The Block Distilling Co., the RiNo craft distillery and cocktail bar that has poured whiskey, gin and seasonal cocktails on Larimer Street for a decade, is closing its doors. The distillery plans a 3-to-4 month wind-down rather than an abrupt shutdown, telling customers it will pack in “as much shenanigans as we can fit” before the taps go dry for good.
Owners Kraig Weaver, Kameron Weaver and Michelle Weaver did not announce a specific closing date, according to The Denver Post, which reported that the distillery has promised bottle discounts and one-off releases for its bottle club members during the transition. In its announcement, The Block put the blame squarely on broader market conditions, stating plainly that the industry is in the dumps. The Post’s subtitle on the story echoed that same sentiment directly from the business.
A Decade on Larimer Street
Brothers Kraig and Kameron Weaver opened The Block Distilling Co. at 2990 Larimer St. in 2017, per the Post’s reporting, turning homebrewed beer and gin experiments into a commercial operation. Both are alumni of the Colorado School of Mines, and Kraig Weaver had been living above the very space that would become the distillery before it opened. The building itself carries its own neighborhood history — before The Block moved in, it housed the Andenken Gallery, a well-known street art hub whose owner originally coined the phrase “The Block” for the property, according to 303 Magazine.
The distillery built a loyal following through its exclusive 225 Club bottle releases and a lineup that included an oat-heavy Four Grain Straight Whiskey aged in new American oak, pear brandy, coffee liqueur, various amaros and gin. Rather than sourcing commodity spirits, the company partnered with a family farm in Missouri that set aside 720 dedicated acres — a full square mile — to grow custom grain varieties exclusively for its spirits, according to details the company shared on Wefunder. The onsite taproom also ran a seasonally rotating cocktail menu, with drinks like the Garibaldi, made with aperitif, orange juice, lemon juice, marigold simple syrup and warm baking spices; the Cafe Colada, blending vodka, coffee liqueur, lactose-fermented pineapple, coconut and orgeat; and the Disco Inferno, made with Thai chili, poblano-infused vodka, guava, lemon and egg white. The Denver Post had named The Block one of the hottest places to drink in Colorado in 2024.
Not a Rent Story
Community speculation around craft venue closures often points to landlord disputes or rent spikes, but that doesn’t appear to be what’s driving this one. Company investor filings on Wefunder indicate the founders owned the 2990 Larimer St. real estate outright rather than leasing from a third-party landlord, which helps dispel assumptions about commercial rent pressure forcing the closure. What remains unclear is what happens to that property once the wind-down period concludes and whether the Weavers plan to sell or repurpose it.
An Industry-Wide Reckoning
The Block’s closure lands amid a stark contraction across Colorado’s craft spirits sector. The number of active craft distilleries in the state fell from 119 in August 2024 to just 82 in August 2025, according to the American Craft Spirits Association’s annual Craft Spirits Data Project, as reported by Denver Westword. Rising operational expenses and softening demand for spirits have squeezed producers statewide, and The Block joins a list of high-profile Colorado shutdowns in 2024 and 2025 that includes 52 Eighty Distilling in Littleton, CopperMuse in Fort Collins and 1350 Distilling in Colorado Springs…