Ryan Thompson

“Honoring Mountain Soldiers”

In the mountains of Vail, Colorado, a whiskey brand was built not only on grains and oak, but on military history and personal devotion. Ryan Thompson, founder of 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Company, did not choose his distillery’s name for marketing effect. He chose it as a tribute. Though not a veteran himself, he had deep admiration for the division’s legacy and for friends who served. When he founded his distillery in 2014, he named it 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Company as a direct tribute to those soldiers. To this day, the company maintains close ties with 10th Mountain Division veterans’ associations, regularly donating proceeds to military support organizations.

As Ryan explains it, the 10th Mountain Division was an elite U.S. Army unit formed during World War II, trained specifically in alpine combat. Based at Camp Hale, Colorado, the division became known for its grueling mountaineering drills, skiing proficiency, and fierce resilience. After the war, many veterans of the division went on to establish America’s ski industry, founding or influencing resorts like Vail, Aspen, and Arapahoe Basin. Their legacy in Colorado is etched into both military and recreation history.

Before entering the whiskey world, Thompson earned a degree in Business Management from the University of Texas at Austin. He later moved to Vail, where he worked in real estate development and hospitality management. Whiskey was a personal passion long before it became a business pursuit. He began experimenting with distillation concepts and flavor comparisons, studying rye, bourbon, and wheated whiskey profiles across various regions. Coming from a recreational ski town rich with après culture, he saw an opportunity to build a whiskey brand that reflected both Colorado heritage and military reverence.

In 2014, Thompson officially launched 10th Mountain Whiskey in Vail, initially building a tasting room on Bridge Street in Vail Village, followed by a production facility in Gypsum, Colorado. From the outset, he focused on American-style whiskeys, including Bourbon, Rye, and a blended American whiskey. While the distillery produces vodka and brandy, Thompson has consistently emphasized whiskey as the identity and backbone of the company.

Thompson’s flagship 10th Mountain Bourbon features a mash bill with corn, rye, and malted barley, aged in charred American oak. His rye whiskey, using a high-rye grain profile, is noted for its peppery heat and herbal finish, placing it stylistically closer to East Coast or Indiana-style rye rather than traditional low-rye Kentucky blends. Both of the whiskeys began gaining recognition at regional competitions, earning awards from organizations such as the Denver International Spirits Competition and San Francisco World Spirits Competition.