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List of Kentucky Distilleries and Bourbon Produced

    • 195 posts
    June 22, 2016 12:46 PM PDT

    Kentucky Distilleries 

    Alltech Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. (Lyons Spirits) , Lexington, KY. This brewery makes a malt whiskey, Pearse Lyons Reserve, and Town Branch Bourbon and Rye. 

    Barrel House Distilling Co., Lexington, KY. This microdistillery makes Woodshed Whisky, Barrel House Bourbon, Rock Castle Bourbon and Ray's Reserve Bourbon. 

    Barton 1792 Distillery (Sazerac Co.), Bardstown, KY. Constellation Brands sold this Bardstown gem to Sazerac (owners of Buffalo Trace). Beloved for their Bourbon in Kentucky and for their rye in Wisconsin but little known outside those states, they are the makers of the following, some of which use the designation "Clear Spring Distilling Co." and "County Line Distillers": 

    1792 Ridgemont Reserve 
    75 South (bottled by Sazerac for Safeway)
    Albertson's Bourbon & Blended Whiskey
    Atlantic Distillers Bourbon
    Bar Code Blended Whiskey (formerly owned by LeVecke) 
    Barton Blended Whiskey 
    Bentley's (Oak Park Distilling) 
    Big House Bourbon (Underdog Spirits) 
    Black Ridge 
    Bourbon Whiskey 
    Buck Horn 
    Carstairs White Seal Blended Whiskey
    C.B. Jackson 
    Chestnut Farms 
    Colonel Lee Bourbon and Blended Whiskey 
    Coulson's 
    Dierbergs (Oak Park Distilling) 
    Flatboat (Founders Company)
    Fleischmann's Rye and Blended Whiskey
    Fletcher's Blended Whiskey
    Flint Creek (Founders Company) 
    Gran Legacy Blended Whiskey 
    Heritage Blended Whiskey 
    Imperial Blended Whiskey 
    Jeffers Creek 
    Jethro T. Boots 
    Kentucky Dale Blended Whiskey
    Kentucky Gentleman 
    Kentucky Tavern 
    Military Special 
    Mr. Boston 
    Old Thompson Blended Whiskey 
    Royale Club Blended Whiskey 
    Samuel Grant (Safeway brand)
    Setter 
    Sutton Club Blended Whiskey 
    Ten High Bourbon and Bourbon Blend
    Texas Spirit (Founders Company)
    Tom Moore 
    Trader Joe's Bourbon 
    Two Stars 
    Very Old Barton 
    Walking Stick 
    War Eagle (previously Levecke)
    Winn-Dixie Liquors Genuine Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey 
    Zachariah Harris 

    Bluegrass Distillers, Lexington, KY. This distillery plans to make corn whiskey, bourbon and rye.

    Boone County Distilling Co., Independence, KY. This company plans to release Eighteen 33 Bourbon, distilled at MGP. They also plan to make Split Rock Shine and Tanner's Curse, bourbon mash whiskeys. 

    Boundary Oak Distillery, Elizabethtown, KY. This distillery makes a number of sugar based moonshine spirits and is working on a bourbon.

    Brown Forman, Shively, KY. Brown Forman owns three distinct American whiskey distilleries (Shively, Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel's). Their Shively, Kentucky plant makes Old Forester Bourbon, Coopers' Craft Bourbon and Early Times Bourbon and Kentucky Whiskey. They also made rye whiskey for Heaven Hill prior to 2010. 

    Buffalo Trace (Sazerac Co.), Frankfort, KY. Formerly known as the George T. Stagg Distillery (and popularly known as Ancient Age), the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky is one of the most loved by whiskey aficionados. Age International owns some of the brands (noted below) but Buffalo Trace distills, ages, bottles and sells them in the US.  The Van Winkle brand is managed as a joint venture between Buffalo Trace and the Van Winkle family.  Parent company Sazerac also owns the Barton 1792 distillery and the A. Smith Bowman Distillery. 

    Ancient Age (Age International) 
    Benchmark 
    Blanton's (Age International) 
    Buffalo Trace 
    Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection 
    Eagle Rare 
    E.H. Taylor 
    Elmer T. Lee (Age International) 
    Firefly Moonshine (joint venture with Firefly Distillery in SC) 
    George T. Stagg 
    Hancock's Reserve (Age International)
    Kelsey Creek 
    Old Charter 
    Old Taylor (acquired from Jim Beam) 
    Rock Hill Farms (Age International) 
    Sazerac and Thomas H. Handy Rye 
    Single Oak Project 
    Stagg Jr. 
    Van Winkle and Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon and Rye 
    W.L. Weller 

    Castle & Key (Peristyle), Frankfort, KY. Formerly the Old Taylor Distillery, this distillery plans to begin production in 2016 and will make bourbon and rye.

