Just off historic Route 66 in Kingman, the 17-year-old Desert Diamond Distillery has quietly earned a reputation as one of Arizona’s most decorated craft spirits producers.
Desert Diamond Distillery recently won a gold medal and 98 Points at the 2026 International Wine & Spirit Competition for its Gold Miner Premium Crafted Barrel Rum Reserve aged 10 years.
Only 16 rums worldwide have earned that distinction at the competition, held this year in Kentucky. The prize is one of Desert Diamond Distillery’s six top 20 IWSC finishes, including a rare perfect 99-point score in 2023, the only one awarded globally.
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And the IWSC says on its website, “Their success signals the growing confidence of North American rum producers and highlights a category that is rapidly gaining attention from both consumers and the trade.”
“We kind of shock ourselves,” said John Patt, who co-owns the distillery with his wife, Deborah, a former personal trainer. “Seventeen years later, I still get excited.”
The latest award comes as Desert Diamond Distillery plans to soon expand its premium portfolio, a 12-year-old brandy.
“I have someone who comes in every month and asks about the brandy,” Deborah said with a laugh.
They founded Desert Diamond Distillery after relocating from Boulder City, Nevada, to Kingman in 2010. Deborah said John chose Kingman for its rural setting and ideal climate for aging barrels.
The original goal wasn’t to open a distillery. The couple attended a workshop that covered wines, beers and distilleries.
“We were thinking wine or beer,” she said. “We looked at the distillery equipment, and we both thought, privately, ‘That looks pretty.’
“We didn’t tell each other for three months because we thought the other one would think the other one was crazy.”
They chose rum because “it’s sort of the underdog,” she said. “We thought we could do better than what’s on the market. We treat rum like fine whiskey.”
John called that talent “liquid art.” Good spirits look simple on the surface, but nuances are woven throughout.
“You have a paintbrush and paint and a canvas but are you making stick figures or a Rembrandt?” he asked rhetorically. “We make the rum. We don’t adulterate it. We don’t add any color, flavor or sugar to it. It is Mother Nature and the barrel.”
The couple ferments and distills everything at the distillery, which “is a key distinction,” according to John. Desert Diamond Distillery sources its ingredients, like sugar cane, from Louisiana.
The busy season runs from September to May; June through August is the “rest season,” she added. The small family business has evolved into a destination, Deborah said.
“There is so much to do, I sometimes can’t even tell customers all the stuff they can do,” she added.
Visitors can sample rums, whiskeys and bourbons in a historic tasting bar salvaged from André’s French Restaurant on Sixth Street, a few blocks from the Fremont Street Experience, in Downtown Las Vegas.
“This bar was down in [the André’s French Restaurant’s] basement, and everything was sold at auction in 2009,” he said. “That’s been quite a while ago. We were there to pick up things we needed for the distillery.”
Desert Diamond Distillery’s property goes beyond libations. For 18 months, Catrenello’s Restaurant: Italian Cuisine and Catering has rented the couple’s Train Car No. 30, a 1917 Pullman car that they painstakingly restored over three years.
The couple bought the 100-ton car after John found it online. Easy process, Deborah said; however, then they realized, “Oh my God. We have to move it. We thought, ‘Have we bitten off more than we could chew?’
Moving the car from Cherryvale, Kansas, to Kingman was “worse than starting a distillery,” Deborah said with a laugh. The whole process took about six months, with the help of semis and cranes.
“People love it,” she said, “They love the ambiance. Some people say it feels tight in there, but that’s because we use big tables.”
Catrenello’s Restaurant is so successful that it also rents a 1965 bay window caboose.
The couple’s retail shop sells items like homemade vanilla extract, olive oil, vinegar and Stonewall Kitchen products. Guests can fill and age their 5-liter barrels onsite.
This two-person show requires creativity, grit and a willingness to wear every hat.
“We have to do the marketing, the packaging, the artwork,” Deborah said. “We had to learn a lot about everything.”
Their persistence has paid off. Desert Diamond Distillery is a popular stop between Phoenix and Las Vegas. Deborah called it “an oasis in the desert.”
“We’re still here after 17 years,” Deborah said. “We believe in what we’re doing. We believe in the quality and the consistency.
“We want to shout to the moon and back that we’ll be doing this for another five to 10 years before we retire.”
