From the Idaho Highlands to the Gulf Coast: Warfield Distillery Brings Its American Single Malt to Sarasota
There is a moment that comes to certain people when they step inside a truly exceptional distillery — a moment when the smell of fermenting grain, the copper glow of the stills, and the weight of what is being made all converge into something that demands action. For Dustin Curtis, a Longboat Key resident and vice president of Interstate Holdings, a Sarasota-based commercial real estate and investment company, that moment arrived in the mountains of Ketchum, Idaho, inside Warfield Distillery and Brewery.
"I get chills just thinking about it," Curtis says of the tour with Warfield Distillery co-founder Alex Buck. "It made that much of an impression, and we knew we had to back it." The result of that conviction is now making its way to Florida. Interstate Holdings acquired Warfield in June 2024, and Curtis took on a position as vice president with the spirit-producing business as well. Now, he is excited that his own backyard of Sarasota will serve as the introductory city for Warfield to expand distribution to Florida.
As Curtis puts it plainly: "We have not been in Florida at all yet, so this is a fresh launch." For a distillery that has quietly built one of the most decorated organic spirits portfolios in the American West, a Florida debut — beginning right where its investment partners call home — is a calculated and symbolic first step.
A Distillery Born in the Heart of the Idaho Highlands
Established in 2015 in Ketchum, Idaho, Warfield was founded alongside a brewpub with a vision of producing both handcrafted beer and certified organic spirits that reflect the rugged mountain landscape surrounding Sun Valley. The building itself carries history — the Warfield was started on a Main Street building that was once the Roosevelt Grille and before that Slavey's. That sense of place, of permanence, runs through every bottle Warfield produces.
Warfield Distillery and Brewery was founded by Ben Bradley and Alex Buck in Ketchum, Idaho, and saw a significant expansion in 2020, adding two 1,000-gallon copper pot stills. The physical expansion matched the ambition already embedded in the operation. Set in the mountain town of Ketchum, Warfield has been crafting award-winning and certified organic spirits since 2015, with everything done in-house, distilled in Scottish copper pot stills, including vodka, gin, barrel-aged gin, and whiskey. The operation also includes a brewery with six house-brewed beers and a full-service restaurant.
Elevation as Ingredient
Most distilleries claim their environment shapes their product, but few can point to the raw physics of altitude the way Warfield can. At 5,840 feet, the distillery sits in a climate built for whiskey. Pristine, mineral-balanced water from the Wood River softens the spirit and lifts nuanced notes of cocoa, grain, and coffee. Locally grown Idaho barley layers in nutty, toasty, honeyed fruit richness. And the elevation does the rest — low humidity and dramatic temperature swings force barrels to expand and contract with intensity, accelerating flavor development and deepening character.
This is not marketing copy — it is barrel science. The more dramatic the temperature fluctuation between seasons and even between day and night, the more aggressively a spirit moves in and out of the wood, extracting sugars, tannins, and the complex organic compounds that make aged whiskey worth drinking. Warfield's founders recognized early on that Idaho's highlands offered something that flatland distilleries simply cannot replicate, and they built their entire production philosophy around that geographic advantage.
The Founding Philosophy: Organic from the Ground Up
A defining feature of the distillery has been its commitment to certified organic production. While many producers emphasize locality or small-batch craftsmanship, Warfield has consistently combined both with certified organic ingredients, sourcing grain with careful attention to quality while maintaining transparency throughout production. This approach extends across the entire spirits portfolio and has become central to the brand's identity.
Warfield became certified organic, and Buck noted it is the only brewery in Idaho to use organic grains and whole-leaf hops. That distinction matters more than it might appear on the surface. In a craft spirits landscape saturated with small-batch claims and artisan branding, certified organic status carries regulatory weight — it means third-party verification that the grain, water, and botanicals meet USDA standards at every stage of the supply chain. For a brand positioning itself as a premium product in new markets, that certification is both a quality signal and a point of differentiation that no amount of label design can manufacture.
