Distillery Tours Not In Kentucky

Distilling has taken off in the United States and there are many distilleries in states other than Kentucky. I have not been to them all, but I thought I would discuss some of the ones I have visited. I will start with the ones closest to Kentucky.

Indiana: There are several distilleries that I have visited in Indiana. One of the closest to Louisville is Huber’s Distillery. It has an excellent tour with two distilleries. One makes whiskey and the other makes brandy. Both distilleries are making excellent products and the tour is well organized and informative. They are a grain to glass distillery as it is a working farm with excellent produce for sale as well as their spirits. The next is Hard Truth Distillery. It has an excellent tour and has a restaurant and a venue for entertainment that has many bands play at their outdoor stage.

Tennessee: George Dickel Distillery has an excellent tour. I have been there many times over the last 30 years, starting with my time at United Distillers in the 1990s. I highly recommend the tour and I have often heard people say on the tour “This is what I thought Jack Daniels would be like.” It is a smaller operation than Jack Daniels and very rustic compared to Jack Daniels. This leads me to Jack Daniels. It is a very good tour, but as the world’s best-selling American Whiskey, it is huge. Still, the history of the brand is well covered and worth visiting for that alone. There are smaller distilleries in Tennessee, as well. I like the Nelson’s Greenbrier distillery in Nashville. It is small but has an excellent tour and a lot of history of the brand which was one of the best known Tennessee Whiskeys before prohibition. Finally, one of my favorite distilleries in Tennessee is Leiper’s Fork Distillery. It is a small distillery that makes excellent whiskeys. Their owner and Master Distiller, Lee Kennedy, has built a small distillery with a very rustic look and offers an excellent tour. If you are in Franklin, Tennessee, I would recommend a visit and pick up bottles of their whiskeys.

Missouri: I really like the Ben Holladay Distillery in Weston, Missouri. They are making excellent whiskey and offer an excellent tour. The site is very rural and beautiful. It is a short drive from Kansas City and well worth the visit.

Ohio: I have not been to the Tom’s Foolery Distillery since they moved location and expanded, but it is a distillery making great whiskey. When I was there, they had a small pot still distillery in a small barn, but I understand that they have since moved and expanded, and I look forward to visiting them the next time I am in Cleveland.

North Carolina: There are two distilleries that I have visited near Charlotte, North Carolina. The first is Southern Distillery in Statesville, North Carolina. They offer an excellent tour and make very good whiskey. They are a fairly large distillery that also contract distills. The tour is well planned and you get to see every step of the production. The next is the Southern Grace Distillery in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. It is located in an old state prison and offers an excellent tour. They also make excellent whiskey. They are a small operation and age their whiskey in former prison cells.

Washington State: This is the farthest distillery from Kentucky that I have visited. Located near Seattle, Washington, Woodinville has an excellent tour and is making very good whiskey. The tour is well designed and informative.

Virginia: One of the best tours is at the George Washington Distillery at Mount Vernon. It is an excellent tour and the only tour that offers a glimpse of what distilling was like in the 18th century. Wood-fired stills and hand mashing next to the water mill offers an excellent look at early, pioneer distilling.

These are a few of the distilleries that I have visited in my travels. They all offer very good tours and are worth visiting.