Art of the Spirits Distillery

Behind a locked door on Adobe Court in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Art of the Spirits Distillery runs less like a working still and more like a speakeasy for whiskey obsessives, complete with a doorbell to gain entry. The company does not distill its own spirit. It is a sourcing house and blender, a non-distiller-producer that acquires already-aged whiskey and then finishes, blends, and bottles it under its own name, and the expressions it has released have earned it a reputation among those who appreciate good whiskey far beyond what its small footprint would suggest.

History & Heritage

Art of the Spirits was founded in 2014 by Richard Paul, who remains, as of July 2026, the company's owner and the operator behind Art of the Spirits Whiskey LLC. From the outset the business was built around a specific niche in the American whiskey landscape: rather than investing in a distillery, mash bills, and years of aging, Art of the Spirits sources mature barrels and applies its own finishing and blending program to them. This model has become increasingly common among newer American whiskey brands, and Art of the Spirits has distinguished itself within that field by leaning hard into cask strength bottlings and single barrel selections rather than diluted, mass-market blends. The Colorado Springs facility itself reflects that boutique approach. It is a working site, but one designed with an exclusive, speakeasy feel, and the company offers private tours by appointment during normal business hours for those who want to see the finishing and bottling operation firsthand.

The Whiskey

Because Art of the Spirits does not distill, its craft lies in barrel selection and cask finishing, and its production notes make clear how far that program extends. The company draws on an unusually wide range of finishing casks, including Foursquare rum casks, Tokaji, sherry, ruby port, Madeira, and secondary bourbon barrels sourced from W.L. Weller and Buffalo Trace. Mash bills vary by expression and by the distillery of origin, since Art of the Spirits does not always disclose its bourbon and rye sources. The Art Of The Spirits Easy Elegance Straight Rye Whiskey Cask Strength Single Barrel is built on a 95% rye, 5% malted barley mash bill and has been released in barrel-finished variants such as a W.L. Weller cask. The Art of the Spirits "Final Run" 7+ Year Old Bourbon Port Cask Finish uses a 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley bourbon finished in ruby port casks. "The Originals" 12 Year Old Bourbon carries a 51% corn, 45% rye, 4% malted barley mash bill in a single barrel format, while the "Heroes" 19 Year Old Wheated Single Barrel Bourbon, sourced from an undisclosed Missouri distillery, uses a wheated 51% corn, 45% wheat, 4% malted barley recipe rarely seen at that age statement. The company also produces "BouRye" blends, pairing bourbon and rye stocks, as seen in the Art of the Spirits Chief's Cigar Blend - Chief Sitting Bull, finished across Tokaji, sherry, and rum casks.

Why It Matters

Art of the Spirits has built real credibility in competition rooms, not just in marketing copy. The brand earned Double Gold honors at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2024, including a Double Gold for its cask strength "Final Run" BouRye Whiskey finished in a Foursquare rum cask, and a separate Double Gold at the New York World Spirits Competition in 2023. Its Mogadishu Hazmat Single Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey was named Best in Class at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a result strong enough that InsideHook flagged the brand among its best American whiskeys that most drinkers still do not know. That combination, a tightly focused sourcing and finishing program producing consistently high-strength, high-proof, single barrel releases, is what separates Art of the Spirits from the wave of undifferentiated sourced-whiskey brands that followed the American whiskey boom.

Visiting the Distillery

Art of the Spirits offers private tours of its Colorado Springs facility by appointment during normal business hours. The entrance is locked, and visitors ring a doorbell to be let in, part of the deliberately clandestine, speakeasy atmosphere the company has built around its finishing and bottling operation.