Part historic landmark, part brewery, and part distillery, the Warfield is a casual pub with a traditional approach to brewing and distilling using only the best organic ingredients. Warfield's organic gin highlights sage and Douglas fir tips, while the organic whiskey is mashed, fermented, distilled, and aged right in the Wood River Valley.
The Flagship: Idaho Highlands American Single Malt Whiskey
The American single malt category has been one of the most rapidly growing segments of the U.S. spirits industry for the better part of a decade, and Warfield's flagship expression sits at the intersection of that movement and the older, more established world of Scotch-influenced craft distilling. Distilled, matured, and bottled entirely in Ketchum, Idaho, the whiskey is produced from a mash bill built around organic pale and crystal malts, distinguishing it from the corn-dominant mash bills commonly found in American whiskey.
The barley is locally grown in Idaho, then carefully mashed and fermented with select yeasts before being double distilled in traditional Scottish-made copper pot stills. Exceptionally pure mountain water brings balance and clarity to the spirit, allowing the character of the barley to shine. This is a notably different approach from the bourbon playbook, where grain sourcing is often regional at best, and the still design is nearly always a column still built for efficiency over character. Pot still distillation retains more of the heavier, more aromatic congeners that give a whiskey texture and complexity — traits that drinkers who have moved beyond their first bottles of bourbon tend to seek out.
After distillation, the whiskey is patiently matured for over four years in a combination of used American and European oak barrels, where the dramatic temperature swings of the high-elevation climate accelerate the interaction between spirit and wood. The result is a whiskey that punches well above its age statement — something Buck himself has pointed out with particular pride.
Buck, the co-founder, managing distiller, and operations manager, says his team is particularly proud of the way their whiskeys have a roundness on par with similar spirits aged much longer. "What really sets it apart is our process," Buck says of the distillery. "We're lucky because it all starts with amazing ingredients, including more Idaho-focused grains. We started with a brewing background, which I think is key for quality, particularly on our whiskeys."
That brewing background is worth examining closely. Distillers who come up through the brewing world tend to have a much deeper understanding of fermentation — the stage of production that arguably matters most to the final flavor of any whiskey. Control over fermentation temperature, yeast selection, and fermentation time dramatically impacts the ester profile of the resulting wash, which in turn shapes everything downstream. Brewers-turned-distillers often produce more nuanced, flavor-forward spirits than those who arrive at distilling from a purely industrial background.
Tasting Notes: What to Expect in the Glass
Warfield Distillery's Idaho Highlands American Single Malt Whiskey reflects the Idaho producer's focus on organic ingredients and traditional pot distillation. Matured for four to five years, it opens with cereal grain, vanilla bean, and floral notes before layers of graham cracker, cinnamon, butterscotch, and chocolate lead to a soft, malt-forward finish. On the palate, sweet undertones of coconut and brown sugar with a hint of milk chocolate give way to smooth malts with notes of butterscotch and leather tied off with sweet dried notes of allspice and the full flavor of savory baking spices, finishing clean and smooth with a lingering hint of baking spice.
The result is a whiskey that balances Old World tradition with the untamed character of the American West — rich in malt character, layered with depth, and unmistakably shaped by the Idaho Highlands. For drinkers accustomed to Scotch single malts or Pacific Northwest American single malts, Warfield's expression will feel familiar in structure but distinctly Western American in character — less maritime and peaty, more high-desert and grain-forward.
The Gin and Vodka: A Full Portfolio Built on Botanicals and Craft
While the Idaho Highlands American Single Malt is the brand's calling card, Warfield's gin and vodka represent equally serious craft efforts that have earned their own competitive accolades. A gin that has been satisfying aficionados and converting sworn gin skeptics for nearly a decade, the Warfield gin captures the essence of the Idaho wilderness in a bottle, highlighting organic botanicals like sage and juniper, and is smooth and complex. While it gets along well in cocktails, the gin is just as happy to be sipped alone.
