Stranahan's Snowflake Fans Line Up Days Before The Whiskey Sale
DENVER (CBS4)- A group of whiskey fans has been camped out front of a local Denver distillery for nearly a week. Their goal is to be the first to get their hands on a bottle of Stranahan's limited edition Snowflake Single Malt.
"I do not know why they were under the impression I was coming out Monday, at the earliest," Russell Cowdin laughed.
If you didn't know better, you would think the group of campers he was with were all old friends.
"I got to know these guys pretty well last year and they were a few spots behind us the years before that so we have been in the same line for years," he said.
They all have the same goal to be the first to get their hands on a bottle of Stranahan's Snowflake.
An exclusive single malt whiskey only available for two hours on one day, once a year.
Russell Cowdin is in that coveted spot this year after waiting not one, two, or even three nights.
"Since Saturday at 3:30. I don't know how many hours that is right now, but I will be out here almost a full week."
In 10 years, he's had eight top 10 spots, four of them were number one. It has become a tradition he plans for like a vacation.
"This is my camping trip. This is my time to hang out with friends I only see once a year. New friends I have not met before, old friends I have hung out with in line before, behind but with," he laughed.
While Cowdin says, it was a passion for whiskey brings them together.
"There's going to be a lot going on in that bottle," he said about this year's batch.
It is the fun, the memories and a little bit of competition that keep them coming back.
"The people who keep in touch and become friends and maintain those connections beyond this are Stranha-fam, Stranha-family," he said.
Like its namesake, Stranahan's says every batch of Snowflake is different.
It will be available for purchase Dec. 1 at 8 a.m. for $100 a bottle.
Karen Morfitt joined the CBS4 team as a reporter in 2013. She covers a variety of stories in and around the Denver metro area. Connect with her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @karenmorfitt or email her tips.