Upon entering the Windsor Gardener, the greenhouse introduces itself to you quickly — especially on a July day with triple-digit temperatures.
Despite the mugginess, among the vast space and bevy of plants that can beautify any garden, you’ll find a member of the Weakland family — the heart of the facility at 6461 Colo. 392, which also houses High Hops Brewery and The Heart Distillery
Since 2017, The Heart’s award-winning spirits have brought together friends and families from across Northern Colorado and beyond.
At the beginning of July, The Heart collected more awards from The American Spirits Council of Tasters Awards and Bartender Spirits Awards, an international spirits competition, according to the awards website.
The Heart’s cask strength bourbon was named “Small Batch Bourbon of the Year,” and The Heart’s gin earned a gold medal at the Bartender Spirits Awards. The Bee’s Knees cocktail won a silver medal in the Bartender Spirits Award “Ready to Drink” category, too.
The Heart’s gin was already a multi-award-winning product that won the American Distilling Institute’s Double Gold and Best in Category awards.
Pat and Amanda Weakland opened the Gardener more than 20 years ago, later opening the brewery in 2012 and the distillery in 2017. Pat, a retired dentist, had been a homebrewer before opening the brewery after hearing from friends he should do so.
The distillery was a natural addition, Amanda said, since they had the equipment to start it.
The distilling process takes years, and it takes just as long to learn if all that time and effort paid off.
“When we made that (cask strength) bourbon four, five, years ago…when you make that product, you put your heart and soul into it,” Pat said. “You don’t know how good it’s going to be.”
All the hard work is a labor of family love for the Weaklands. Zach, their son and head distiller, and Rachel Weakland-Lewis, their daughter, marketer and bookkeeper, grew up working in the greenhouse. As the family works together daily, the line between work and personal life can become thin.
“We work a lot, all of us,” Amanda and Rachel said in unison.
However, just like their award-winning gin, beers and bourbon, the Weakland family has found the right blend for success when it comes to working with family.
“It’s cool to have a goal as a family,” Rachel said. “We’re kind of on the same page with the same end goal, and that’s really fun to be able to work together in that kind of way. That’s pretty special.”
Not only is the family proud to work together, but they’re also proud of their Northern Colorado roots. The family has been in the state for generations, and they use local ingredients for all of their beers and spirits. Moreover, the family is proud to let everyone know all their work is done on-site. From brewing to distilling, the family prides itself on doing all the work in Windsor.
“(We’re) hyper-local,” Rachel said.
The way things are going, this month’s awards won’t be the last the family and staff receive.
And even though their products are sold across the state in 300-400 liquor stores and restaurants, the family doesn’t plan to expand with any new brick-and-mortar locations. Why?
“Because this is where our Heart is,” Zach said.
To see a full menu of drinks and events, go to theheartdistillery.com or highhopsbrewery.com.