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Award-winning American Woman Whiskey created by local doc hits Steamboat shelves

Newly launched American Woman Whiskey can now be found on Steamboat Springs shelves at liquor stores and select restaurants. The whiskey has won seven awards prior to its official launch. (Courtesy photo)

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — There’s a new whiskey in town — American Woman Whiskey, created by Steamboat Springs local Dr. John Lupori — and it’s now available at Steamboat liquor stores and select restaurants.

In 2015, Lupori was traveling abroad when several custom whiskey bottles caught his eye. So he brought the idea home with him and set about creating his own custom bottle.

“The official spirit of America is bourbon,” he pointed out. “I wanted to make something that was representative of that, of art and of hope.”



That same year, he commissioned California artist Paul McTaggart to design the bottle, asking him to create something sophisticated and elegant that held simple but complex elements of beauty. The finished product was a rendering of a woman’s full head and torso, her gaze facing outward as to be a symbol of freedom, liberty, life and art. The bottle received a U.S. design patent in April 2018.

Then they had to fill it.



“Once we got the custom bottle, we started researching the best bourbon to go in it,” Lupori said.

Lupori teamed up with distiller Paul Dunning to create the whiskey, which is distilled in Kentucky, then transported to Colorado Springs where it is aged at an elevation of 5,400 feet for two years in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Steamboat Springs Dr. John Lupori combined art, beauty and whiskey to create American Woman Whiskey featuring a custom glass bottle in the shape of a woman's head and torso. (Courtesy photo)

The result is an award-winning bourbon, American Woman Whiskey, which has already won seven awards prior to its official launch.

Awards include: the 2020 Double Gold Denver International Spirit Competition; 2020 Gold Sunset Magazine Spirit Competition; 2020 Silver San Francisco International Spirit Competition; 2020 Silver Berlin International Spirit Competition; 2020 Bronze New York International Spirit Competition; 2020 Silver Cask Strength North American Whiskey and Bourbon Competition; and in 2019, the Silver North American Whiskey and Bourbon Competition.

The distinctly female brand is meant not only to honor the innovation and courage of women but also to create a space for women in the whiskey industry.

“There’s not a lot of representation in the bourbon industry for women, so we wanted to give them a spot in that world,” Lupori said.

With women’s empowerment in mind, Lupori will donate 1% of the proceeds from sale of the whiskey to the Caroline Lupori Outstanding Woman Award, which supports the efforts of female artists and entrepreneurs. The award will be given annually and is in memory of Lupori’s daughter Caroline who recently passed away.

Lupori, who was an oral surgeon in Steamboat for over 20 years, now works on mission trips to Mexico to perform surgeries to correct facial deformities. With his newest endeavor, he says his mission is to promote love, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — all in a cocktail glass.

His personal favorite? The Rose Belle, which combines his whiskey with sweet vermouth and Campari.

American Woman Whiskey is available at local liquor stores and several restaurants including The Press, Carl’s Tavern, Moe’s BBQ, Table 79 and Primrose.


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