Where booze meets science in Vail Village

Hazy tendrils of sweetened, frothed cream creep down the sides of a stemmed cocktail glass, slowly mixing with clear espresso and hazelnut spirits to finish Archetype Distillery’s espresso martini. Lit from below by the tasting room’s long, white marble bar, the showy drink appears to glow alongside a cut crystal shooter of decadent chocolate-covered espresso beans.

“We can also add cacao bitters for a dryer, less sweet version,” Archetype co-owner Wade Murphy said. “All the spirits are made from wine grapes, so they are very, very smooth. We distill out sugars, fats and acids to an essential oil.”

Murphy and co-owner and master distiller Michael Chapyak have created an experience where booze meets science lab, playing with flavors and textures to concoct sippable art for every palate. Endless martinis, gimlets and other cocktails can be crafted from Archetype’s flagship vodkas and gins and their more than two dozen vacuum-distilled spirits. 

The Mountain Goat is Archetype’s riff on a Moscow mule, with Archangel vodka, Kure’s ginger beer, lime juice and palm sugar simple syrup, or try the Pooh Bear, a cauldron-warmed hot toddy with Archfiend smoked vodka, wildflower honey and lemon spirit. Make it festive with hazelnut, cinnamon or cacao spirits, and pair it with a complimentary dish of small-batch popcorn.

“Black truffle is Michael’s Frank’s Red Hot,” Murphy said, laughing. “He puts it on everything. The popcorn is popped in coconut oil, and then Michael does a proprietary blend of smoked cherry wood and black truffle salts, that’s the seasoning.”

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Archetype is taking its snacks as seriously as its drinks, Murphy says. Pair an Archrival gin and house-made tonic with an artisanal charcuterie board or alpine cheese board with artichoke hearts and sun-dried peppers. Or dress up The JC, a family recipe Bloody Mary, with a tin of Primeur caviar, served with crème fraiche and olive oil chips. 

For a sweet send-off, choose the Black Forest martini ¾ Archetype’s cacao spirit with coconut palm sugar, simple syrup and half and half and an Amarena sweet dark cherry garnish ¾ alongside a Pasticiotti, an Italian pastry filled with dark chocolate cream.

Not sure what to try? Archetype also offers tasting flights of its vodkas, gins and spirits, with optional syrups and seltzers to add sweetness or fizz, or sign up for a cocktail class on Mondays and Wednesdays to explore the craft and savor the flavors.