Three winners will receive a custom ring from Honest Hands Ring Co. inlaid with a piece of history from Denver-based distillery Stranahan’s.
Denver—Two Colorado businesses have launched a giveaway featuring a one-of-a-kind gold ring made with a piece of a whiskey barrel.
The sweepstakes is hosted by Denver-based whiskey distillery Stranahan’s and Honest Hands Ring Co., located in nearby Morrison, Colorado.
Three winners will be selected to receive an exclusive tour and private tasting at the distillery.
There, they will select a barrel stave from the rackhouse to be inlaid into a custom handcrafted 10-karat gold ring made by Honest Hands Ring Co.
The unique experience combines premium craftsmanship, bold character, and the spirit of Colorado, the companies said.
It’s also an opportunity to own a piece of whiskey history.
Stranahan’s, founded in 2004, is Colorado’s first legal whiskey distillery since Prohibition, according to its website. It is known for its award-winning American Single Malt.
“Some of the staves that people might be able to select could be 15 or 20 years old,” said Ben Bosworth, founder of Honest Hands Ring Co.
“They’re sourced from all over the world, and they’ve got a lot of history, because not only does the whiskey sit in these oak barrels for a long time, but these trees took hundreds of years to grow to the point where they could be harvested for the whiskey barrels.”
The sweepstakes is open now and will close Aug. 31. Winners will be chosen by Sept. 2.
Visit the Stranahan’s website to enter.
The collaboration hinges on the value of craftsmanship.
While a gold ring or sip of whiskey might seem like simple ideas, both are created from a complex process.
Just as whiskey ages in barrels, sometimes for years, developing its flavor and color, handcrafting a piece of jewelry requires time and care.
After his initial connection with the distillery about the idea, Bosworth spent about a year experimenting and refining the technique for the whiskey barrel ring.
He started his company in 2018, and over the years, he’s created rings using a piece of a trombone, arcade tokens, and even space flown kapton foil from the original 1969 Apollo 11 mission, so crafting with unusual and non-traditional materials is familiar to him.
Working with a piece of a whiskey barrel stave, however, requires particular precision, said Bosworth.
“I wanted the seam line, how it’s glued in there, to not be visible, because the whiskey barrel, the oak, inherently has such a beautiful pattern and texture. You don’t want to disrupt that,” he said.
“We’re cutting these pieces to a thousandth of an inch to make sure they fit in there well and protecting it with the right seal and coat, making sure they’re going to hold up for many years to come.”
He wanted to make sure everything was perfect before committing to the partnership.
“It wasn’t until we finally came up with a process I was really proud of and wanted to show off that we reconnected [with Stranahan’s],” he said.
Every Honest Hands Ring Co. ring is custom and made to order.
Each whiskey barrel stave ring will have the Stranahan’s logo engraved on the inside, but winners can also work with Bosworth to customize their rings, with options for a chunky or dainty width, as well as additional engravings, like their name or a special date.
“We want to work with the customers to make something that they’re actually going to want to wear,” he said.