Alfred Stieglitz was a pioneer in his field. Not only was he instrumental in photography being accepted as a legitimate art form, alongside painting and sculpture, he started what became an internationally famous art gallery located in Manhattan at 291 Fifth Avenue. More commonly known as 291, it became famous for exhibiting those at the forefront of modern art at the time. Though early exhibitions showcased photography and its many mediums, Stieglitz soon boldly leaned into his aesthetic and expanded to present works from Picasso and Matisse as well as an exhibit on African tribal art.
291 became more than just a space; it became a movement.
For Michael Myers, 291 started out as a dorm room number.
Myers attended school in Georgia for photography before heading out to New York to put his degree to work. For a fashion and beauty photographer in New York, Stieglitz and 291 were the stuff of legends. He excelled in his artform and had a successful fashion photography career in New York City, with notable clients like Vanity Fair, Estee Lauder and Ralph Lauren.
As with any good story, there is generally a catalyst. Myers and his family lived in an apartment three blocks away from Ground Zero on September 11, 2001.
A Change
That infamous day prompted a move to Colorado Springs to be closer to family. In the beginning, Myers was still commuting for his job, but soon that became quite taxing. With plenty of time on the plane during the commute, Myers came across an article about the distillers of Hendrick’s Gin and Sailor Jerry Rum. That article stirred something in him and the obsession began.
As a child, Myers was raised around horses in Georgia and Tennessee, spending summers and Christmases in California with his mom. He recalls always being drawn to western things. While being raised around English saddle horses, he chose to ride western. He remembers Saturday morning cartoons were great, but the real treat were the westerns, like Little House on the Prairie, that came on afterward.
He began voraciously consuming books, YouTube videos and documentaries on distilling. He kept notebooks with bits and pieces he gleaned from his research. Within a few months, the book learning had taken him as far as he could go without creating a hands-on experience for himself. He rented space and obtained a distiller’s license; all he needed was a still.
Whiskey as Art
Having just left the photography industry, Myers took a number of copper photogravure plates he had around to mold the new still, effectively marrying his old career with his new. The imprints of the plates he chose are still visible on the still, making it its own piece of art. The first batch of whiskey that was pulled from that still was pulled on September 11, 2011, an ode to the catalyst of Myers’ original journey. This copper still, also called a thumper, is not only still in use—every bottle of whiskey that comes out of the 291 Distillery is run though this work of art.
Call it sentimentality or his photographer’s eye for detail, but every element of Myers’s whiskey seems to be intentional. In honor of his new start and new home in Colorado Springs, the whiskey is finished with toasted Aspen tree staves from a friend’s land. They are charred on a Weber grill out back of the distillery. The corn and barley are both sourced from Colorado. Each bottle is filled and corked by hand. Each label is printed in-house on a 1940s model letterpress by Charles Sjolander, a 40-year veteran of the trade. The letterpress plates for the labels are created using a font of Myers’ handwriting. Each label is then placed by hand onto the bottle. And lastly, each cork is caged by hand with a tool developed by a frequent bottler to create consistency in the look.
Why the cage, you ask?
Little House on the Prairie was one of Myers’ favorite westerns as a child. He reminisces about an episode where the characters are transporting nitroglycerin and the jars were caged to prevent an unwanted incident. That image stuck with him, and he decided that in transporting his own version of a high-proof compound, he wanted it caged.
But is it Good?
Myers’ first two recipes are written down in the aforementioned notebook that housed all of the notes from his self-guided research. Those two recipes are still in use as 291’s flagship whiskeys and have only changed by about 1 percent on the current mash bill. They both won gold on their spirit competition debut, and they have only added to the awards since.
Where Kentucky and Tennessee hold the foundations of bourbon in the United States, Colorado is creating a name for itself in the spirits scene. 291 has not only carved out its own space, but is doing its part to lead the movement, much like its namesake.
291 Distillery invites you to pull up to the standing bar at the tasting room and request your own whiskey, much like they did in the westerns. Sip and savor a piece of Colorado’s version of the wild west, where the devil is in the details and whiskey is revered, but not precious.
“As long as you are drinking 291, I am happy,” says Myers.
Website: https://distillery291.com/
Facebook + Instagram: @Distillery291
Address + Phone: 4242 N. Nevada Ave. || 719-323-8010