Kentucky Peerless Distilling Company is finally open for business, including tours, starting June 4. A Grand Opening ceremony was held this morning, just weeks after the company barreled its first production of rye whiskey. The site contains an entire grain-to-bottle business, and production is moving right along.
I went on an abbreviated tour of the facility, where mash was fermenting in the mash tubs, and barrels were already aging in the miniature rick house. Bottles of their Lucky brand moonshine were on the bottling line, though it wasn’t running when I was there.
There are classic cars, photographs of family members and salvaged architectural details set up throughout the distillery facility, perfectly blending the old with the new. Kentucky Peerless Distillery, once the 2nd largest distillery in Kentucky, was originally located in Henderson, Kentucky. It became a victim of Prohibition in the '20s, but the family decided to resurrect and relocate it to Louisville. Perhaps the most authentic touch the family has added to the venture is the original Distiller’s license: KYDSP50.
Tours of the distillery will typically take about an hour and start in the Family Room with discussion of family history and bourbon basics. Tours then move to the distilling operation, where guests see the cooking and fermentation tanks, stills and grain milling process. Then guests get to see the bottling line, where Lucky Moonshine is already being bottled, and finally the rick house, where barrels are already being aged. There is also a beautiful tasting room and gift shop concluding the tour.
Tours will be held Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00 – 4:00 (TOURS AT 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30) and cost $12 for adults over 18 and $6 for seniors and ages 10-17. Children under 10 and Active Military are free. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made at (502) 566-4999.
Photos Courtesy of Max Sharp and Maggie Kimberl
