After eating an amazing lunch at The Stave, we were off to our final Distillery. This is our first time visiting any of the Distilleries on the Craft Bourbon Trail so we were really excited. We picked Boone County because we had tried their bourbon cream but didn't know much else about them. Additionally, the location was perfect because it was just off I-75 in Northern Kentucky, so it was right on our way home.
Grounds
Unlike the other tours that we went on, Boone County doesn't span acres and acres. Instead, they have two buildings in an industrial section. The first building is the gift shop and distillery, and located behind is their rickhouse. As we mentioned, it was right in the middle of an industrial section of the county and surrounded by many different warehouses. It was a bit odd to see a distillery in a location like this, but they make it work.
The gift shop is the first area you see as you walk in the front door. Included were all the usual options, including the various products that they distill. We ended up buying a 375ml bottle of their 1833 bourbon for $38... so a bit on the pricey side.
After browsing the gift shop for a bit, our tour guide came in and started gathering everyone together. She started with a history of whiskey and bourbon within Boone County and then went through their process on making bourbon. The guide did a good job and was very knowledgeable.
One of the big takeaways for me was that Boone County started out by buying a bunch of 12 year bourbon from a distillery in Indiana (mostly likely MGP, but that wasn't confirmed), then bottled as the Boone County Distilling Co brand. This is what is currently being sold until their self-produced product has aged enough. I asked the tour guide directly about the rumor that they will run out of the current product before their bourbons have matured and she confirmed that was true.
In terms of the tour, it was fairly straightforward. We toured the end-to-end process and saw the mash, still, and the rickhouse where the barrels are aged.
Included in the tasting was their bourbon distillate, a rye distillate, their bourbon, and their bourbon cream. The distillate is the pure alcohol that is distilled and usually put into barrels for aging. It tastes like fire and no one should drink it ever... With that, we passed on sampling those two, but did have the bourbon and the bourbon cream. Since their didn't create their own bourbon (rather, they bought barrels from somewhere else and branded it), I wasn't super excited about it. Even if it were the greatest bourbon in the world, they didn't produce is so they can't recreate it or bottle more. The bourbon cream was the star of the show. This rivals Buffalo Trace and we're looking forward to doing a battle of the bourbon creams in a future article.
For our first craft distillery, Boone County did a nice job. We weren't really sure what to expect and the tour was informative, just on a much smaller scale than the others. Also, since they don't have any of their bourbon ready for sale, the tasting was a little disappointing compared to the larger distilleries, I think that's mostly due to not knowing what to expect in a craft distillery. Having said that, we're excited to do a future review on the 12 year bourbon that they bought and market as 1833 Straight Bourbon Whiskey and their self created bourbon once that is aged and ready for sale.
Public Hours & Tour Times
Tuesday – Saturday 10:00am to 5:30pm
Tours offered at 10:30am, 12:00pm, 1:30pm, 3:00pm & 4:15pm
Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm
Tours offered at 12:00pm, 1:30pm, 3:00pm & 4:15pm
Holiday Hours
The Distillery is closedon the following Holidays: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, & Easter Sunday
10601 Toebben Drive
Boone County, KY 41051
(859) 282.6545
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