by Rebecca Toy
unique high desert harvests elevate a classic
THE SMOOTH, RICH, AMBER WARMTH of whiskey conjures visions of rugged Scottish Highlands and Tennessee’s secluded springs. Yet distillers in the Land of Enchantment build on traditional styles with this area’s unique bounty. Their masterpieces celebrate ancient Indigenous ingredients like blue and red corn, ponderosa, mesquite and piñon, deliciously bringing the magic of the high desert to your glass.
Red 96 Bourbon Whisky
Hollow Spirits, Albuquerque
Hollow Spirits distillery marries time-honored New Mexican ingredients with artisanal innovation. The company’s pride in the state starts with heirloom Tucumcari red corn for its base. Owner Frank Holloway and distiller Ben Martinez then play with cr eative finishes, adding the original bourbon to rum, brandy and honey barrels for an elegant range. They’re also creative in the way they spell the word, opting for no “e,” meant to capture their love for the “old-style.”
New Mexico’s lack of humidity also works in distillers’ favor; the dry climate and temperature swings encourage barrels to breathe, increasing flavor nuances. “In New Mexico, we don’t have to wait for decades to produce a great whiskey,” Frank Holloway says.
New Mexico Blue Corn Whiskey
Left Turn Distilling, Albuquerque
The city’s first distillery pays homage to Bugs Bunny’s long-bemoaned regret of not taking that left turn in Albuquerque. Left Turn Distilling, proud of its place in the community’s story, also doubles down on its New Mexican identity with blue corn as a whiskey staple. President Brian Langwell describes the almost popcorn profile that comes through, with the roast adding hints of chocolate. “Basically, we are making atole.”
While unique, Left Turn’s blue corn whiskey and straight bourbon, the state’s first, are versatile. Langwell swears the whiskey makes the best Old Fashioned.
Colkeagan Single Malt Whiskey
Santa Fe Spirits, Santa Fe
Santa Fe Spirits captures New Mexican flora, from cholla flowers in gin to liqueur with roasted piñon and ponderosa sap. For their single malt, the team turns to the hardy mesquite tree. “The mesquite is a much less harsh smoke than peat, with sweet undertones, yet has a wonderful heartiness that lets the grain stand out,” says head distiller Stephen Julander.
Santa Fe Spirits follows Scottish aging standards, blending whiskey aged in used bourbon barrels and new American oak. The result is a balance of grain, smoke, wood, sugar, caramel and color.
Ponderosa 4.2 Whiskey
Ponderosa Whiskey Co, Taos
Liza Barrett and Nicole Barady weren’t whiskey lovers when the Taos Land Trust approached their fledgling vodka distillery in 2019 with more than 2,000 pounds of rye from fallow land in town. The challenge: Create a drinkable whiskey that supports local farms, sources water from the Taos Mountains and spotlights New Mexican flavors.
With FDA approval, the team macerates sustainably foraged ponderosa bark in organic corn, creating notes of vanilla, cardamom and maple. Pecan wood from Lucero Farm in Las Cruces adds sweet nuttiness. The result is smooth, adventurous and oh-so-sippable.
Luna Blue Corn Moonshine Whiskey
Algodones Distillery, Algodones
This distillery is inspired by the philosophy that handcrafted goods connect us to time and place. Consistent with this, the team sources local heirloom grains like blue corn and botanicals and uses traditional distilling methods. While Appalachian whiskey is historically barrel-aged in uninsulated rickhouses, Algodones Distillery recreates this method on its forested property, allowing the high desert to enrich the interaction between the spirits and charred barrels.
The distillery also offers variations of Luna, including a blue corn bourbon and single-barrel whiskey. A pecan-flavored whiskey is in development.
