Jimmy Smith pours a drink in the Headframe Spirits taproom.
Can Montana’s big sky, clean waters, and endless fields of bounty be bottled? There are many distilleries that are putting it to the test. With creativity and artistry these purveyors have honed their craft, and time is just making them better as they take the state’s harvest of grains, potatoes, beets, corn, and even apples and turn them into stellar alcoholic spirits.
Headframe Spirits
BUTTE
Named after the gallows frames or “headframes” that still dot Butte’s mining skyline, this authentically cool vertical distillery is the one to visit, especially if you’re a single malt connoisseur. By no coincidence, Headframe is among the largest single malt whiskey distillers west of the Mississippi, capitalizing on their location near America’s choicest malt barley. Their Kelley American Single Malt continues to garner praise in national competitions, helping Headframe win Montana’s American Single Malt Distillery of the Year in 2024. As owner John McKee says, “The grain is here. Why would you want to send it to Tennessee or Indiana?”
Willie’s Distillery
ENNIS
In the tiny trout fishing community of Ennis lies a veteran-owned distillery that wears its stars and stripes on its sleeve. Each award-winning spirit carries a military or Montana-based theme, from their Devil’s Brigade, an American-Canadian whiskey blend that celebrates WWII special forces, to their Montana Moonshine, whose label reports the Madison River’s water flow on the day of distilling. Certainly a go-to destination with community feel, the Willie’s tasting room “embraces our modern Montana lifestyle and our Western roots,” says General Manager Matt Melugin. Sit next to a biker, a hardened local, or even the founder, Willie, but be sure to taste their creations made with Montana chokeberries, huckleberries, and Sheridan honey.
Wildrye Distillery
BOZEMAN
They quietly started making bourbon in 2013 with sweet corn from their family farm in Corvallis. And steadily, without fanfare, Wildrye in Bozeman’s Cannery District has become a formidable name in Montana spirits, highlighting the best of what Montana agriculture has to offer. “We let Montana shine. That’s our passion,” says Managing Partner Sten Anderson, who utilizes Montana grains in the whiskies, Eastern Montana beet sugar in the rum, wild juniper berries in the gin, and honey from Whitehall in the honey gin.
Gulch Distillers
HELENA
Beyond their premium whiskeys, vodka, brandies, and gins, Tyrrell Hibbard and Steffen Rasile, distillers and owners of Gulch Distillers, offer sophisticated fernet, ouzo, and aperitivo. Their velvety Burrone Fernet won the gold medal at the esteemed 2023 World Spirits Competition in San Francisco. “It’s an intersection of art, science, history, and tradition,” says Hibbard of the distilling process. Gulch, located in downtown Helena, resembles a speakeasy, and you can see the duo’s devotion to complex tastes in such buoyant cocktails as their tart Aperitivo Sour, fulfilling Montini, and stinging Widow’s Kiss made with brandy from Bitterroot Valley McIntosh apples.
Dry Hills Distillery
BOZEMAN
If family generations count for something, then Dry Hills Distillery owners Erica and Jeff Droge have a lot on their side. Each bottle they make in their distillery in Bozeman’s four corners is the direct result of six generations of Droge farmers, and they exclusively use their own barley, wheat, rye, potatoes, and corn grown in the dry hills of Manhattan. “Ingredients are key,” Jeff says. “If you’re gonna put the best in, you’ll get the best out.” The result is a colorful and focused selection of well-rounded whiskeys and flavored vodkas.
