Spirited venture: Alamosa water bottler sets sights on whiskey.

• Author: Cantarano, Dana L.
• Position: Colorado Water Co. - Brief Article

Stephen Lewis and Bucko Clark believe THERE'S ROOM FOR ANOTHER BEVERAGE IN THE LAND OF PURE ROCKY MOUNTAIN WATER, MICROBREWS AND COORS BEER. THE TWO ENTREPRENEURS LAUNCHED ALAMOSA-BASED COLORADO WATER Co. IN JUNE, BUT THAT'S JUST THE FIRST PHASE OF A $12 MILLION TO $15 MILLION PROJECT THEY FULLY EXPECT WILL CULMINATE WITH THEM CLINKING GLASSES AND TOASTING TO COLORADO'S FIRST LEGAL SCOTCH WHISKEY.>>

"We want to be a part of whiskey history," Clark says.

Lewis and Clark believe Colorado's San Luis Valley is just the place to produce a whiskey "slightly above the Jack Daniels/Jim Beam level," as Clark puts it.

Why Alamosa? Clark, 50, who previously worked in the microbrewery business, sized up the San Luis Valley's water and abundance of barley, and deemed it ideal for a distillery. He also knew there was no Colorado or Western brand of whiskey. He partnered with Lewis, a native of Scotland and an expert in the field of single-malt Scotch whiskey (spelled "whisky" only if produced in Scotland).

After two years of searching for land on which to build their distillery, they settled on a 90-acre farm just west of Alamosa. "There is no equivalent," Clark says of the location. "Colorado has terrific water, great barley... and no one has ever made whiskey here."

About 85 percent of the barley grown in Colorado comes from the San Luis Valley, according to Clark. They plan to purchase about 2,600 tons of barley annually from area farmers.

"Colorado and the West are already a great brand," says the 37-year-old Lewis. "And it's got everything you need for whiskey."

Colorado Water Co. has been operating since June, bottling up to 20,000 half-liter bottles a day in a 3,750 square-foot plant. The company produces two bottling labels of water -- one for promotional purposes for the San Luis Valley called "San Luis Valley Premium Rocky Mountain Water," and the other called "Colorado H2O: The Natural State of Water." Lewis and Clark say the water will be distributed in retail outlets and restaurants statewide, as well as to other Western states.

The two men expect the $500,000 water plant to begin turning a profit early this year and provide cash flow for the whiskey project. Construction on the distillery which will be a separate building from the water plant, is scheduled to begin in April.

Just getting the distillery to this point on the drawing board has taken some doing. Last April Gov. Bill Owens signed Senate Bill 01-156, legalizing the distillery for...