Call Center Company in Arvada, CO

A Colorado whiskey was crowned America’s best at an international spirits competition, beating out hundreds of other liquors for the title.

Talnua Distillery in Arvada was awarded the top whiskey accolade from the American Distilling Institute’s 2025 International Spirits Competition, which announced its winners on Wednesday. Its Bourbon Cask & Stave Series Whiskey was awarded the highest marks in the category, earning the title of America’s Greatest Whiskey 2025.

Competition director Eric Zandona said 290 whiskeys were entered into this year’s contest, though that number includes recipes from across the world. In all, 700 spirits were entered into the competition, which started in 2007.

RELATED: 10 breweries and distilleries to visit in Colorado right now, including Talnua Distillery

Judges evaluate flights of spirits based on their overall quality and taste, assigning each one a score from 0 to 100. Spirits that score 90 points or more earn a gold medal, and judges can award a double gold if they believe the liquor is exemplary in its style (i.e. bourbon, single malt, rye, etc.). Those that earn both gold and double gold medals get considered for the “best in class” honor. Only one gets crowned the greatest among its category (i.e. vodka, gin, whiskey, agave, etc.).

Taluna’s spirit rose above all other whiskeys, across all the different styles, that were made stateside. The distillery is unique in that it uses a pot still method, similar to many Irish whiskeys. That method requires the use of a copper pot still and a distinct mash bill, which is half malted barley and half unmalted barley. The unmalted barley plays prominently in the flavor profile of Talnua’s various whiskeys, as well as its house-made gins.

The Bourbon Cask & Stave Series Whiskey, specifically, is aged in former bourbon barrels for three years along with charred oak staves, giving it bright floral, new mown hay, and vanilla bean notes, according to the distillery’s website. Patrick Miller, Talnua’s founder and master distiller, said by email that introducing the staves creates complexity in the flavor beyond what a single cask can offer.

“As a Colorado distillery rooted in tradition and driven by curiosity, it means a lot to be recognized among such respected peers. Honors like this don’t come around often, especially for smaller teams like ours, and we’re grateful,” Miller added in his statement.

Talnua also earned a gold medal for its American White Oak Cask Bottled in Bond whiskey, and a silver for its Old Saint’s Keep whiskey released in 2025. But it wasn’t the only local distiller to bring home awards.

RELATED: This Colorado whiskey was just named America’s best single malt

Stranahan’s in Denver earned five medals total, including two double-gold, two gold and one silver; Pullman Distillery in Frisco brought home two bronze medals; Littleton’s Rocker Spirits collected two silvers; and Salida Distillery garnered one silver and one bronze.

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Originally Published: May 14, 2025 at 6:00 AM MDT

Snoopy, Charlie Brown, a rainbow dragon and countless sharks were flying high over Arvada, but the occasion wasn’t an animator’s fever dream — rather, it was the 20th Annual Arvada Kite Festival.

This year’s festivities saw a record-setting number of people come out to Stenger Sports Complex on April 13, as 12,000 kite flyers attended the free event, topping the previous attendance high of 10,000 that was set last year.

One hundred vendors and 13 food trucks made sure that attendees were well-fed and hydrated, and demos by the Rocky Mountain Kite Association were a highlight of the day. New this year was a Nerf zone, so kids had an outlet besides kite flying if they wanted a change of pace.

Layla Diaz, Arvada’s events assistant, said that while the event has changed a lot over the years, she’s glad to see it still going strong.

“It’s grown from a very small idea to a very large event,” Diaz said. “We’ve had a lot of (Arvada Festival) Commission members come in and out as their term expires, and they’ve just been trying to get more ideas into the event, try to include a lot of family friendly activities.

“We’ve also kind of shifted the map a little, so there’s more kite flying on the east side of the field, and then the west side is where our vendors are moving,” Diaz said.

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Everyone who’s known Barb Stolte agrees on one thing — she’s always working to make her community better.

Since moving to Arvada from southern Illinois in 1960, Stolte had made her mark on numerous aspects in the community, including local schools, the Arvada Harvest Festival, the faith community — and this very newspaper. Now, she is the 2024 Woman of the Year.

“The reason this award exists is because of amazing people like Barb,” Arvada Visitors Center Executive Director Jean Gordon said. “She wants to help because she can and knows how to get things done…not because there might be any sort of recognition for it.”