On the nose, there is spice with notes of sage and juniper and a subtle floral quality. On the palate, it is herbaceous, complex, and full-flavored, with notes of cinnamon, sage, and juniper marrying bitter, fruity notes from cardamom and coriander. The finish is clean and smooth, with only a whisper of the gin's flavors lingering on the tongue. The botanical bill, which includes juniper, Douglas fir tips, sage, fennel seed, cardamom, anise seed, lemon peel, orris root, cinnamon stick, cloves, and coriander, reads like a hiking trail through the mountains surrounding Ketchum — a deliberate evocation of place in every sip.
The barrel-aged gin has earned particular attention from judges. Both the flagship single malt and the barrel-aged gin earned "Best of Class Platinum" status at the SIPS Awards 2025, among other accolades. A barrel-aged gin sits in a fascinating space between the world of whiskey and traditional gin, offering botanical complexity softened and rounded by time in wood — a product with obvious appeal to whiskey drinkers willing to experiment.
A Medal Cabinet Built on National and International Competition
Competition results in the spirits world can be gamed or inflated by entering lesser bottles in categories with thin fields, but Warfield's record across major, well-regarded competitions tells a different story. At the New York International Spirits Competition 2025, Warfield garnered the title of "Idaho Distillery of the Year." Both its gin and whiskey earned individual medals there, as well as at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The San Francisco World Spirits Competition in particular carries genuine weight — it draws thousands of entries from producers worldwide and is judged by panels of working professionals in the industry.
In 2025, the Idaho Highlands American Single Malt Whiskey also won the Whiskey Master's Award, two gold medals, and the Best of Class Platinum Award at international spirits competitions. For a distillery operating out of a small mountain town in Idaho — not Bardstown, Kentucky, not Seattle, not Brooklyn — that level of international recognition is a genuine achievement and a signal that something substantive is happening in Ketchum's Wood River Valley.
Rather than following trends within the rapidly expanding American craft whiskey movement, Warfield has consistently focused on traditional production methods, local ingredients, and patience in maturation. That restraint is increasingly rare in a category where distilleries often rush young whiskey to market under NAS labels and high-concept finishes. Warfield's willingness to let its single malt age past the four-year mark before introducing it to new markets suggests a long-term brand-building mentality rather than a grab for quick revenue.
The Business Behind the Bottle: Interstate Holdings and the Sarasota Connection
The Warfield Distillery and Brewery in Ketchum was acquired on June 1, 2024, by Interstate Holdings, a commercial real estate and investment group based in Sarasota, Florida. The acquisition represents an interesting convergence of Gulf Coast capital and Rocky Mountain craft production — the kind of partnership that has become increasingly common as sophisticated investors look beyond traditional sectors for premium consumer brands with growth potential.
Curtis is the vice president of both the Idaho-based Warfield Distillery and the Sarasota-based Interstate Holdings investment company that acquired the brand. He is bringing both worlds together by making Sarasota the first location for distribution in Florida. That decision is strategic in multiple ways. Launching in the city where your investment partners live and work means a built-in network of advocates, easier access to retail and restaurant buyers who know the principals personally, and the ability to monitor the initial rollout with proximity. It also signals that Sarasota — often overlooked compared to Miami or Tampa in conversations about Florida's premium spirits market — has the consumer base and the restaurant culture to absorb a new craft brand at scale.
Sarasota's food and beverage scene has matured considerably over the past decade. The city's demographic profile, anchored by affluent seasonal residents, retirees with disposable income, and a younger professional class drawn to the area's growth, makes it a reasonable first port of call for a premium craft spirits brand entering Florida. These are consumers who have tasted their way through Scotch, explored bourbon's upper shelves, and are genuinely curious about what the American single malt movement is producing outside of Kentucky.
