Founded by physician-turned-distiller Bryan Nolt, Breckenridge Distillery sits at 9,600 feet on Airport Road and bills itself as the world's highest distillery. It's also a genuine independent: the only non-conglomerate producer among the top 15 US distilleries, with everything made on site using Rocky Mountain snowmelt water.

Free 30-minute behind-the-scenes tours of the working production facility run daily and wrap up with a complimentary tasting of the award-winning bourbon, vodka and gin. Whiskey nerds should book the deeper Secrets of the Cask tour, offered Wednesday through Sunday at 12, 2 and 4pm by reservation. The campus also includes an acclaimed on-site restaurant, and a separate tasting room holds down 137 S Main Street for those staying downtown.

Best of all for the car-free crowd: a free shuttle picks up and drops off anywhere within Breckenridge town limits when available.