Full Throttle Distillery Smokehouse & Grill has officially opened its renovated patio space, the Distiller’s Alley Patio. The newly remodeled area, which includes large-format television screens, new tables, and bistro lighting can accommodate 150 people and offers patrons the option of covered outdoor seating year-round.
Full Throttle made its Estes Park debut in 2021 with the opening of a tasting room at 124 W. Elkhorn Ave. The tasting room shares space with Bob and Tony’s Pizza, a mainstay in Estes since 1957. In 2022, the company opened a full-scale restaurant at 231 Moraine Ave. General manager Steve Holick oversees both locations.
The distillery is known for its handcrafted spirits – whiskey, moonshine, vodka, and specialty blends such as flavored margarita shots and its 70 proof espresso and flavored cream liquors – many of which are packaged in no-nonsense canning jars.
The establishment is one of six Full Throttle saloons owned by Michael Ballard, an entrepreneur from Trimble, Tenn., who built a successful wireless company, Cellular Plus, in Tennessee and Kentucky.
After selling the company, Ballard bought 30 acres in Sturgis, S.D., famous for its annual motorcycle rally, and built what became known as the “world’s largest biker bar.” The bar’s popularity led to an eponymous reality television show that ran for six seasons.
In 2015, the original saloon was destroyed by fire. Ballard, his wife, Angie Carlson, and his business partner, Jesse James Dupree, bought 600 acres in Vale, S.D. The enormous event venue features live music, the largest stage in the state, a campground with cabins and space for RVs, a general store, a buffet, and a firing range.
In addition to the two Full Throttle properties in Estes, the company operates one in Branson, Mo, one in Trimble where the liquors are manufactured, and two in South Dakota, one in Deadwood and the one in Vale, which is open from Spring through Fall and caters to the annual motorcycle rally in August, which attracts 500,000 people.
Though the Full Throttle in Estes has just held a grand re-opening of its tap house over Memorial Day weekend, construction on the patio is still underway. According to Holick, the goal is to continue enhancing the space while keeping it accessible to customers throughout the process. Aldrich Builders of Estes Park is the contractor.
According to Holick, once complete, the space will have a pavilion-style design, with an open front and garage doors along the side wall that can be opened in good weather. At the front of the patio, the construction crew is currently working on adding a silo and still to one side and a stack of whiskey barrels to the other. Plans also include installing fans to keep the space cool in the summer, with hopes of adding heaters by fall.
“We’ll use [the Distiller’s Alley Patio] all year, we might close the beer garden bar depending on sales, but we’re going to try to keep it open as much as possible,” said Holick.
Plans for the outdoor space, which blends an upscale but casual ambiance, include live music performances on weekends.
“We want to keep it manageable. We’ve actually had some of the neighbors up this hill that we’re right behind come reach out and tell us that we’re doing a pretty good job of managing the noise levels,” said Holick. “All live music ends at 10 p.m. no matter what.”
In addition to the patio improvements, Full Throttle has expanded its menu. Appetizers include watermelon skewers and crispy Brussels sprouts, hearty soups and sandwiches that incorporate smoked chicken and pork, and entrees featuring steaks, ribs, pork, and chicken.
Holick says the new menu is receiving “lots of great feedback so far.” Most of items on the menu are made in-house from, including all sauces, such as ranch, blue cheese, and various barbecue sauces. All meats are smoked on-site, with the exception of the sausage.
“I just think that it’s super important to come to work and be prideful every day of the food that you serve,” said Holick. “So we definitely hang our hat on trying to do as much as we can in house.”