    Corsair Distillery, Bowling Green, KY. This distillery makes a wide variety of whiskeys using different grains, including Triple Smoke, a malt whiskey; Wry Moon Unaged Rye Whiskey; a quinoa whiskey; Rasputin, a hopped whiskey, Graniac 9 Grain Bourbon, Blackberry Farm Tennessee Bourbon and they have plans for many other whiskeys including an oatmeal stout and a chocolate mocha porter. They made an early version of James E. Pepper Bourbon and make W.M. Cove Bourbon. They have a second distillery in Nashville, Tennessee. 

    Four Roses (Kirin), Lawrenceburg, KY. Makers of Four Roses bourbon.

    The Gentleman/Buchanan Mackley Inc., Paris, KY. This Bourbon County distillery is planning to release a bourbon, a whiskey (of undisclosed type) and a rye under the label Hartfield & Co.

    Glenns Creek Distilling, Frankfort, KY. This company is planning to release OCD #5 bourbon which appears to be distilled in-house.  They also plan to release Ryskie Rye and Stave & Barrel Bourbon, both distilled in Indiana.

    Heaven Hill, Louisville, KY. The last family owned distillery in Kentucky, Heaven Hill is based in Bardstown, Kentucky but distills at the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville.  Their diverse brand portfolio includes Bourbon, rye, Kentucky's only straight wheat whiskey and nearly all of the (non micro) American corn whiskey brands. To make it more confusing. Prior to 2010, Heaven Hill's rye whiskeys were distilled at the Brown Forman Shively distillery. 

    Bourbon 
    1492 Bourbon 
    Aristocrat 
    Blue State Bourbon (for 2012 election) 
    Cabin Still 
    Champion 
    Chapin & Gore 
    Colonel's Pride 
    Daniel Stewart 
    Dierberg's 
    Distiller's Pride 
    Echo Spring 
    Elijah Craig 
    Evan Williams 
    Fighting Cock 
    Heaven Hill 
    Henry McKenna 
    Jim Porter 
    JTS Brown 
    JW Dant 
    Kentucky Beau 
    Kentucky Deluxe 
    Kentucky Gold 
    Kentucky Supreme 
    Larceny 
    Mark Twin 
    Martin Mills (export only) 
    Mattingly & Moore 
    Mellow Bourbon 
    Newport 
    Old 1889 
    Old Fitzgerald 
    Old Whiskey River (Alive Spirits) 
    Parker's Heritage Collection 
    Pennypacker (export only for Borco) 
    Private Cellar 
    Quality House 
    Red State Bourbon (for the 2012 election) 
    Sam Clay 
    Tom Sims 
    TW Samuels 
    William Heavenhill 
    Yellow Rose of Texas 
    Virgin 

    Rye 
    Pikesville Rye 
    Rittenhouse Rye 
    Stephen Foster Rye 

    Wheat Whiskey 
    Bernheim Wheat Whiskey 

    Corn Whiskey 
    Dixie Dew 
    Georgia Moon 
    JW Corn 
    Mellow Corn 

    Blended Whiskey 
    Aristocrat Supreme 
    Country Gentleman 
    Distiller's Pride 
    Gukenheimer 
    Haller's Reserve 
    JW Dant 
    Kentucky Beau 
    Kentucky Deluxe 
    Kentucky Gold 
    Kentucky Supreme 
    Mattingly & Moore 
    McHenry 
    Newport 
    Old Mill 
    Old Mill Stream 
    Paul Jones 
    Philadelphia 
    Private Cellar 
    Quality House 
    Royal 
    Sir Walter 
    TW Samuels 
    Wilson 

    New Make 
    Trybox 

    Jim Beam (Beam Suntory), Clermont & Boston, KY. Jim Beam is the biggest name in Bourbon. The brands made at their signature operation, with facilities in Clermont and Boston, Kentucky, include: 

