Distilleries Worth Visiting: The West (Kentucky Not Included) — 2026 Edition

Garrett

Aug 15

4 min read

Fourth and final installment for this year. Same rules the whole way through: Kentucky's out on purpose, and if a state doesn't have three real picks, it gets an honest count instead.

California

St. George Spirits (Alameda) — A craft distilling pioneer since 1982, widely considered one of the best craft distilleries in the country. Their Baller American Single Malt spends time in bourbon, French oak, and umeshu-soaked casks.
Redwood Empire Whiskey (Mare Island, Vallejo) — Moved into a historic 19th-century naval base building in 2025. About two-thirds own-distilled from California grain, the rest sourced and blended — worth knowing since it's not 100% estate.
Alley 6 Craft Distillery (Healdsburg) — A small, personal operation in Sonoma wine country, rye and single malt in a compact setup that's the opposite of the bigger names above.

Oregon

Westward Whiskey (Portland) — A flagship of the American single malt movement, known for dark chocolate and cherry blossom notes.
Bull Run Distilling Co. (Portland) — Small-batch single malt, part of Portland's dense distillery corridor if you're stacking stops.
Oregon Spirit Distillers (Bend) — One of the largest whiskey barrel inventories in the state, with an outdoor patio and fire pits — a good Central Oregon detour from the Portland cluster.

Washington

Westland Distillery (Seattle) — The benchmark American single malt producer, built around Pacific Northwest-grown barley and a real house style. Tours are limited to 16 guests, book ahead.
Woodinville Whiskey Co. (Woodinville) — Eco-conscious, tied to a local farming family, consistently praised for tour quality.
Dry Fly Distilling (Spokane) — Farm-to-bottle since 2007, with a rye-wheat hybrid finished in local huckleberry port barrels — a genuinely distinctive detour from the Seattle cluster.

Colorado

Stranahan's (Denver) — Colorado's original whiskey distillery, and its Baker cocktail lounge has been rated the #1 whiskey bar in the country by Yelp reviewers.
Laws Whiskey House (Denver) — Took top honors at the 2020 World Whiskies Awards for a Bottled-in-Bond straight rye.
Distillery 291 (Colorado Springs) — The most awarded whiskey producer in the state, known for aspen-stave finishing you won't find anywhere else on this list.

Utah

High West Distillery (Park City / Wanship) — Utah's flagship and the best-known distillery visit in the Mountain West, with tours at both the original Park City site and the larger Wanship ranch.

Utah's a one-pick state, and worth two honest notes: Utah's tasting laws cap on-site pours at 2.5 combined ounces under an educational permit, so don't expect a standard bar experience. And High West was bought by Constellation Brands back in 2016 — still worth the visit, just not the scrappy indie operation the name might suggest anymore.

Arizona

Whiskey Del Bac (Tucson) — Mesquite-smoked single malt whiskey, using Sonoran Desert mesquite instead of peat. Genuinely its own thing.
Desert Diamond Distillery — The oldest craft distillery in Arizona, family-run since 2008, walk-ins welcome.
Arizona Distilling Co. (Tempe) — Small-group tours of a true hands-on operation, from grain sourcing to hand-labeling.

Nevada

Frey Ranch Farmers + Distillers (Fallon) — Nevada's first true estate distillery, grain grown on a family farm that's been in the same hands for 150 years. Free tours every Saturday, no reservation needed under 10 people.
Minden Mill Distilling (Carson Valley) — Nevada's second estate distillery, bourbon, rye, and single malt from local grain.
Las Vegas Distillery (Henderson) — The first craft distillery to open in Nevada since Prohibition.

Idaho

Koenig Distillery (Caldwell) — A working farm distillery drawing on the owner's Austrian distilling heritage.
Warfield Distillery & Brewery (Ketchum) — Certified-organic spirits in the Sun Valley area, gold medal for its organic whiskey.
Up North Distillery (Post Falls) — A genuine "farm to flask" operation since 2015.

Montana

Headframe Spirits (Butte) — One of the largest single malt producers west of the Mississippi, housed in a vertical distillery inside a historic mining-town building. Named Montana's American Single Malt Distillery of the Year in 2024.
Whistling Andy Distillery (Bigfork) — Daily tours near Flathead Lake, 20-plus competition medals across the lineup.
Glacier Distilling Company (Coram) — Right at the doorstep of Glacier National Park, with a rustic tasting room and a fireplace worth planning a road trip around.

Wyoming

Wyoming Whiskey (Kirby) — The state's flagship, one of the first legal bourbon distilleries in Wyoming, set against the Big Horn Mountains.
Backwards Distilling Company (Mills, near Casper) — Creative small-batch spirits, call ahead to confirm your tour slot.
Pine Bluffs Distilling (Pine Bluffs) — A genuine grain-to-glass operation if you're already on the I-80 corridor.

Outside of Wyoming Whiskey, the rest of the state's scene is small and the tour info is thinner — call ahead before you build a day around the other two.

New Mexico

Santa Fe Spirits (Santa Fe) — Their Colkegan single malt and "Expedition" whiskey age outdoors, exposed to real high-desert temperature swings — a genuinely unique terroir story.
Left Turn Distilling (Albuquerque) — A lower-profile, well-regarded operation worth seeking out.
Algodones Distillery (north of Albuquerque) — Traditional pot stills and blue corn and piñon-influenced whiskey, about as regional a story as this whole series has produced.

Alaska

Amalga Distillery (Juneau) — Juneau's first distillery, making an American single malt alongside its better-known gin. Whiskey availability rotates, so it's not guaranteed on every visit.
Port Chilkoot Distillery (Haines) — Southeast Alaska's first craft distillery, in the historic Fort Seward district. The most developed whiskey tour experience in the state, even though gin is still their headline award-winner.

Alaska's a two-pick state, and honestly, whiskey is the secondary product at both — gin does the heavy lifting up there.

Hawaii

Ko'olau Distillery (Kailua, Oahu) — Oahu's first and only whiskey distillery, made with Hawaiian rainwater filtered through volcanic rock. Reviews on the whiskey itself are mixed — some find it young — but the tour is well-reviewed and includes a bottle-your-own component.

Hawaii's a one-pick state. It's overwhelmingly rum and vodka country, and I'd rather say that plainly than dress up a list that isn't there.

That closes out the series for this year — South, Midwest, Northeast, and West, all with an honest count instead of a padded one. Next year's edition can update anything that's changed.