Spirited Away

Arizona has a proud lineage of historic saloons, and the Wild West lore attached to them paints the state’s past in vivid color. But the rotgut whiskey and cheap booze of Arizona’s saloon days? Well, it’s come a long way from that.

Today, Arizona distillers bring a sophistication — an art, even — to the spirits craft. They experiment with local ingredients like using mesquite wood for smoking single malt whiskey (Whiskey Del Bac’s Dorado from Tucson). They dabble in creative infusions such as adding cinnamon to an agave liqueur (Wild Hare Distillery in Tempe) and they hand make bitters (SanTan Spirits).

The efforts of these talented crafts people have earned distillers in Arizona, which number more than 50 across the state, international acclaim, including top awards at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and New York World Wine &Spirits Competition, plus a small-batch sake from Holbrook being named the “World’s Best Sake Made Outside Japan” at the Tokyo Sake Competition.

Thanks to many restaurants and bars stocking locally made spirits, it’s easy to sample Arizona-crafted vodka, rum, gin, whiskey and agave spirits throughout the state. But it should be noted that most distillers invite the public to tour their operations, offering curious visitors a behind-the-scenes glimpse into processes like grain handling, barrel aging and packaging. And nearly all tours conclude with a guide-led spirits tasting.

Cheers to that!