    Baker's 
    Basil Hayden 
    Beam's Eight Star Blended Whiskey
    Booker's Bourbon and Rye
    Bourbon de Luxe 
    Jacob's Ghost White Whiskey 
    Jim Beam Bourbons and Rye 
    Kessler Blended Whiskey 
    Kirkland Signature (for Costco) 
    Knob Creek Bourbon and Rye
    Old Bourbon Hollow 
    Old Crow 
    Old Grand-Dad 
    Old Overholt Rye 
    Old Tub 
    (rī)¹ (Rye One) 
    Sunny Brook Blended Whiskey

    Kentucky Artisan Distillery (Copperhead Distillery), Crestwood, KY.  This distillery and bottler distills some of its own whiskey and also bottles sourced whiskeys. It produces its own Whiskey Row label and bottles for other companies such as Jefferson's (a part owner), Barrell Craft, Diversa's 1888 Bourbon, 35 Maple's Bib & Tucker Bourbon, JSB Reserve Bourbon, Kindred Spirits' Highspire Rye and Whiskey and Rocky Top Distillery's Rocky Top Moonshine. They are also bottling private selections of George Remus rye.

    Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co., Louisville, KY. This distillery plans to make bourbon and rye.

    Limestone Branch Distillery, Lebanon, KY. Operated by members of the Beam family and opened in 2011, this distillery makes T.J. Pottinger Corn Whiskey as well as a number of moonshines and is working on a bourbonMinor Case Rye. They also plan to release Minor Case Rye, distilled in Indiana. The distillery is half owned by Luxco.

    Maker's Mark (Beam Suntory.), Loretto, KY. Simplicity reigns at this Jim Beam owned distillery. It makes Maker's Mark and Maker's 46. 

    MB Roland Distillery, Pembroke, KY. A microdistillery which makes White Dog and Black Dog brand corn whiskeys, Black Patch aged Corn Whiskey and MBR Bourbon.

    Michter's Distillery, Shively, KY.  All of the Michter's whiskey currently on the shelf comes from other distilleries, but in 2015, Michter's began distilling at their new distillery in Kentucky. Eventually, they will presumably release whiskey they distilled at the new plant. 

    New Riff Distilling, Newport, KY.  Founded by the former owners of The Party Source liquor store, this distillery has plans to make unaged spirit, bourbon and rye and is currently selling sourced bourbon and rye, distilled at MGP, under the O.K.I. label. 

    Old Pogue Distillery, Maysville, KY. The original Old Pogue Distillery closed in the 1940s and the brand survived for years as an independent bottler. In 2012, the Pogue family opened a new distillery in Maysville where they make Limestone Landing Rye and Five Fathers Rye. 

    Paducah Distilled Spirits, Paducah, KY. Maker of Uncle Mosey's Moonshine Corn Whiskey, containing corn and sugar, Old Paducah Corn Whiskey and Lubow Corn Whiskey.

    Second Sight Spirits, Ludlow, KY. This distillery plans to release Corn Whole, a corn whiskey. 

    Three Boys Farm DistilleryFrankfort, KY.  Formerly Whiskey Thief distillery, this distillery is working on a bourbon and a rye whiskey which they are currently aging. While their own whiskey ages, they are planning on releasing a sourced straight bourbon.

    Wade Lyn Ranch Distilling, Waynesburg, KY. This winery is planning on releasing a corn whiskey and Barrel Proof Whisky, a whiskey of undisclosed type.

    Wild Turkey (Campari Group), Lawrenceburg, KY. Drinks giant Pernod Ricard recently sold this venerable brand to Italy's Campari. Most of the Bourbons and rye whiskeys made at this Lawrenceburg distillery carry the Wild Turkey name, though they have recently begun to market Russell's Reserve as a separate brand.  They also make Duke Bourbon and plan to release Bond & Lillard Bourbon and Old Ripy Bourbon. 

    Wilderness Trail Distillery, Danville, KY.   This distillery opened in 2013 and makes vodka and rum and is aging a wheated bourbon. 

    Willett Distillery (Kentucky Bourbon Distillers), Bardstown, KY. For years the independent bottler Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD) had talked about refurbishing the old Willett Distillery that they owned. In 2012, they finally finished and started distilling.  

    Woodford Reserve/Labrot & Graham (Brown Forman), Versailles, KY. Brown Forman's second Kentucky distillery makes Bourbons marketed under the Woodford Reserve brand.  The regular Woodford Reserve labels (Distiller's Select and Double Oaked) are blends of bourbon made at Woodford and the Brown Forman Distillery, while the annually released Woodford Reserve Master's Collection is made entirely at the Woodford Reserve. 


    This post was edited by admin at June 22, 2016 12:47 PM PDT