Short Creek Spirits brings homegrown distilling in Colorado City
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Short Creek Spirits is making gin and vodka in the polygamous enclave of Colorado City. Photo: Courtesy of Short Creek Spirits
In a community once synonymous with polygamy and prohibition, a new distillery is pouring gin and vodka as Colorado City's identity transforms.
Why it matters: Short Creek Spirits is a symbol of how Colorado City is redefining itself after decades of insularity under Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) control.
State of play: Raymond Hammon and his partners opened Short Creek Spirits in June, seven years after he and a different group opened Edge of the World Brewery.
- He'd been looking for a new project, Hammon told Axios, so he decided to give distilling a try and began working on the project three years ago.
Zoom in: Short Creek Spirits, which has both a distillery and tasting room, offers vodka and gin — their flagship product, Hammon said.
- He called it a "really nice, easy-drinking gin" that's been well-received by enthusiasts and casual drinkers alike.
Zoom out: Short Creek Spirits' products are still mostly available only locally, but they're expanding — at Buckskin Tavern in Fredonia, on the other side of the state line from Kanab, Utah, they're experimenting with the distillery's liquors for cocktails and selling them by the bottle.
- Buckskin Tavern owner Taylor Sandstrom tells Axios his bar serves a White Russian variation using Short Creek vodka, and he's experimenting with a cocktail using their gin as well.
- Sandstrom said Short Creek Spirits' products have been popular at his bar. People like to support local businesses, there's some novelty for tourists, and the liquor is good, so it sells itself.
- He described the gin as "juniper-forward without being sappy," saying it goes well in lemonade with a sprig of mint.
The intrigue: Colorado City wasn't always so amenable to alcohol-focused businesses like breweries, wineries and distilleries.
- Hammon said the then-FLDS-controlled town council initially rejected approval for his brewery. He said the mayor read a prohibitionist poem at the meeting.
- Flash forward: The brewery now hosts weekly poetry nights that end with the same poem, he said.
Yes, but: As FLDS control has loosened in recent years — "political regime change" brought a "more open, secular setup," Hammon said — and the town has changed.
- And there's a sizable non-FLDS community as well, including Hammon, who's 36 and has lived in Colorado City his entire life.
- Hammon noted there's now a brewery, winery, coffee roaster, large grocery store and a new restaurant on the Utah side.
What's next: Short Creek Spirits rum is on the way — they're "still kind of working through the kinks," Hammon said — and whiskey will follow.
- And if Hammon's track record holds, each bottle will mark another step in Colorado City's unlikely reinvention.
- Short Creek Spirits is seeking distributors to bring their products elsewhere in Arizona and beyond.
The bottom line: "Colorado City is open for business, and it's a place that's also open to visit," Hammon said.