DISTILLING

SPIRITS OF THE WASATCH
Crafting Gin with a Taste of Utah

By Heather L. King | Photography by Spenser Heaps

SPIRITS OF THE WASATCH HAS BECOME A RISING STAR in Utah’s craft spirits scene. Purchased by Brent and Jennica Pounds two years ago as Hammer Spring Distillers, the couple’s passion for regional flavors is reflected in one of their best-selling spirits, High Mountain Desert Gin. 

Gin is often the first product a distillery produces while it awaits the readiness of others such as whiskey. The couple wanted to take the original product from Hammer Springs and turn it into something spectacular.

The couple distilled and taste-tested new recipes to craft a spirit that’s as wild and rugged as Utah’s high-desert mountains. Using locally foraged key ingredients and small-batch craftsmanship, Spirits of the Wasatch captures the essence of the region in every bottle of mountain-foraged High Mountain Desert Gin. 

At its core, gin is all about botanicals, and Brent realized that Utah’s landscape is rich with wild juniper. 

“The inspiration behind High Mountain Desert Gin’s flavor profile comes from the experience of the high mountain desert after a rainfall,” Brent explains. “What you smell would be pinyon pines and forest floor. You get kind of an earthy, almost sweet smell, and then you get a botanical, piney note from the sagebrush and the juniper and pinyon pines. And that’s what we are looking to replicate.”

To get the spirit he and Jennica wanted, Brent took a botanicals course at Moonshine University in Louisville, Kentucky and continued consulting with his instructor and professional distiller Clay Smith to fine-tune the gin recipe.

They also work with a botanist who is the head of research and development for one of Utah’s major essential oil companies, and whose permits allow him to harvest wild botanicals. “So, we get a lot of our botanicals from locally grown sources, and that includes native juniper berries,” Brent says. “As far as I know, we’re the only local gin using native and local botanicals.”

Unfortunately, “most juniper that grows in Utah doesn’t taste very good, but there’s a particular species of juniper that only grows above 8500 feet that does.” The harvesting process involves individually hand-picking the ripe juniper berries off the tree. Those berries are then blended with traditional European juniper and a native, thujone-free sagebrush. “It has a flavor profile very reminiscent of traditional sage,” explains Brent. 

The result? High Mountain Desert Gin tastes like the Wasatch Mountains — earthy, aromatic, and refreshingly crisp. The spirit is a love letter to the natural beauty and rugged terrain of the Wasatch, with each bottle reflecting the desert landscape through a carefully curated selection of botanicals common to the area. With notes of sage, white pepper, and rosemary, this uniquely Utah gin comes directly from the land that inspired it, making it worthy of a prominent place on every Utah bar cart.

Spirits of the Wasatch’s High Mountain Desert Gin and Barrel Rested Gin are crafted with balance in mind. While juniper is the star, it’s not the only flavor profile. Along with mountain sage, nine savory and spicy botanicals create layers of complexity. The result is a smooth, nuanced, and versatile spirit that stands beautifully on its own or mixed into a cocktail.

For the Barrel Rested Gin, High Mountain Desert Gin is barrel-aged for at least eight months in used rye whiskey barrels to impart its soft golden color and subtle vanilla, caramel, and allspice notes.  

Spirits of the Wasatch joins the larger craft movement that’s embracing the terroir of Utah — including using local grains and herbal flavors — and putting the Beehive State on the map of artisanal spirits.

Look for Spirits of the Wasatch gins as well as other products at select DABS liquor stores, bars, and restaurants throughout Utah. For those who want the full experience, a visit to the distillery offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process with Brent, along with a taste of the Wasatch.