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Stranahan's Snowflake Fans Line Up Days Before The Whiskey Sale

By Karen Morfitt

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.

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"I do not know why they were under the impression I was coming out Monday, at the earliest," Russell Cowdin laughed.

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Russell Cowdin (credit: CBS)

If you didn't know better, you would think the group of campers he was with were all old friends.

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"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.

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They all have the same goal to be the first to get their hands on a bottle of Stranahan's Snowflake.

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An exclusive single malt whiskey only available for two hours on one day, once a year.

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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."

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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.

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"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.

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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.

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"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.

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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.

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