales highs, earned 20 spirits competition awards (including three international gold medals), and set a new benchmark for charitable giving, all while strengthening its presence through activations and close partnerships with retailers.
At mid-year 2026, Branch & Barrel reports double-digit year-over-year growth, largely driven by continued investment in its robust in-market sampling program. With more than 250 activations statewide, Branch & Barrel continues to bring The Best Damn Bourbon in Colorado to retailers and fans alike.
Kristiane Weeks-Rogers of Craft Spirits Magazine spoke with Nester about how Colorado’s climate shapes the distillery’s production philosophy.
CSM: The first area I wanted to ask you about is climate as a production tool: how, as a Colorado distiller, you turn the environment into your advantage. Colorado’s elevation and dry climate are often cited as differentiators. From your perspective, what specific chemical or physical changes does that environment create during the process?
Nester: It’s a give and take. The gift is that the liquor penetrates deeper into the wood, pulling out different sugar compounds than you’d get at sea level. Extraction happens more rapidly, studies have shown that oak extraction in Colorado can be roughly twice what you’d see at sea level. So a four-year Colorado bourbon might have the oak maturity of an eight-year bourbon elsewhere.
But we also lose more liquid because of the dry climate, upwards of 25% at first. That’s a big problem. We fought it by working with barrel producers who precision-cut staves to fit perfectly, tightening the seal. Now we lose closer to 14–15%. We’ve managed to get some seven-year casks that are only down about a third, which is remarkable.
Our sweet spot is between four and seven years. You get twice the oak maturation, more full-bodied flavor, and quick launches that make it so good, so fast. But if you push to a 10-year bourbon, it’s like a 20-year bourbon in Kentucky, too woody for most palates. It’s a delicate balance: using the environment to create a unique, oaky, flamboyant profile without pushing it into something unpalatable.
CSM: Colorado’s temperature swings are extreme. How much do they influence extraction, oxidation, and evaporation?
Nester: A lot. Altitude, humidity, barometric pressure, and temperature swings all work together. Those swings drive daily cycles of expansion and contraction, whiskey pushes deep into the wood and squeezes back out every day. Instead of long, steady seasons, we might see 40°F mornings and 102°F afternoons. That constant movement breaks down tannins and lignins faster, pulling out flavor compounds daily.
Our low humidity also plays a role. Early on, our barrels dried out and separated slightly because they couldn’t rely on moisture to swell shut. People suggested humidifiers, but that leads to mold, so we learned to work with the dryness instead of fighting it. We designed our racks and barrels to lean into what Colorado gives us, allowing the spirit to take its own form.
CSM: Was there a moment when climate directly forced a production decision?
Nester: Absolutely. Switching barrel suppliers was one. We moved to producers like Adirondack and West Virginia Great Barrel Company, who use CNC precision cutting for tighter seals. We also installed heaters inside our rackhouse. If the liquid drops below freezing, aging pauses entirely. So we use heaters to keep the barrels just warm enough to maintain aging without wasting energy. We’ve only had to use them once, but they’re there when needed.
CSM: It’s been an unusually hot year. How does that affect aging?
Nester: Heat raises proof. Water evaporates faster than ethanol, so prolonged heat increases alcohol concentration. For example, Buffalo Trace’s Stagg releases are aged at the hottest part of the rackhouse for that reason. With this summer’s heat, I expect our 104-proof spirits to climb to 108 or 109. Our highest release so far is 111, and I expect more of those soon.
CSM: Let’s talk about water. You draw from the Arapaho aquifer, does that mineral profile affect fermentation, distillation, or mouthfeel?
Nester: Definitely. The minerality contributes to what we call a brûlée character, charred caramel, salted butterscotch. It gives our bourbon a lingering richness that clings to the palate. I’ve always disliked when a bourbon tastes great but disappears instantly. We designed ours to keep developing long after the sip, a full rollercoaster of flavor.
CSM: That’s fascinating. Plenty of distillers tout their water sources, but you’re describing how it actually shapes the whiskey’s texture and evolution.
Nester: Exactly. We built Branch & Barrel on Colorado terroir, from grain to glass. We use only local grains, some from small dairy farm co-ops in northeast Colorado, and water from a 1,400-foot-deep well fed by snowmelt and microflats. We built our own stills from scrap, hot water heaters, soup cookers, and plant tanks, so we could design every element ourselves. That freedom lets us create exactly what we want, not what someone else’s equipment dictates.
CSM: You mentioned designing equipment intentionally to suit Colorado’s environment. What does that look like in practice?
Nester: Our tasting room pays homage to our origins, there’s an old hot water heater on display, and plenty of reclaimed wood. We started as three guys in a garage making whiskey out of turkey fryers and hot water heaters, aging in mason jars with backyard tree branches. That’s where “Branch & Barrel” comes from.
We never lost that experimental spirit. We still build equipment from scrap, keeping metal out of landfills and costs down. Everything is manual, no automation, no computers. Every valve, every measurement is done by hand, by nose, by touch. Our spirit safe is literally a red Solo cup on a pipe. It’s hands-on from fermentation to bottling, with human touch at every step.
CSM: Have you explored predictive modeling or AI-assisted monitoring?
Nester: Not yet. My dad’s worked with sensors and predictive systems for machinery, and it’s a cool idea. But our setup is so unique that we know it better than any algorithm could. For larger operations, AI could be useful, but for us, it’s all about human intuition.
CSM: Any plans to move toward prefabricated stills?
Nester: Not at the moment. We started in a garage, and now we’re in an old automotive space, it fits our ethos. We’re open to the future, but for now, we’re staying true to our roots.
CSM: If Colorado’s climate continues to shift, are you planning adaptations?
Nester: We already control ambient temperature in the production area with swamp coolers, fans, and heaters. Our fermenters don’t have cooling jackets; instead, we regulate the room itself. It’s all about working with the environment rather than against it. If conditions change more drastically, we’ll build new systems ourselves, we’re capable of that.
CSM: Last question: if you could bottle one Colorado environmental characteristic, what would it be?
Nester: The breezy, cool mornings before sunrise. That first chill in the air: brisk, refreshing, revitalizing. If I could capture that feeling in a bottle, I would.