Distillery 291, INC.

Distillery 291 is the Colorado Springs craft distillery whose founding date — September 11, 2011 — and founder's personal history give the operation one of the most editorially specific origin stories in American craft whiskey. Michael Myers, a former New York City fashion photographer, moved to Colorado after the September 11, 2001 attacks fundamentally changed his career trajectory in Manhattan. He spent the next decade researching distilling, building his own equipment, and ultimately establishing Distillery 291 on the 10-year anniversary of the attacks — an intentional editorial bookend to the personal-history arc that brought him from New York fashion photography to Colorado Springs whiskey production. The technical signature that defines 291 is unique in the global whiskey industry: aspen wood stave finishing. After standard new charred oak barrel aging (typically around a year for the standard releases), Myers inserts toasted aspen wood staves into the barrel for an additional 2-3 weeks before bottling. No other distillery in the world finishes whiskey with aspen — the wood is structurally and chemically different from oak, contributing different tannins, lighter fruit characteristics, and a distinctive softening effect that's become the brand's most-recognized flavor signature. Myers designed his own pot still from old copper photogravure plates (a direct material link to his photography career) and uses it for all distillation. The product range covers 291 Colorado…