We've got an action-packed four days in Denver, April 1-4, for ADI's Spirits Conference & Vendor Expo! Full schedule forthcoming - there will be panel discussions, technical presentations, seminars, spirits tastings, distillery tours, hands-on distilling classes, plus a media lounge and special events (register here). 

Keynote Speaker,  Dan Garrison: "Never tell a Texan he can't do something," wrote Charles Cowdery in "Bourbon Straight." Dan Garrison loves bourbon. As Alison Miller writing in the Southwest in flight magazine SPIRIT puts it, Dan's goal was "to make a bourbon that would stand up to anything produced in Kentucky." This he has done, and along with it built a destination distillery in the Texas Hill Country second to none. In every way Garrison Brothers Distillery represents the heart and soul of the grain-to-glass ethos of Artisan Distilling.

Panel Discussions: 

• How To Work With Wholesalers-Part I, The Supplier-Wholesaler Relationship: Moderator, Craig Wolf, Exec. Dir. Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) with Danny Wirtz, (Wirtz Distributing). 
• How To Work With Wholesalers-Part II, The Wholesaler-Retailer Relationship: Moderator, Craig Wolf, Scott McKee, Republic National Distribution Co. (RNDC-FL).
• A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Deal - Surprises Along the Road to "YES"! Moderator, John Fisher (Fisher and Co. Investment Bankers), Colorado's own Jess Graber (Stranahan's-sold to Proximo Spirits) and Troy Ball (Troy Ball & Sons Distillery) share some of what they learned in making their deals-Q&A on surprises, cautions, and alerts.
• Destination Distillery: Panel discussion on how to work with your state tourism, agri-tourism and local Convention & Visitors Bureaus to gather available resources to build and fund a destination distillery.

Technical Presentations: 

• The Woodinville Experiment-12 Variables in Aging:  Independent Stave, in partnership with Woodinville Distillery, placed whiskey into new American Oak barrels with 12 different variables: 6 different char levels each having barrels with normal and thin stave thicknesses. This presentation will review the current chemical and sensory status of the experiment after 2 years of aging including a discussion of what we might expect in the future.
• Mashing for Optimal Yield:  David Llodra, PHD (Briess Malt) shares recent innovations in malting techniques aimed at optimizing yield from fermentation.
• Nosing for Unwanted Congeners:  Nancy Fraley shares expert sensory awareness skills in recognizing unwanted congeners in the process of cutting heads and tails, and in mash preparation.

Seminars:

• Industry Trends-the Future of Craft: Bump Williams. For the last 26 years, Bump has worked closely with some of the best and brightest Brewers, Distillers, Vintners, Retailers, Wholesalers, Importers and Wall Street companies in the world. This presentation shares some of the most recent industry trends with a special focus on premium and ultra premium brands and their impact on the future of craft.
• Building a State-of-the-Art Distillery:  John Jeffery (Death's Door) relates the twists and turns in creating a multi-million dollar artisan distillery in Wisconsin.
• Colorado Whiskey-Profiles in Excellence:  Jordan Via (Breckenridge Distillery), Jake Norris (Gargoyle) and Rob Dietrich (Stranahan's) lift the curtain on why their whiskeys are consistently so dang tasty!

Special Event:  

• dstill - American Craft Distillers Showcase: Join the Colorado Distillers Guild for this public tasting event and celebration of distillers and their spirits, bartenders and their cocktails, chefs and their food.