Dead Canary Mountain Gin: A Toast to Colorado’s First Silent Guardians

In the mines of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, canaries were more than birds—they were lifelines. These small, bright sentinels protected miners by signaling the presence of toxic gas long before technology could. When the singing stopped, it was time to move. Their sacrifice saved lives up and down the Front Range. It’s in their honor, and in the spirit of the mountains that shaped our state, that we crafted Dead Canary Mountain Gin.

Distilled in Southern Colorado, Dead Canary Mountain Gin begins with a foundation of native botanicals: juniper, white sage, cedar leaves, orris root, and other mountain-grown aromatics. The result is a gin with backcountry character—crisp, pine-forward freshness balanced by herbal depth. Using our signature all-glass stills and Rocky Mountain spring water, the spirit emerges bold yet clean, like snowmelt over granite. It’s distinctly Colorado: wild on the nose, bright on the palate, and endlessly refreshing.

Before sensors, alarms, monitors, or meters, miners turned to canaries as early-warning systems against carbon monoxide and other deadly gases. These birds were so sensitive to air quality that they reacted to toxins long before a human would feel symptoms. In mines stretching from Idaho Springs to Leadville and Cripple Creek, they sat in small cages near the coal seam. As long as the canary chirped, work continued. If the bird swayed, grew silent, or collapsed, crews dropped their tools and evacuated. It was an imperfect system—but it routinely meant the difference between life and death.

In a way, canaries were some of Colorado’s earliest working animals—service animals in a time and place where the stakes were measured in breaths, not minutes. They didn’t sniff out explosives or guide veterans through airports. Their service was quieter, more tragic. But their role is woven into the history of this state: into the tunnels beneath Silverton, the shafts under Breckenridge, and the boomtowns that built the Front Range. Even today, “canary in a coal mine” endures as a phrase meaning a warning sign—born from their sacrifice.

With Dead Canary Mountain Gin, we honor that legacy. The bright aromatics and mountain botanicals represent their color and presence; the clean finish speaks to clarity, vigilance, and breath drawn freely. Like the miners who shared those underground chambers, we remember the canary not with sadness—but with respect. A reminder that where there is risk, there is resilience. And that Colorado’s history is deeper than the veins of ore under our feet.

Raise a glass to the ones who stood watch.
To the mountains that shape us.
To the canary whose silence saved lives.

Dead Canary Mountain Gin — bold, clean, and crafted with a wild Colorado heart.