The American Single Malt Movement: Context for Warfield's Florida Push
Warfield's Florida debut arrives at a moment when American single malt whiskey is undergoing a period of formal definition and accelerating consumer interest. The American Single Malt Whiskey Commission, which represents dozens of producers across the country, has spent years pushing for a formal federal standard of identity that would distinguish the category from other American whiskeys. The TTB has moved toward establishing that standard, which would require American single malts to be made from 100 percent malted barley, distilled entirely at one distillery, and produced in the United States — requirements Warfield already meets.
In this environment, producers who have been building their category credibility since 2015 — when American single malt was a niche curiosity rather than a growing phenomenon — are well positioned. Warfield's decade of production, competition wins, and certified organic status give it a legitimacy that newer entrants cannot easily claim. When it arrives on back bars in Sarasota's finer restaurants, it carries a story that holds up under questioning from knowledgeable drinkers.
The brewery and distillery also share a common philosophy rooted in hospitality. Visitors to Ketchum can experience the spirits where they are made, pairing them alongside the brewery's beers and locally inspired cuisine. That connection between production and place reinforces Warfield's belief that its spirits are inseparable from the mountain environment in which they are created. Translating that sense of place to a market a continent away from Ketchum is the central challenge of any expansion — but it is a challenge that strong tasting notes, clear brand storytelling, and competition credentials are well suited to address.
What the Florida Launch Means for Enthusiasts and the Trade
For Florida whiskey drinkers who have found themselves circling the same rotation of major bourbon brands and the occasional Scotch single malt, Warfield's entry into the market is a genuine opportunity to encounter something different. An American single malt produced at high elevation, from certified organic Idaho barley, double distilled in Scottish copper pot stills, and matured in a combination of American and European oak does not sound like anything else on a typical Florida back bar — because it isn't.
The distillery produces gin, vodka, and a line of whiskeys, including its flagship American Single Malt Idaho Highlands Whiskey, meaning retailers and restaurant buyers can take a chance on the whole portfolio rather than committing to a single SKU. The gin — with its Idaho wilderness botanical profile of sage, Douglas fir tips, and juniper — offers something distinctly different from the London Dry and New Western styles that dominate Florida cocktail programs. The vodka, produced from organic wheat and distilled in-house, provides a clean, versatile option for high-volume cocktail accounts.
For the on-premise trade, Warfield's story is the kind that bartenders actually want to tell. A distillery founded in a historic Main Street building in a mountain resort town, making certified organic spirits from locally grown Idaho barley, winning international competitions, and expanding into Florida for the first time — that is a narrative that sells itself across the bar with very little prompting. In an era when consumers increasingly want to know the people and places behind what they are drinking, Warfield arrives with that context intact.
Looking Ahead: What Sarasota Could Signal for a Broader Expansion
A Sarasota debut is rarely an endpoint. For a brand with the competition record and production credibility that Warfield brings to the market, Florida's other major metros — Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville — represent logical next steps once the initial distribution infrastructure is established. Florida's three-tier system can be complex for out-of-state craft producers to navigate, but having an investor group headquartered in the state simplifies many of those early-stage conversations with distributors and state regulators.
Founder Alex Buck has long admired how Scotland's greatest single malts are inseparable from the land that shaped them — their water, their barley, their climate. When he settled in the mountains near Sun Valley, he recognized something rare: Idaho has its own Highlands. That foundational idea — that a specific place, with specific geography, water, and grain, can produce a genuinely distinctive whiskey — is exactly the kind of story that resonates with American whiskey drinkers who have grown up hearing it told about Kentucky and Scotland. Warfield is making the case that Idaho deserves a seat at that table, and the medals and growing distribution footprint suggest the argument is landing.
The real test, as always, comes in the glass. But based on a decade of organic production, Scottish copper pot stills, Idaho barley, and mountain water from the Wood River, Warfield Distillery appears to have done the hard work long before the Florida conversation ever began.
