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PHOTOS OF COCKTAIL COMPETITION

On a shelf behind the counter in Loveland’s Dancing Pines Distillery sits a small 3-liter still that looks almost like a toy model.

However, the Spanish still is no toy. It is the equipment that helped launch the rapidly expanding craft distillery that hopes to have its spirits in 15 states by year’s end.

Since launching its first rum on Sept. 3, 2010, Dancing Pines has found it hard to keep up with demand for its spirits that range from whiskey to brandy.

Dancing Pines is part of a new wave of distilleries cropping up in Northern Colorado — many in Loveland — in what is a growing industry across Colorado and the country.
Total economic activity contributed by distilled spirits in 2008 was $115 billion, or 30 percent of total economic activity from all beverage alcohol.

The U.S. beverage alcohol industry generated $91 billion in wages and more than 3.9 million jobs for U.S. workers, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

Distilled spirits exports exceeded $1 billion for the fifth consecutive year, reaching a projected record of $1.34 billion in 2011. Total spirits exports grew 16.5 percent over the preceding year, while American whiskey, 69 percent of total exports, grew 13.6 percent, according to the council.

Yet, small local craft distilleries such as Dancing Pines are still rare within the spirits industry.

The majority of the industry is dominated  by a few large companies such as Diageo,  the world’s leading premium drinks business with brands that include Ketel One vodka, Baileys and Captain Morgan.

“To find something crafted in a distillery like this is unique,” said Kristian Naslund, co-owner and distiller of Dancing Pines, while sitting in his distillery full of barrels and bottles.

Starting a distillery

Naslund, a former firefighter with the  Monument Fire Department, started reading books, visiting distilleries and hobby distilling in his three-liter still.

Around 2001 on a hunting trip near Eagle, Naslund made some apple brandy and one conversation led to another and the idea of starting his own distillery was born.
It would take nearly a decade of planning, saving and work, but Naslund’s dream came true. He now operates the distillery at 1527 Taurus Court with his wife and father.