In late 2019 something pretty epic happened at Montanya: we launched Valentia, a new, limited release rum that celebrates the progress women have made in distilling. We expected the first run to last for six months, but Valentia has been such a hit that we sold out in less than six weeks!

If you’ve fallen in love or you’re still hoping to try some, don’t worry. We have more finishing barrels on the way from Catoctin Creek, and we anticipate releasing another run in late February or early March. In the meantime, we rearranged our distribution schedule to see us through the interim. While it does mean some wait time, we’re thrilled that Valentia has been so well received—as we explain below, it has special meaning at Montanya.

Limited release Valentia from Montanya Distillers. Photo by Nathan Bilow.

Over four years ago, Montanya distiller Renee Newton distilled some beautiful rum at our home base in Crested Butte. It has been aging ever since, and a few months ago, we transferred it to finish in Catoctin Creek Rye barrels (distilled by Becky Harris). The result is a single barrel, double maturation rum that we adds a new flavor profile to the Montanya lineup.

We bottled Valentia on November 19, 2019 with a female crew and released it in Crested Butte on Friday, November 22nd at the Montanya Tasting Room and on December 9th in Denver, at Cuba Cuba (photos below).

Montanya distiller Renee Newton, who distilled Valentia, with Montanya founder and owner Karen Hoskin. Photo by Nathan Bilow

We called this new rum Valentia, which means “courage, bravery, grit” in Spanish, and here’s what makes it so special: it is female distilled in a female-owned distillery, finished in a barrel that comes from a female-owned and female-distilled Rye, and was bottled by a female crew.

We love Montanya’s new Valentia so much we took it out for family portraits. Photo by Nathan Bilow.

Valentia is our celebration of the progress women have made in becoming legitimate participants in the craft distilling process from start to finish. Owners, founders, distillers, managers, bottlers, promoters, bartenders, forklift drivers… Although our numbers are still small, they are growing.

Valentia is finished in a Catoctin Creek Rye barrel. Photo by Karen Hoskin.

We got tired of talking about the challenges of running a female-led company in the alcohol beverage space and decided to flip the script instead. Over eleven years of running a rum distillery, our founder Karen Hoskin has proven (as have her peers) that women have the capacity to take a hard road, with much discrimination, and turn it into something beautiful: Valentia!

While it is a limited release, we will continue to make more (with the original distiller Renee Newton), and have plans in place to expand distribution beyond Colorado. The suggested retail value is $54.99 a bottle. A great rum purchase for anyone who believes, like we do, that diverse environments are the best places to work!

We will also make an ongoing donation from the proceeds to the Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation, which provides scholarships and awards for the purpose of helping women advance in the alcohol beverage industry through education, leadership, and professional development. For more information about the Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation, visit womenofthevine.com/foundation.