Adventure is tough to define. No doubt it can be serious business—summit bids, hypothermia, first descents, interval training, altitude sickness. But it can also be lighthearted. Sure, there are accomplishments to be had, but there are also just plain old good times.
This is where whiskey comes in. Add a nip of bourbon at the top of that hard-earned summit and serious becomes a celebration. Think of whiskey as another piece of gear in your quiver, a tool used to lighten the mood, provide perspective, maybe even slow things down and give you a chance to catch your breath. And no whiskey—or any other spirit, for that matter—is more at home in the great outdoors than Stillhouse. Distilled in Tennessee, Stillhouse has one major advantage over the competition: its award-winning whiskey (and bourbon and vodka) comes in an unbreakable stainless steel can that can go places where glass can’t.
“These cans are undeniably cool,” says Mike Montgomery, a builder, adventurer, and YouTuber who lives on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park. “They have such an industrial vibe, like an old oil can.” And just like an old oil can, the Stillhouse can was built to take a beating. Throw it in your duffel, pass it around the campfire, lug it to the top of the mountain … The Stillhouse can wasn’t built to sit on a shelf. It was built for exploration. But the can’s adventure readiness doesn’t stop at its indestructible construction. Want a cold drink miles from the nearest ice cube? Set the can in a creek—the stainless steel chills fast, which means you can have perfect-temperature whiskey in no time.
Stillhouse makes a straightforward bourbon and vodka, but they also offer a fun-loving lineup of flavored spirits, from Peach Tea to Apple Crisp, which blends natural flavors with 100% clear corn whiskey. “All my friends love the Spiced Cherry,” says Montgomery. “It’s a super, sharable crowd pleaser at the end of a hike.”
Founded in 2016, Stillhouse was different from the get-go. The brand was the first to put whiskey in a stainless steel can, and also broke new ground when it introduced Black Bourbon, the first bourbon to be mellowed on small-batch, roasted coffee beans. The result is a bold and full-bodied whiskey that Montgomery says is ideal for an old-fashioned. And in Montgomery’s hands, the can pulls double duty as a survival kit. The builder got creative recently and used Stillhouse’s signature cans to build camping kits with survival tools nested inside.
“I wanted to honor the brand’s adventure-ready persona by building something for the outdoors,” says Montgomery. “Adventure is around the corner here. I try to sprinkle adventure into my every day. Zip out for an hour, go bouldering, climb a mountain, enjoy a sunset … It’s a great way to cap off a day of work.”
A can of Black Bourbon or Stillhouse’s Original Whiskey is often mixed into Montgomery’s “go bag,” ready when the builder is trying to squeeze an hour of outdoor adventure into his daily routine. “The Black Bourbon is my favorite because it’s rich, but not heavy,” Montgomery says. “It’s smooth and palatable.”
But nobody knows more about finding good times in the outdoors than L. Renee Blount, a photographer and climber who, like Stillhouse, has become an innovator and disruptor in the outdoor industry. Instead of focusing on the serious side of adventure, Blount has chosen to shoot portraits of athletes experiencing sheer excitement in the wild with big smiles on their faces.
“I want to show people that being outside is fun,” Blount says. “If you only see people outside suffering, why would you want to go? I want more people to feel like they can join me outside.”
Stillhouse has a similar mission: to bring more people to the outdoor party, because adventure, like whiskey, is better when shared with friends. Be serious. Be lively. But be outside. And don’t forget the Stillhouse, The Official Spirit of Adventure.
Stillhouse is a cross-category spirit crafted using traditional copper stills and charcoal filter for superior quality and taste, allowing the all-natural sweetness of our estate-grown corn to shine through. A remarkably mellow flavor and smooth finish makes this a truly versatile spirit and the quintessential tool for the outdoors.
by Outside Editors via Outside Magazine: All
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