A Taste of Kansas Spirits: Boot Hill Distillery

“Born from a barrel, forged in the dust.”

When a few Kansas farmers pledged to invest in western Kansas’s first craft distillery, they did so with great pride and respect for Dodge City’s rich American history. Roger and Hayes Kelman and Chris Holovach began Boot Hill with the purpose of crafting sustainable spirits with control of the highest quality grains grown in their own fields.

Boot Hill’s impressive product line includes their Vodka, Gin, White Whiskey, Red Eye Whiskey, Prickly Ash Bitters, and a soon to be finished bourbon. Boot Hill’s whiskey goal is to showcase the life-cycle of a frontier bourbon mash of 51% corn and 49% wheat, with the White Whiskey being aged for one week, the Red Eye for up to seven months, and the bourbon at minimum two years.

Despite its youth, the White Whiskey is surprisingly smooth with corn and black pepper on the nose before vanilla and oak on the palate. The Red Eye offers another stage of development, with butterscotch and floral aromas and flavors of vanilla and woody spices.

The Boot Hill team recommends a few standout cocktails to complement their western spirits:

The Peacemaker

Historically spicy bitters are reborn in this taste of the American West

Ingredients:
1.5 oz Boot Hill Prickly Ash Bitters
0.5 Boot Hill White Whiskey
Juice from 1/4 fresh lemon
Tonic water
Lemon peel

Method:
Take a large lemon peel and express it over the top of an empty, chilled rocks glass. Drop the peel in the glass. Add the Prickly Ash Bitters, white whiskey and lemon juice. Stir well. Fill the glass to the top with cubed ice and top with tonic water. Gently stir and serve

Miserable Bastard

The perfect union of botanical gin and oaky whiskey

1 oz Boot Hill Gin
1 oz Boot Hill White Whiskey
0.5 ounce lime juice
0.25 ounce rosemary syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Ginger beer to top (the spicier the better)
Rosemary sprig for garnish

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