Stolte’s community work began in 1973, when she got involved in the PTA at Secrest Elementary, where she helped put on the school’s first book fairs, which were not common at the time, she said. Stolte then helped establish a scholarship fund for Secrest students (which is still awarded today) and a program to facilitate extra programming within the district called EXCEL.

“It was a program to help teachers and the schools for extracurricular activities,” Stolte said. “Like if they wanted to take a field trip to the zoo or if they needed someone to come and do something about science or whatever, because teachers don’t have time to do that. So, that’s what we did.”

Soon after, Stolte started working for local orthodontist Sam Callender, where she started the company’s first-ever computer system. After a short spell working as a realtor for her father-in-law’s company, Stolte caught the bug that would dictate the next few decades of her professional pursuits, marketing.

Stolte’s first role in a long career in newspapers came at the Arvada Sentinel at a time when she was unfamiliar with the business.

“Prior to that, I didn’t know anything about newspapers at all,” Stolte said. “And they said, ‘Yeah, but you know how to organize a sales staff.’ Then I said, ‘Okay, guys, you’re gonna teach me. I don’t know what column inches (are). You teach me about a newspaper, and I’ll help you increase sales.’ And that’s what we did.”

From there — thanks in part to the nature of the newspaper industry — Stolte moved around between a slew of papers as publications merged and were sold. All told, she worked for the Lakewood Sentinel, Wheat Ridge Transcript, Golden Transcript, Westminster Window, Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel and others in addition to the Arvada Sentinel. Eventually, she ended up working for Colorado Community Media, serving as marketing director for a collection of papers that spanned from the Denver metro area to near Colorado Springs.

“It was crazy,” Stolte said. “I put thousands of miles on my car running around.”

Erin Addenbrooke, CCM’s director of sales, credits Stolte’s feverish work ethic for how Stolte accomplished such a significant workload.

“Since I met Barb, many, many years ago, I gave her the nickname of the energizer bunny,” Addenbrooke said. “She never stops! Knowing everyone in her community and always the first to show up to help or support. Barb is truly deserving of this honor as she is one of the most caring, loyal people I get the honor to say is my friend.”

Toward the end of her tenure with CCM, Stolte worked for the Adams County papers with Metro North Editor Scott Taylor, who said her familiarity with the local communities helped her be a successful marketing team member.

“Barb is a delight, an eternally busy and cheerful force who seemingly knows everyone in Arvada and Westminster and just a little bit about every issue and important matter,” Taylor said. “She’s always been a great friend and so kind.”

After Stolte’s husband passed away in 2020, she began looking for opportunities outside of the newspaper world and found herself involved in her local faith community at the Arvada United Methodist Church.

For the past few years, she’s worked with AUMC to help Title I schools in Jefferson County provide school supplies and host teacher appreciation events. The church’s initiatives also include feeding teachers during parent-teacher conferences and putting on clothing drives during the cold weather months.

“This winter, when it got super cold in January, we did a cold weather clothing drive,” Stolte said. “We got over three 350 coats. We got gloves, hats, socks and got them delivered in a two-week period of time.

“Lawrence (Elementary) got rid of 100 coats the first day,” Stolte continued. “I mean, it’s cold. The parents were walking to the school, no coat and stuff like that. And so, we had coats for the whole family. We just, she put them on racks and just let them if they needed a coat, a hat, gloves.”

Her work with AUMC extends to other initiatives as well, including putting on the Dickens Christmas event at the church every winter. Stolte has also worked with local organizations including Ralston House, the Arvada Visitors Center and La Patisserie Francaise.

Amy Gearhart, lead pastor at AUMC, said Stolte is always looking for a situation she can help out in.

““Barb always leaves situations and people better than she finds them,” Gearhart said. “Her servant heart not only responds to peoples’ needs but seeks them out.

“She is a beautiful connector who enriches the lives of those served as well as those who have the privilege of serving, whether it be school children who need winter coats, older adults who want to make a difference in their community, or youth whom she cheers on,” Gearhart continued. “She is a true leader and gift to our faith community and the entire community of Arvada and beyond.”

Sadie Russo, the chief croissant officer at La Pâtisserie Française, said that when Stolte found out she won Woman of the Year, she was in disbelief. Nevertheless, Russo said Stolte is the perfect person to win the award.

“She is always working on something within the community and she’s humble about it,” Russo said. “When she called me to tell me she won, she told me she knew many of the past winners and felt like she didn’t deserve to be on the same award list as them. She is truly deserving!”

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