Santa Fe Spirits
Overview of the Distillery
Santa Fe Spirits is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is a microdistillery that highlights the Southwest location through the use of mesquite smoke, local botanicals, and aging at high altitude around 7,000 feet. Production spans American single malt whiskeys, gin, vodka, brandy, and liqueurs, and the place combines small-batch craftsmanship with a clear sense of place.
History
The company was founded in 2010 and quickly established itself as one of New Mexico's early craft distilleries. Over the years, Santa Fe Spirits has expanded its range from the distillery and tasting room on Mallard Way to also running a Downtown Tasting Room in Read Street's Railyard District. The distillery has also played a role in the professional network for American craft distilling as an initiator in local and national forums. The story bears the mark of a clear desire to connect local ingredients and the region's narrative with modern distillation techniques and experimental barrel finishes.
Raw Materials and Production
The focus is primarily on American Single Malt made from malted barley, where part of the malt is kilned with mesquite to impart a smoky character. The whiskeys are double-distilled in copper pot stills. The vodka is produced from 100% corn and distilled seven times, and the distillation water is described as Sangre de Cristo mountain water. Apple brandy is also produced from local apples, and gin with wild botanicals such as purple sage and prickly pear. Production is underpinned by small-batch thinking, with both smoked and unsmoked variants in the range, and where finishing experiments and in-house collaborations between spirits (e.g., using an apple brandy-fade) are part of product development.
Aging and Cask Types
Aging uses both new American oak and used bourbon barrels as standard. Several whiskies receive additional finishes in specific casks: an apple brandy finish is used for a fruity finish, while Pedro Ximénez sherry finish provides an extra vintage finish with dark fruit character. The Bottled-in-Bond edition meets the requirements for bonded aging and is aged at least four years. The distillate also experiences a particular influence from the high alpine climate, where thinner air and large temperature fluctuations accelerate interaction between spirit and wood.
Whiskies
The core of the range is a series of American Single Malts with both mesquite-smoked and unsmoked variants. In addition, the portfolio includes special editions such as cask strength and bottled-in-bond editions, as well as finishes in apple brandy and Pedro Ximénez sherry. In addition to whiskey, the distillery produces gin (with local botanicals), vodka, and apple brandy, as well as liqueurs, which together provide a versatile range of small-batch spirits tied to New Mexico's ingredients.
| Whisky | Type / Series | Alcohol | Age | Cask & Style | Flavor Profile | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Mesquite Whiskey | American Single Malt | New American white oak and Once-used bourbon barrels; smoked/dried | An American Single Malt made from mesquite-kilned malted barley, double-distilled in copper pot stills and aged in new American white oak as well as used bourbon barrels. The mesquite smoke is a signature note. | Active; Core range | ||
| Unsmoked Whiskey | American Single Malt | New American oak and Used bourbon barrels | An unsmoked American Single Malt, double-distilled in copper pot stills and aged in a combination of new American oak and used bourbon barrels. A tribute to the classic American single malt style without smoke. | Active; Core range | ||
| Apple Brandy Cask Finished Whiskey | American Single Malt | Used apple brandy casks; finish: finished in apple brandy barrels for a fruity finish; smoked/dried | A limited-edition Single Malt, that begins as mesquite-kilned malt whiskey and rests in used apple brandy-fade for a soft, fruity finish with notes of baked apple and honey. | Limited | ||
| Sherry Cask Single Malt Whiskey | American Single Malt | Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks (finish); finish: After years in American oak, rest the whiskey for a further year in PX-sherry casks; smoked/dried | Mesquite-kilned American Single Malt that gets a finish in Pedro Ximénez-sherry casks to add depth, dark fruit, and sweeter oak character. | Active; Core range | ||
| Bottled-in-Bond Whiskey | American Single Malt | 50 % | 4 years | New American oak and Once-used bourbon barrels; smoked/dried | A Bottled-in-Bond Single Malt, produced from one season and one distiller; aged at least four years and bottled at 100 proof, produced from mesquite-kilned malt and aged in a combination of new American oak and used bourbon barrels. | Active; Core range |
| Cask Strength Whiskey | American Single Malt | Once-used bourbon barrels; finish: Bottled from barrel to preserve full proof; smoked/dried | Cask Strength edition is bottled directly from the barrel and not diluted, showing the uncropped character from mesquite-kilned malt and aging in used bourbon barrels. | Active; Core range |
The Style and Flavor Profile of the Whiskies
Across the whiskies, mesquite smoke, pronounced oak notes, and varying fruitiness from the casks are recurring. Apple brandy finishes add baked apple and honeyed nuances, PX sherry finishes contribute dark fruit notes, and the combination of new oak and used bourbon barrels provides warm spice and oak nuances. These directions are seen across several releases in the house.
Visit the Distillery
The distillery invites visitors to Mallard Way Distillery & Tasting Room on the edge of town, where guided tastings, tours, and cocktail classes “from grain to glass” can be enjoyed. At Santa Fe’s Read Street Downtown Tasting Room in the Railyard District, signature cocktails with the distillery's whiskey, gin, and vodka are served in a casita-style setting. Booking is offered for tours and customer experiences, and both locations function as active tasting and learning venues.
Philosophy and Craft
Santa Fe Spirits works to make each product recognizable by its geographic origin: they use local botanicals, mesquite smoke, and high-altitude aging as deliberate practices. The company values patience in maturation and experiments with casks and local ingredients to let "place" shape the spirits.