Dented Brick Distillery
Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dented Brick is an artisan distillery making spirits from grain-to-glass, producing authentic spirits and with them, adding a new chapter to the surprisingly rich story of distilling in Utah. They locally-source organic raw grains and ferment the grains with snow melt from the Wasatch mountains that flows through sand and limestone to their artesian well, shedding impurities and attracting the minerals that make the pure and rich taste of their spirits possible.
Dented Brick was founded by Marc Christensen in 2015. After an exhaustive search to find the right site for his new distillery, Marc struck gold in finding a property owned by a family of well drillers with its own artesian well on site. An artesian well differs from a regular well in that water flows under natural pressure without pumping. In this case, the well on site is drilled down 300 feet through the rock below the property. Everything with distilling starts with the water, and the water from their well is perfectly suited for just this purpose. Marc says “Our water is amazing. We like to say this years’ snow is next year’s whiskey. Our artesian well supplies us with amazing clean water full of mineral. Our water starts as snow, and after the winter, as it begins to melt, travel from the high Wasatch mountains thousands of feet down to the valley floor of the Great Salt Lake. This water disappears through the salty playa of the valley floor, penetrating the Great Basin’s porous alkali loam, and travels to replenish a deep aquifer filled with minerals from the historic Lake Bonneville. These minerals are priceless for fermentation, and form some of the unique esters and textures that are present in our spirits. Our well allows us to make spirts that are unique only to our facility.
If the well wasn’t enough, after further research they discovered their property was owned by none other than Hugh Moon, Utah’s first distiller of record who was distilling there as far back as 1857. Dented Brick is named in honor of the well driller that was responsible for the artesian well that is located at the distillery. The well driller was killed in a blazing gunfight that left impressions in the bricks of house that located on the property when they purchased it. To honor the well driller, some of those “dented bricks” were incorporated into the new distillery building and lent themselves to the name of the distillery.
The distilling at Dented Brick is currently overseen by Harley Norwood who came on board at Dented Brick after working as a distiller at High West for the last eight years. With both a Vendome copper still as a well as a 28 foot tall column still, they’re able to fit each spirit they produce to the still most suited for the process.
Wines
Antelope Island Red Barrel Aged Rum
Varietal:
Color: Brown
Farming Practice:
Made from organic green sugarcane juice from Lula Farm Belle Rose, Louisiana and a touch of molasses from the same source. Sugar and molasses are mashed and blended with their artesian well water. The fermentation yields a 9% ABV wash which is then distilled in a Vendome copper pot still. Brought to 90 proof (45% ABV) with artesian, limestone-filtered water from their on-site well. The rum is then transferred to used Cabernet oak barrels to age for 3-4 years. Aging in wine barrels creates compelling aromas and flavors of cola candies, cinnamon red hots, marzipan, spumoni, and caramel syrup.
Antelope Island Rum
Varietal:
Color: Clear
Farming Practice:
Made from organic green sugarcane juice from Lula Farm Belle Rose, Louisiana and a touch of molasses from the same source. Sugar and molasses are mashed and blended with their artesian well water. The fermentation yields a 9% ABV wash which is then distilled in a Vendome copper pot still. Brought to 80 proof (40% ABV) with artesian, limestone-filtered water from their on-site well. On the nose, it’s very reminiscent of a rhum agricole and on the palate one finds the flavors associated with molasses based rums.
Great Basin Bristlecone Gin
Varietal:
Color: Clear
Farming Practice:
Base spirit is made with organic, non-GMO 50% red winter wheat and 50% Pumpernickel rye from the Cache Valley on the Utah-Idaho border. Pot distilled gin produced via cold maceration of juniper, Bristlecone pine tree tips (foraged in Utah), citrus and fresh botanicals. Botanicals are extracted through cold maceration and re-distilled over four plates in their pot still. Brought to 90 proof (45% ABV) with artesian, limestone-filtered water from their on-site well.
Moon’s Best Straight Rye Whiskey
Varietal:
Color: Brown
Farming Practice:
Made with organic, non-GMO rye from the Cache Valley on the Utah-Idaho border. Unmalted rye is mashed to approximately 9% ABV. The fermented mash is then stripped in a Vendome column still then distilled in a 500 gallon Vendome pot, then barrel-rested for two years in charred oak barrels. Brought to 90 proof (45% ABV) with artesian, limestone-filtered water from their on-site well.
Premium Craft Gin
Varietal:
Color: Clear
Farming Practice:
85% ABV non-GMO grain neutral spirits of unmatched quality with the ideal organoleptic profile for vodka is sourced and the botanicals- juniper berries, coriander, fennel, citrus peel, and angelica root- are macerated in the spirit at a cold temperature for 48 hours. It is then redistilled to clarify the genever and brought to proof with the most important ingredient — artesian, limestone-filtered water from their on-site well.
Premium Craft Rum
Varietal:
Color: Clear
Farming Practice:
81% ABV Non-GMO light rum base distilled from sugar cane molasses in the US Virgin Islands. Sourced rum is proofed to 80 proof (40% ABV) with the most important ingredient- artesian, limestone-filtered water from their on-site well. Filtered through multiple charcoal filters and bottled.
Premium Craft Vodka
Varietal:
Color: Clear
Farming Practice:
85% ABV non-GMO grain neutral spirits of unmatched quality with the ideal organoleptic profile for vodka is sourced and then proofed to 80 proof (40% ABV) with their artesian, limestone-filtered well water, filtered through multiple charcoal filters and bottled. This mineral-rich water is the key to the unmatched quality for a vodka at this price.
Premium Craft Whiskey
Varietal:
Color: Brown
Farming Practice:
A blend of straight rye and bourbon whiskeys, aged 2+ years. Unmalted rye is mashed to approximately 9% ABV. The fermented mash is then stripped in a Vendome column still then distilled in a 500 gallon Vendome pot, then barrel-rested for two years in charred oak barrels before being blended with sourced straight whiskeys and being brough to proof with the most important ingredient — artesian, limestone-filtered water from their on-site well.
Roofraiser Vodka
Varietal:
Color: Clear
Farming Practice:
Made with organic, non-GMO 50% red winter wheat and 50% Pumpernickel rye from the Cache Valley on the Utah-Idaho border. Process: Mashed and fermented on-site then distilled to 95% ABV across 24 plates in their 28 foot Vendome column still. Lightly filtered with activated coconut shell carbon. Brought to 80 proof (40% ABV) with artesian, limestone-filtered water from their on-site well.