RoughStock Montana Whiskey

Nestled at the base of the Bridger Mountain Range in beautiful south-western Montana,
RoughStock Distillery is quietly hand crafting the:

“First Best Whiskey in the Last Best Place.”

Owned and operated by Bryan and Kari Schultz who originally met in Bozeman and have worked toward their dream of starting and operating their own family business:

Montana’s first, and only, legal whiskey distillery… EVER!

RoughStock Distillery is a dream come true. a small craft distillery using 100% local ingredients for a product that is unique to the region.

The location of RoughStock Distillery was carefully planned The purity of Montana’s snow-capped mountains feed the pristine high-elevation streams and rivers that serve as a foundation for the Montana Whiskey.

The 250-gallon copper pot still was custom designed and manufactured by Vendome Copper and Brass Works in Louisville, Kentucky to the distillers specifications. Vendome is of the few manufacturers in the world that make quality distilling equipment for the likes of larger well-known whiskey distilleries as well as supplying the craft distillers .

RoughStock Montana Whiskey is made from Montana-grown and malted barley, water from freshwater streams fed by mountain snowmelt, yeast, time in a toasted and charred virgin oak barrel, and treated to a fair dose of Johnny Cash when time allows.

All batches are made by hand, from grinding the grain to bottling at the distillery carefully scrutinized for excellence. With No automation. No fancy gimmicks. No outside resources.

A guide to the back label of RoughStock Montana Whiskey:

Each bottle of RoughStock is hand numbered with the batch number, bottle number, bottling date, and the individual who took the time and care to put the whiskey in that bottle. This is for traceability and a reference for the unique flavour of that particular batch.

Does that mean every batch tastes different? The short answer is no, but the reality is that there will always be some minute variability. Many distilleries blend their whiskey to maintain a level of continuity; This distillery embraces the individualism of each batch.

There are several factors that effect the taste of the whiskey:

Grain variety and growing season;

Barrel selection and the natural elements of the particular oak trees that made that barrel;

size, toast, and char levels of the barrels;

seasonal water table fluctuations;

temperature of the stored barrels;

evaporation or the “angel’s share” as it is called;

the high pressure/low pressure systems that frequent the mountain region pushing the whiskey in and out of the barrel staves.

Each one of those factors, among others, will impart their own elements on the final whiskey. The distillery takes pride in the fact that even though the process is the same week in and week out, mother nature has her own plans for the taste on the final product that they cannot fully control. That’s why the batch number is written on the label.

According to the distillery.

“The whiskey age should be seen as a number and nothing more. When a whiskey is fully matured and the distiller/blender/staff make that determination based on what flavour profile they are after it is ready no matter if it is 30 days old or 30 years old.

The largest contributor to aging whiskey is the contact with the wood followed by the environmental factors discussed earlier. With our carefully selected and handcrafted barrels coupled with the erratic local weather patterns, we can fully mature a whiskey in a very short time. This is in no way a shortcut on quality or maturity, simply the way in which our whiskey matures in our unique mountain environment.

Rest assured that our whiskey stays in those barrels until our staff determines it has reached the level of perfection needed for RoughStock Montana Whiskey.”

The First Best Whiskey in The Last Best Place! We hope you agree…"