What is Happening at Gulch Distillers

Gulch Distillers Strikes Gold

Gulch Distillers, Helena’s craft microdistillery, is thrilled to announce that their product Burrone Fernet has been awarded a Gold Medal at the esteemed San Francisco World Spirits Competition. This recognition solidifies Gulch Distillers’ position as a producer of exceptional spirits, and the award highlights the brand’s commitment to excellence and innovation in the industry.

August 3, 2022 - August 31, 2022

Craft a Better Community: Continental Divide Trail Coalition

The Continental Divide Trail Coalition is the beneficiary of our August “Craft a Better Community” Nights on Wednesdays.

The Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC) is the national non-profit working in partnership with the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management to complete, promote and protect the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. Founded in 2012 by a passionate group of volunteers and recreationists, CDTC is a membership organization working to build a strong community of supporters who want to see the CDT protected not just for today’s users, but for generations to come.

 

 

August 17, 2022

Big Sky Farmer’s Market

Come find Gulch Distillers at the Big Sky Farmer’s Market from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. We will be sampling products and offering free cocktail tastings.

September 8, 2022

Spirits in the Sky

Come sample the range of unique spirits from Montana Distilleries at Spirits in the Sky from 4-7pm at the Big Sky Town Center.

July 7, 2022

Coin Club Party

Calling all 2022 Gulch Coin Club Members! It’s time to party! Join us for a special tiki-themed evening in the Gulch Cocktail Coral. Enjoy music, cocktail specials and tasty treats. You’ll also receive early access to the newest exclusive Gulch release.

Coin Club Party!

July 7, 2022

5:00 – 8:00 PM

Outside in the Gulch Cocktail Corral 

Not a member? You can still join the club and enjoy half-priced cocktails and 10% savings on all bottle purchases year-round!

 

Montana Restaurants, Brewpubs, and Bakeries: A Culinary Guide for Your Winter Trip

The winter snowscapes of Montana are magical. There’s a whole lot of outdoor fun to be had in Big Sky Country once the days shorten and the temperatures drop. But for those in the know, there are plenty of winter treasures to be found indoors as well — namely, in Montana’s restaurants, coffee shops, pubs, diners, and more.

Matador Network

February 28, 2022

February 2, 2022 - February 23, 2022

Last Chance Curling Club

The Last Chance Curling Club’s purpose is to promote the sport of curling in the Helena community through education, outreach, and by providing a safe, fun, inclusive and friendly environment to foster public participation in the sport.

January 6, 2022 - January 14, 2022

Fruition Apple Brandy Back in Stock

Among the many lessons we have learned over the past six years is the patience required at every stage of production for apple brandy.

First, collecting and pressing apples. Then a four-week ferment, slower than any other spirit requires. Next, a slow and gentle distillation in order to preserve the delicate apple aromatics. Then, like our whiskies and rum, we store the brandy in oak casks and let it age for several years. Finally, as we have learned the hard way, patiently bringing the brandy to bottle proof over several months to avoid disrupting the fragile flavors and temperamental structure that we have painstakingly cultivated.

Our greatest challenge to maintaining apple brandy on our shelf is this slow proofing period. Well that period is now over, for the time being. We have a very limited supply of our Fruition Apple Brandy, distilled from Bitterroot Valley-grown Macintosh apples, back in stock. These bottles are available only for Coin Club members for the next week!

Not only are these bottles available exclusively to our Coin Club, but they are available at the Coin Club price  of $33.50 ($37 retail) for 750mL.

We will release the remaining bottles to the public on January 15.

January 5, 2022 - January 26, 2022

Craft a Better Community: The Myrna Loy Center

The Myrna Loy inspires our spirits by presenting culturally enriching arts experiences of all disciplines; supporting local and regional artists in their work; and fostering a lifelong love of the arts through educational projects and experiences.

Wherever you are–at school, in business, at an eldercare home, on a date, in a mid-evening slump by yourself–you can find something here to inspire your spirit.

Concerts, films, art exhibits, arts education experiences, community events, collaborations–it’s all here, at your community-fired culture center.

December 16, 2021

Montana Jewish Project

Meet and Greet with Montana Jewish Project

November 3, 2021 - November 24, 2021

Craft a Better Community: Great Divide Ski Team

The Great Divide Ski Team brings over 40 years of tradition and history to our community and our kids. We have a quality coaching staff with many years of experience, and we welcome all kids who love the sport of skiing!

October 1, 2021 - October 31, 2021

Craft A Better Community: Montana Free Press

Montana Free Press is an innovative, nonpartisan, public-powered news organization dedicated to delivering the information needs of all Montanans.

Gulch Distillers Turns Local Apples Into Alcohol

One distillery is turning local apples into alcohol. Our Bliss Zechman explains how Gulch Distillers in Helena is relying on the community and not a company to make one of their popular products.

KFBB

by Bliss Zechman

September 27, 2018

What Is Amaro? Learn All About These Delicious Herbal Liqueurs

Small producers in the U.S. have been trying their hand at blending complex fernets: Montana-based Gulch Distillers uses mountain herbs and Montana grain for their Fernet Burrone

Martha Stewart

by Anna Kovel

July 13, 2021

Helena Businesses Team Up To Make Hand Sanitizer From 30 Kegs of Beer

Helena’s Gulch Distillers is making hand sanitizer out of 30 kegs of unused beer provided by George’s Distributing.

