A Perfect Blend: Leopold Bros. Distillery + Colorado National Monument

Leopold Bros., a Denver-based distillery, is all about sustainability. Founded and operated by brothers Scott and Todd Leopold, the 30-year-old company’s first iteration was as a “zero-pollution” brewery in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Todd Leopold came to the business with a degree in malting and brewing, while Scott Leopold is an environmental engineer who saw firsthand the significant wastewater impacts of brewing and wanted to develop effective mitigation processes.

Sustainability is sometimes bandied about as a buzzword, but at Leopold Bros., the commitment is real and runs deep in the family’s blood. Proud descendants of American conservationist Aldo Leopold, whose writings shaped modern wildlife and land management, the brothers were raised in Colorado, where their father worked for forestry and public lands agencies. Summers were spent, as Scott Leopold recalls, “in the back of a 1970 Ford Galaxy driving to see national parks, forests and monuments. We were exposed to all that our wonderful country has to offer.”

This summer, Leopold Bros. is taking their commitment to public lands a step further, collaborating with Colorado National Monument Association (CNMA) to release a special edition bourbon with 10% of all proceeds donated to CNMA to support the Colorado National Monument.

The partnership came about following a fortuitous meeting at a Western Slope whiskey tasting. At the event, David Driscoll, Leopold Bros. sales and marketing director, met Johanna van Waveren, executive director of CNMA, who encouraged him to visit the Colorado National Monument before leaving the area.

“I got up at 6 a.m. and had the most transformative experience, taking in the views, the way the sunlight interplayed with the rocks, and the incredible bighorn sheep that came right up to my car,” explains Driscoll.

By the time Driscoll returned to Denver, he’d devised a plan. “We’re one of the most environmentallyfriendly distilleries in the world and everything we do is in concert with nature,” he shares, adding that teaming up with CNMA would be something “everyone in Colorado could get excited about.”

Hikers participate in a CNMA Walk and Talk, one of the Monument’s free educational programs.

Scott and Todd Leopold agreed and are presenting a unique blend of bourbons, aged in a super-sized tank called a foeder. Scott Leopold shares that the whiskey, which is part of the Leopold Bros. Foeder Series, CNMA Edition, will be “a traditional bourbon, with a hint of sweetness, with characteristics of the barrel behind it. It will be a uniquely complex whiskey.” 1,500 bottles will be available at independent retailers and online liquor stores via a link at leopoldbros.com.

CNMA’s van Waveren is delighted with the partnership and grateful to have additional resources with which to support Colorado National Monument’s mission. “We feel really lucky that Leopold Bros., which makes incredible whiskey, decided to do something to benefit the Colorado National Monument and increase visibility for CNMA,” van Waveren says. “Everybody’s going to be excited about it.”

Originally published in the summer 2025 issue of Spoke+Blossom.