Rollinsville has a lavish mining history that has long been embraced by its inhabitants. You don’t have to look much further than Gold Dirt Distillery to find a perfect example of a new generation of small business owners encompassing Rollinsville’s rich past; it’s all right there in the name.
Gold Dirt Distillery is perfectly placed right in the heart of what was once the Gold Dirt Mines, one of Rollinsville founder John Qunicy Adams Rollins’ many mining claims. Much like Rollins, who had pursued his dream to the West in the 1860’s, owner and operator of Gold Dirt Judd Kaufman pursued his dream to Rollinsville, and not only for “fame and fortune”, but as Kaufman himself puts it, “a little weirdness.”
Kaufman spoke with The Mountain- Ear about how he moved from his birthplace in Chicago to Kentucky to attend university, back to Chicago and then to Boulder before finding the perfect inspiration in Rollinsville for his craft spirit brewing business.
“I did a bit of work for some of the bigger distilleries in Kentucky for some time, then I moved back to Chicago and ended up working at WeatherTech for 15 years, getting pretty high up in that organization,” Kaufman explained how starting a family got him inspired to chase his dream of opening his own distillery. He, his wife and two children, first moved to Boulder before finding Rollinsville in 2016, where they immediately planted the roots for Gold Dirt Distillery.
“Up here people actually interact with the world around them, which is what I like about it.” Kaufman detailed what it was about Rollinsville that spoke to him. “Real people doing real things and hopefully communicating with each other and making things work.”
Kaufman has recently expanded his business to include a Tasting Room, where locals and visitors can enjoy his creations as well as the charm of Rollinsville.
“We’ve come to focus mostly on gin. Our number one seller is our lavender gin, people like it because it’s blue and it changes colors; and people like a dry gin. This one has a strong floral component but it remains dry, so you can use it for a lot of things that you use a standard dry gin for,” Kaufman continued to explain his favorite part of what he does, which is the creativity involved in his process. “We produce a lot of different spirits; we have our honey spirit which is distilled mead aged on oak; it’s a really delightful product.”
“Our newest one, which I’m pretty proud of, is rum. Towards the end of the summer and in the fall we’ll have some tiki nights featuring our rum, and that should be really fun.”
Kaufman has partnered with other enthusiastic entrepreneurs in an effort to provide Rollinsville with new and eclectic opportunities for things to do. Gold Dirt Distillery’s tasting room would not only be a fresh and unique communal hub for themed events, but is planned to also serve wood-fired pizza. Kaufman was sure to shout out all who have helped him feel so welcome and a part of such an interesting and “weird” place as Rollinsville.
“Lonnie Howell, he kills it back there making our product and I really appreciate all that he does. Zach and Melissa at Howlin Wind Brewery are very supporting and always helpful,” Kaufman said. “Darin at Melt Coffee and Brenna who has the boutique with Melissa, we all work together really well and it’s a nice community here. Talia Brahms, as well; she’s going to be my number one bartender!”
In addition to Gold Dirt Distillery’s expansion, Kaufman has also purchased the Stage Stop, located just across the street from Gold Dirt’s tasting room at 41 Main Street in Rollinsville. The Stage Stop was built in 1868, the same year that Rollinsville was established, before Colorado was even a state, and was originally a toll stop for stagecoaches from the Butterfield Stage Coach Company.
Throughout the 1920’s the Stage Stop had been utilized as a barber shop, a grocery store and a boarding house. It was one of the few original structures to survive a devastating wildfire in 1950, and has operated as a tavern since 1962. In recent years, Kaufman has been working diligently to restore the Stage Stop to retain its historic beauty and significance while also updating its delicate infrastructure to allow for it to be a roaring hotspot once again.
“We bought the Stage Stop and our original plan was to shine it and open it,” Kaufman explained. “It was right when Covid happened so things were very uncertain, so we decided to look inside the building and see what was going on and that kind of opened up Pandora’s box. So here we are, two years later, almost ready to have a permit to start structural renovations and trying to get the building into a place where it can be used.”
“We had to take on a little bit of investment money and we’re still looking for a bit more, and we’re trying to keep it local if we can,” Kaufman noted that the financial undertaking of renovating the Stage Stop is the biggest hurdle currently holding up progress. “I think we have a good plan. The fire department is on our side, the county in general and the population is very excited. It just takes a lot of work. Every little bit of help that we can get before the penultimate Stage Stop is up and going helps us out. It keeps us going monetarily so we can continue to support our families.”
Kaufman envisions the Stage Stop to regain its glory as a restaurant and tavern with the capacity for live music. Apart from much needed restorations to the exterior landscape, which would include creating an underground well for emergency services to utilize for fire suppression throughout Rollinsville, Kaufman also desired to build a second floor patio so patrons of the Stage Stop could enjoy Rollinsville’s beautiful panoramic views.
“For the last 100 years or so it’s been what it still will be once we’re done; a public gathering place, community center, music hall, event hall,” Kaufman said. “The plan has been to do burgers, fries and milkshakes. We already have the meat grinder; we’d be grinding our own meat, serving fresh cut French fries. We’re not buying frozen food and reheating it.”
Kaufman spoke of the arduous yet passionate undertaking of restoring a historic institution, especially one of such importance to Rollinsville.
“We’re just thrilled to get this building here all whipped into shape and working as a commercial area that serves the community in a way that the community seems to want and will enjoy,”
Gold Dirt Distillery is located on 41 Main Street in Rollinsville and is open Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays from 4 to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 2 to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 2 to 8 p.m. The Stage Stop, located on 60 Main Street, will host its first night of live music, with featured food trucks, on Saturday, June 18, and will feature a live event once a month through August. For more information call 773-540-9800. To order some of Gold Dirt’s craft spirits, go to: https:// www.golddirtdistillery.com/about-us.
For more information check out their Facebook page at: https://m.facebook.com/GoldDirtDistillery/
Sponsored by Gilpin County Commissioners, with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
