Boone County Distilling Company is the newest and 28th member of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. Co-owner Jack Wells began developing the distillery three years ago to draw upon Boone County’s rich distilling history. Production started in October, marking the first legal distillation in Boone County in more than a century.
“It’s inspiring to see the investment that Jack is making in bringing Bourbon back to Boone County,” Kentucky Distillers’ Association President Eric Gregory said. “We are excited that they’re joining our distilling family and adding another chapter to Kentucky’s unprecedented Bourbon renaissance.”
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Boone County Distilling – Spirits Made by Ghosts
Wells, a long-time Northern Kentucky resident who owns a coal export company, said, “We are excited to become members of the KDA and are proud to remember the rich Bourbon heritage that once dominated the northern hills of Kentucky.
The distillery’s tag line, “Made by Ghosts,” harkens to the early pioneers who crafted spirits in Boone County more than 100 years ago. “As a brand, our challenge has been to imagine something that’s always been, making it new again. Our vision is to help tell the stories of the great men who built a Bourbon empire in Northern Kentucky.”
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In the 1800s, Boone County was home to Petersburg Distillery, one of the largest of its time, which used its convenient location on the banks of the Ohio River to transport whiskey throughout the country.
Boone County Distilling’s first product – Eighteen 33 – is named for the year that Petersburg transformed from a steam mill into a distillery. It eventually produced as much as four million gallons a year in the mid-1800s before closing in 1910.
The new distillery is 5,000 square feet set on 2.5 acres. It includes a 500-gallon pot still, four fermenters and a small bottling line with a capacity of 250 barrels a year. Barrels will be stored in a 3,000-square-foot steel building behind the distillery.
In addition to its small batch Bourbon, other products will include a gin or moonshine, possibly in the spring.
Boone County’s tasting room and gift shop is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tours are currently by appointment, but Wells said they will be expanding in the spring.
Boone County Distillery Co. – Eighteen 33
