The News
Jake Norris, the founding master distiller at Stranahan’s Whiskey and Laws Whiskey House, has launched The Curated Barrel Project, a specialty barrel-finished whiskey offshoot. The project features a 7-year-old high-rye bourbon base distilled in Statesville, NC, with eight quarterly releases over two years starting April 2, 2026. Bottles will be sold online via CBP’s web shop and include pairing dinner options at Norris’ new Arvada distillery.
The Takeaway
Barrel-Finished Innovation: The Curated Barrel Project is a unique side venture by Jake Norris that uses a 7-year-old high-rye bourbon base from Southern Distilling Company and finishes it in special barrels over two years, with eight quarterly releases starting in April 2026. This approach highlights the growing trend of using barrel finishing to add complexity and character to spirits.
Direct-to-Consumer Strategy: The project is launching exclusively online through CBP’s web shop, which shows a direct-to-consumer model that bypasses traditional retail channels. Norris is also offering pairing dinners at his new Arvada distillery, suggesting an effort to build brand loyalty and create immersive experiences for whiskey enthusiasts.
Contract Distilling Expansion: While the main Arvada distillery will focus on small-batch craft whiskey, it’s also set up to handle external contract distillation projects. This indicates Norris is expanding his influence beyond just producing his own brands, potentially tapping into a broader market of independent and boutique whiskey makers looking for quality production support.
Original Press Release
The founding distiller behind two of Colorado’s most iconic whiskey brands is gearing up to launch a new whiskey-centric, Arvada-based distillery. But before bottles begin rolling out for this larger endeavor, Jake Norris is excited to announce the more imminent debut of a specialty side project releasing next month.
Norris, the founding Master Distiller behind Stranahan’s Whiskey and Laws Whiskey House, has partnered with a team of industry and hospitality experts to launch a forthcoming Arvada-based distillery focused on producing its own small-batch craft whiskey, with the added capacity to support external contract distillation projects.
However, as all great whiskeys take at least two years to mature, the team will initially mark Norris’ return to Colorado whiskey with the launch of a specialty barrel-finished whiskey offshoot titled The Curated Barrel Project. Anchored by a 7-year base high-rye bourbon recipe developed by Norris and distilled in Statesville, NC, at Southern Distilling Company, The Curated Barrel Project will consist of eight quarterly releases taking place across the span of two years. Bottles will be available to purchase exclusively online via CBP’s web shop, with the option to add tickets for a pairing dinner at the distillery, and will be sent directly to consumers.
The first release in the series will take place on April 2, 2026, featuring The Curated Barrel Project’s base 7-year-aged Straight Bourbon Whiskey, consisting of a mashbill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. Following that initial release, the base whiskey will be transformed through exotic cask finishes using rum, cognac, sherry, and port barrels, to name a few, for additional releases every three months.
As the pioneer who developed and launched Stranahan’s celebrated Snowflake program, Norris was the first to employ additional cask maturation as a vehicle for adding enhanced flavor components to American craft whiskey. With The Curated Barrel Project, Norris is excited to showcase how his innovative approach toward cask-finished whiskey has evolved. However, where specialty releases like Snowflake have leaned into the hype around waiting in line and collecting rare whiskies, Norris is hoping to inject life back into the experiential ritual of prioritizing sharing whiskey with friends.
“I think whiskey can be an incredible medium for shared experiences. It can deepen conversations and help to foster authentic connections,” said Norris. “Every aspect of The Curated Barrel Project is designed to retrain how people interact with whiskey.”
In an effort to further drive more analog experiences, every bottle release from The Curated Barrel Project will be accompanied by a physical zine created by Norris, comprised of a series of short articles, stories, tasting notes, and a musical playlist to pair with its corresponding whiskey. Additionally, anyone who purchases a bottle will have an opportunity to add on tickets to attend a special whiskey pairing dinner featuring a series of celebrated local chefs, taking place approximately a month after each release at the distillery. Each dinner will be designed to encourage conversation among attendees, with additional surprise elements that further promote the goal of infusing whiskey with humanity.
“Great whiskey is meant to be shared,” explained Norris. “It becomes 'real' when it is opened, poured, and experienced together.”
The Curated Barrel Project will also offer whiskey fans an opportunity to join its membership program, which guarantees a minimum of eight bottle releases, first access to join for its whiskey dinners, and a commemorative branded tote bag. Tickets for the first release in the series go on sale April 2, 2026, at 10 a.m. Mountain, and will be available to be shipped nationally.
“We hope to infuse whiskey with humanity again by encouraging our customers to pop open their bottles and share the experience with friends. Part of what makes this brand so special is that it’s truly a finite project,” said Norris. “Each release is a one-off, one-of-a-kind exotic barrel finish release. Like a great dinner with friends, once we run out of whiskey, the party is over, at least in this iteration of the project.”
“Whiskey should be fun, creative, and communal,” continued Norris. “If you treat it like a museum piece, you’re missing the point. There’s a delicate balance of appreciating the artistry and time that went into producing a well-crafted bottle of whiskey, and using it for its intended purpose, which is for tasting and sharing. Simply put…shut up and DRINK IT!”
Tickets for The Curated Barrel Project’s first bottle release will go live on April 2, 2026, at 10 a.m. Mountain.
Source: BevNET