Shane Walker is Montanya Distiller’s Back of House Manager. That means he takes care of behind-the-scenes action that keeps the kitchen running smoothly. Shane makes sure the crew has a clean environment to work in, ensures the quality of food, and sees that everything is plated properly—not to mention double checking that everything is organized and put away properly.  We’re lucky to have him! And excited to introduce him to you: 

Northern Roots and the Big Move South

I’m from Seward Alaska, and I am Alaskan native from the Aleut tribe. My friend and I had decided to move down to Colorado for the winter and try it out.

We drove down from Alaska through Canada during November of 2017. Though it was cold and arduous, it only took us about a week. Shortly after arriving in Colorado, my good friends convinced me to move to the valley. I’ve been here ever since.

Home Away from Home

I stay because I have lots of friends and family in the area. I like to think of Colorado as my home away from home. I think the only thing that Colorado is missing is the ocean. (Editor’s note: we once read that people who live near mountains or the ocean are 5% happier… So if you have both in your life, does that add up to 10%?)

A Love of the Skate Park

I skate board. But not so much anymore due to me breaking my femur at the skate park last fall. This lead me to taking the ski season off this year focus more on my work.

(From owner Karen Hoskin: It is always tough when an employee gets injured doing what they love in the middle of our busy season, but Shane is such a valuable and important part of our team that we leveraged every resource we could to support him. This ranged from our employee accident benefits with AFLAC to temporarily covering Shane’s shifts so he could take time off and come back when he was healed up. We also modified his schedule so he wasn’t on his feet for too long when at first he returned. He has worked so hard for us, it is only fair.)

Favorite Montanya Distillers Cocktail

I enjoy the Wake Up Call. It’s made with vanilla-infused Montanya Platino Rum and Montanya Oro Rum, plus locally roasted First Ascent coffee. I like the fact that it’s made with local coffee that we cold brew. It is a perfect drink to have on a nice sunny day.

Meet more of the crew: