Whiskey Thief Louisville Tasting Room

The other day, our BARDS (Bourbon And Rye Drinkers Society) held a meeting at the new Whiskey Thief Tasting Room in Louisville. It was a very good meeting at an impressive site. Matt went with to the meeting. We walked in the building that was once an ax throwing site, and were met with a welcoming cocktail – an Old Fashioned cocktail. The venue has a full cocktail bar, a stage for live music and five barrels where they have someone stationed to thief out pours of whiskey. We were pleased to see Lisa Wicker there as well. She recently took the job of Head of Distillation at the Whiskey Thief Distillery, near Frankfort, Kentucky. After the introductions and a brief history of the distillery (the former Three Brothers Distillery), we were invited to go and sample each of the barrels. They were open about their mash bills of the whiskey and had each barrel listed on a board with the mash bill, age and proof of each whiskey. It showed some promise and I was pleased with each of their whiskeys.

The first barrel was a 6 year old wheat recipe 75/15/10, 96 proof Bourbon. The second was a 5 year old traditional Bourbon with a mash bill of 70/14/16 at 115 proof. The third was another traditional Bourbon with a mash bill of 78/12/10 and 115 proof. The fourth was another traditional Bourbon with a mash bill of 80/10/10 and the last whiskey was a rye whiskey with a mash bill of 95/5 and 115 proof. I enjoyed them all and thought the fourth barrel was the best of the lot. I found the rye to be a bit boring, but I guess I am getting bored with the 95/5 mash bill ryes. However, other members of our group found other barrels as their favorite, including the rye whiskey.

After the tasting period, we held a group discussion of the whiskeys and asked questions of Lisa. Unfortunately, she was still new to the job and admitted that she still had to learn what she can and cannot speak about their process. Fair enough. She was only about a week into the job and still needs to learn the distillery’s processes and such. I need to visit their distillery and Lisa invited me to come out for a visit after she gets settled in. Matt and I look forward to the visit.

The visit was a pleasant time and Matt was impressed with the music line up they offer. I believe that he was trying to get a chance for him and some friends coming out to play there one night. The staff was very friendly and well informed about making whiskey and hosting a tasting. They offered water and pretzels for palate cleansers between tastings and used whiskey tasting glasses for the tastings. A very top-notch tasting experience. It is worth the time to visit the tasting room while you are in Louisville.