Helena Independent Record

by Tyler Manning

April 2, 2020

Helena’s Gulch Distillers Take Top Prize at National Spirits Competition

Gulch Distillers brought home a few medals from the 2019 American Craft Spirits Association’s competition. The competition welcomed nearly 500 entries from 38 states and the District of Columbia in six categories: whiskey, gin, rum, vodka and grain spirits, brandy and specialty spirits.

Helena Independent Record

by Maria L. Kirkpatrick

February 15, 2019

American Craft Spirits Association Announces 2019 Craft Spirit Award Winners

During the event, which was sponsored by Total Wine & More, ACSA proudly bestowed the evening’s ultimate honor, the Best of Show Award, to Gulch Distillers of Helena, MT, for their Burrone Fernet. Eli Aguilera, Total Wine’s Senior Vice-President of Merchandising, provided remarks to the crowd to kick-off the dinner, and Maggie Campbell of Privateer Rum (MA) emceed the event, having served as the Judging Chair.

American Craft Spirits Association

February 15, 2019

11 Great American Amari To Try Now

Minnesota fernet? Pineapple amaro? Our collective thirst for the Italian liqueur amaro is no bitter pill. So fully have we embraced the low-alcohol, bark and botanical-based digestif that it was only a matter of time before American-made versions began to blossom.

Liquor.com

by Amy Zavatto

January 21, 2019

Keeping the Supply Chain Local–Purple Prairie Barley Whisky

Like most good ideas, Gulch Distillers’ Purple Prairie Barley Whiskey started with a conversation and the question, “What if…?”

In late 2016, Tyrrell Hibbard (co-founder of Gulch Distillers) and I sat down to talk about the newly-renamed company. It had been called Triple Divide Spirits when Tyrrell and his partner Steffen Rasile bought it in 2015 and then re-branded it a year later.

Good Food World

by Gail Nickel-Kailing

October 5, 2018

Montana Made: Gulch Distillers

Agriculture is Montana’s leading industry and in Helena, two guys are using their ag roots to distill a product from soil and sunshine.

Montana is a beer drinking state with new breweries popping up in every corner. But two guys, Steffen Rasile and Tyrrell Hibbard, are trying to change the game.

MTN News

by Mikenzie Frost

June 26, 2018

Craft Cocktails: Gulch Distillers

I dare you to find a place more “local” than Gulch Distillers. Owned by two heartful Helena natives, Tyrrell Hibbard and Steffen Rasile, every batch of grain-based spirits are made using only Montana-grown grains in a facility that was once the Montana Distillery and Bottling Warehouse. The names of the spirits are locally inspired. Every cocktail contains locally grown produce whenever possible as well as house-made syrups and shrubs. The artwork is local, the website is local, the locals are local. Okay, you get it. LOCAL. What’s more? It’s all really, really good.

The Local

by Claire Bachofner

April 30, 2018

Guardian Reserve Gin Wins National Recognition

Locally produced Guardian Reserve Gin was recently recognized on the national stage. Gulch Distillers received acclaim for their barrel-aged gin by winning a bronze medal in the American Distilling Institute’s (ADI) Judging of Craft Spirits competition in Portland, OR. ADI is the oldest and largest organization of small-batch, independently owned distilleries in the US with a mission to promote and defend the art and enterprise of craft distilling. This year marks the 12th annual Judging of Craft Spirits, making the event one of the longest running, largest, and most respected spirits competitions in the US.

Distilleries Celebrate Easments

A pair of Montana distilleries produced special runs in honor of Montana Land Reliance’s millionth acre under conservation easement.

Helena Independent Record

by Tom Kuglin

August 11, 2017

Helena Product Wins National Award

Helena’s distillery is getting noticed on the national scale for its product and process. Last week, Gulch Distillers earned national recognition by winning a silver medal in the American Distilling Institute’s (ADI) Judging of Craft Spirits competition. ADI is the oldest and largest organization of small-batch, independently owned distilleries in the US with a mission to promote and defend the art and enterprise of craft distilling. This year marks the 11th annual Judging of Craft Spirits, making the event one of the longest running, largest, and most respected spirits competitions in the United States.

The Cellar Mistress’s Wine Blog

There’s a hidden gem, tucked away in the side streets of Helena. No, it isn’t an undiscovered gold mine, but it’s close. Gulch Distillers is one of the most fascinating businesses I’ve visited here in Helena.

Starting its life as Triple Divide Spirits in 2012, the distillery was purchased in 2015, and rebranded as the Gulch Distillers in 2016. Distillers Steffen Rasile and Tyrrell Hibbard pursued their dream of distilling in college, and even studied abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Cellar Mistress's Wine Blog

by Katherine Northup

April 10, 2017

Gulch Distillers: Beyond Bread and Beer

What happens when two friends start dreaming about opening a distillery and making whisky in central Montana? Mix in shared childhood memories, inherited Helena red hair, and a love for single malt whisky, and you get Gulch Distillers.

Good Food World

by GAIL NICKEL-KAILING

December 31, 2016

New Name, New Products for Helena’s Microdistillery

Helena’s micro-distillery has unveiled a new name and a unique new spirit.