A new distilling company is calling Colorado Springs home, and it aims to keep things “pure” at its new tasting room and distillery. 

The founders, Army veterans and first-time distillery owners, celebrated the grand opening of Pure Distilling’s tasting room, 2225 Executive Circle, Suite 172, on Friday. Pure Distilling is located in southeast Colorado Springs next to a sports gym and near the El Pomar Youth Sports Complex. New patrons will be treated to a bar and hangout spot filled with Colorado-focused memorabilia and gin, rum, bourbon and associated cocktails with a Colorado, adventure or military theme, depending on the drink.

Pure Distilling, founded by Drew Leyes, a Colorado Springs native, and Taylor Stuart, seeks to make spirits something for everyone, both in price and creation.

“We wanted the space to be approachable,” Leyes said. “We make approachable spirits in the sense of highly flavored, good quality, all natural, locally sourced that tastes delicious.”

Their spirits taste great on their own, Stuart said, but are just as good if not slightly improved when added to something.

The St. Bernard Bourbon was held up by both as an example. The bourbon has heavy notes of cacao and peppermint and can be enjoyed on its own. Adding it to a hot chocolate or a coffee takes it to another level, Stuart said, emphasizing that it is more of a winter drink.

The Rocky Mountain Sunshine Vodka, on the other hand, is perfect for a summer day on the golf course, he added. Just like the St. Bernard Bourbon, it can be enjoyed on its own or have something added, like a cider or beer, to make a great-tasting shandy.

Though the new tasting room is small, supporting a short bar, a few tables and a couch, chairs and coffee table, it’s filled to the brim with Colorado-centric artwork and vibes. Part of the bar is made of old train cars and trams that dotted the state during the mining booms. Skis, snowshoes and references to the alpine terrain adorn the walls. A stack of board and card games sits on shelves in a corner. 

Stuart and Leyes want their tasting room to be a place where people can hang out after work or that families can go to on the weekend if their soccer or baseball game at the nearby sports complex gets rained out.

“We want quality and a lack of pretension first,” Stuart said. “Breweries do this well whereas distilleries can be pretentious… We want to give the consumer what they want in a craft way, rather than making what we want and demanding the consumer like it.”

The two men met while in business school after their time in the Army and said they immediately hit things off. Stuart worked as a consultant for eight years but got tired of “telling other people what to do and having them not listen.” After his Army service, Leyes worked on the corporate side for many years before he and Stuart found the opportunity to go into business together. 

, One thing they believe sets their business apart is in the name. “Pure” Distilling refers to their use of large glass stills, which Stuart called a “pure” material.

The distillery avoids plastic as much as possible, Stuart said, adding “we don’t know what plastics do to us” in the long term. With glass, distilling is “more scientific,” he said netting a cleaner product.

Copper still makes an appearance however, just at the very end of the distillation process as spirits drip into bottles.

Given their focus on using a “pure” distilling process, use of all natural ingredients and locally sourcing everything they can,   “that’s how we overcome (people drinking less),” Taylor said. “If you’re going to give up maybe a couple of your cocktails every week, or a couple of drinks every week, make them count.”

The country went through what the Wall Street Journal called a “bourbon boom.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, people made cocktails at home and drank more frequently, according to the Journal. But, several years removed from COVID, people are turning to spirits less and less, according to the Journal.

As a result, craft distilleries began to close their doors since they lacked the “financial clout” to weather a decline in sales, according to the Journal.

Earlier this year, 1350 Distilling, a patriotic-themed bar and distillery on the edge of downtown Colorado Springs, closed, with the owners saying getting to the next level would require investment they weren’t willing to make.

Both Leyes and Stuart see the changes in drinking culture. But they view the changes as an opportunity to offer something more to their customers. Rather than a monolithic branded house, Stuart said Pure Distilling is a house of brands, with each of those brands offering a story. 

And, given the declining alcohol consumption — a Gallup poll from earlier this month reported 54% of Americans are drinking, a 90-year low — which Stuart added is a “good thing, writ large” and Pure Distilling’s secluded location, they know they’ll have to continue to work to set themselves apart and above the competition. 

“It’s like a challenge to us to earn that business. … We’re committed to making competitively priced, all natural, high quality products that are fun” Leyes said. “We always are asking ourselves how can we continue to earn customers? And customers are asking, ‘How can I earn that drink?'”