High West Distillery sits on a sprawling 4,000-acre ranch in the mountains east of Park City, Utah, about 36 miles from Salt Lake City. Founded in 2006 by David Perkins, a former biochemist who left his corporate career to chase his whiskey dreams, High West was Utah’s first legal distillery since Prohibition and the world’s only ski-in gastro-distillery. The operation moved from its original Saloon location in Park City to this massive ranch facility in Wanship in 2015, where they built a 30,000-square-foot distillery and visitor center that can produce up to 1.6 million proof gallons annually. Perkins started High West after falling in love with American whiskey and realizing Utah’s high altitude and temperature swings could create unique aging conditions. The name comes from the Old West saloon tradition where ‘High West’ meant the best whiskey in the house. What began as a small operation focused on sourcing and blending aged whiskeys has evolved into a full production distillery under master distiller Brendan Coyle, who joined from Maker’s Mark. They’re known for their innovative approach to blending different whiskey styles and their commitment to eventually producing everything from their own distillate. The ranch experience combines serious whiskey production with Western hospitality. You’ll find copper pot stills from Forsyths in Scotland, a grain-to-glass operation that sources corn from Utah farms, and aging warehouses where mountain weather does the work. The facility includes multiple tasting rooms, a restaurant, event spaces, and those famous mountain views that make every Instagram shot look like a whiskey ad. They’re not just making whiskey here—they’re building what Perkins calls ‘the Napa Valley of whiskey’ in the Utah mountains.