Kentucky is known around the world for its dozens of distilleries, which make everything from its famous bourbon to rye whiskey, rum, vodka, liqueurs and absinthe. Here are six distilleries that capture the essence of Kentucky’s distilled heritage and also are great places to host events.
Castle and Key Distillery
Frankfort
In Frankfort, Castle and Key Distillery is housed on a historic distillery property that was built by Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. in 1887 as his first distillery. It was inspired by European architecture and features a castle, a classical springhouse and a sunken garden. Prohibition forced the closure of the distillery in 1920, and the property changed hands several times before falling into ruin. The current owner purchased the site in 2014. He restored abandoned buildings, keeping as much of its history as possible intact.
The original intention was to turn the property into a brewery and museum. But once it was discovered the property still retained all of the hardware necessary for distilling, including fermentation tanks, he decided to update the technology and relaunch a fully functioning distillery. Castle and Key makes vodka, gin, rye whiskey and bourbon. Groups can host cocktail parties or receptions for up to 400 at the springhouse. The sunken garden, which is an exact replica of one of the gardens at Windsor Castle, can host events for up to 125. The Shooking Building has space for up to 175.
Most groups that rent space on the property will add tours and tastings. The facility provides bars at all of the events so guests can sample the different spirits created there.
James B. Beam Distilling Co.
Clermont
James B. Beam Distilling, maker of world-famous Jim Beam, has been crafting whiskey since 1795. The 500-acre historic property in Clermont is “hauntingly beautiful” with its old warehouses, stills and barrels, making it a unique place to host an event, said Tyler Himes, global brand manager.
Visitors to the property can see the entire whiskey-making process, from the grains grown onsite to the full distilling process. The Clermont property makes 16 different whiskeys, including Jim Beam, Knob Creek, Booker’s, Basil Hayden, Little Book, Hardins Creek and Old Grand-Dad. Groups wanting to take advantage of the beautiful property for meetings or events can rent out the Kitchen Table Bar and Restaurant, which can host groups of up to 120.
The Courtyard is an outdoor event space for 100 seated guests or 150 for a reception. The Cocktail Grove is an outdoor terrace behind the historic Baker Beam Home that can host large gatherings of 200. Smaller groups can rent out the century-old home or two conference rooms inside the Fred B. Noe Distillery. There’s also an event lawn for groups of up to 150.
Smaller groups can include private distillery tours and tastings or see the historic warehouses where the whiskey barrels are aged.
New Riff Distilling
Newport
New Riff Distilling in Newport prides itself on making its sour mash whiskey with water drawn from an ancient aquifer and distilled in copper kettles. Every New Riff bourbon and rye is bottled under the highest quality standard in the world: the 1897 Bottled in Bond Act. It allows a slow, natural rise in fermentation temperature over a four-day period, and each barrel is aged for at least four years in a full-size 53-gallon barrel.
The distillery offers several tour and tasting experiences, including the Bonded tour, which gives visitors a firsthand look at the distilling process from grain to barrel and a complimentary tasting of a variety of spirits.
Groups wanting to host events there can rent out the facility’s new Tower Room, which is perfect for intimate celebrations centered around a glass of whiskey. The space can hold 20 to 26 for seated events or 40 to 60 for mingling events. Groups that rent the space can add on tours and tastings. For larger groups, the tours would be handled in shifts, with each tour taking between 30 and 40 minutes.
Second Sight Spirits
Ludlow
Two high school friends, Rick Couch, a mechanical engineer, and Carus Waggoner, an industrial designer, founded Ludlow’s Second Sight Spirits in 2014 after visiting a Las Vegas distillery. The pair helped to create Cirque Du Soleil’s “LOVE” and “Viva Elvis” shows in Las Vegas, and when those shows ended, they decided to start their own artisan distillery in northern Kentucky. Second Sights makes bourbon, single malt whiskey, a variety of rums, hazelnut liqueur and absinthe.
The distillery offers tours on weekends and features a coffee shop and a cocktail lounge. The Second Sight Lounge is available for evening events Thursdays through Sundays. The lounge accommodates up to 92 people. Smaller groups can rent the lounge for business meetings or brainstorming sessions during the week, utilizing the cocktail bar and coffee shop and adding on tastings, tours or custom cocktails. Groups can bring in their own food and music to take advantage of the full stage.
Whiskey Thief Distilling Co.
Frankfort
Whiskey Thief Distilling is a 12-year-old craft distillery on a 127-acre working farm in Franklin County. The facility grows its own corn for use in bourbons and whiskeys, and it produces between 600 and 1,000 barrels annually.
“Whiskey relies on tourism,” said Walter Zausch, owner and CEO of Whiskey Thief. “We offer a real hands-on, authentic experience for people.”
The distillery makes its spirits one batch at a time using craft pot distillation, which means that every batch is slightly different than the one before. The company takes its name from a copper tool about two-and-a-half feet long that allows a person to pull samples of whiskey out of a barrel. Called a whiskey thief, the device has been in use for hundreds of years.
The distillery allows its guests to use the whiskey thief to sample spirits and even fill their own bottles to take home. Groups can hold events on the property after hours, host tastings in the large barn where the fermentation tanks and still are located, or take advantage of the outside spaces and patios. The property can accommodate up to 300 guests. The distillery is opening a new location in Louisville that will offer the same tasting and bottling experiences available at its Frankfort site. It will accommodate 40 in a meeting room and 200 for the entire space.
Green River Distilling Co.
Owensboro
Since 1885, Kentuckians have been crafting whiskey at the site of what is now Green River Distilling. The distillery holds the 10th-oldest Distilled Spirits Plant number in the state. Its signature product was reintroduced in 2022. The distillery makes a variety of bourbon and rye whiskeys.
The Bottling House can host up to 350 guests for corporate events or parties. The space comes with 37 round tables, 350 chairs and service tables for catering. Green River also has a mobile bar unit called the Whiskey Wagon that can travel to off-site events.
Groups that host events at the Owensboro facility can add tours and tastings, including “sit and sips,” distillery tours and tastings, and cocktail classes. The cocktail classes teach guests how to craft two specialty bourbon cocktails. Barrel thieving allows visitors to taste three products pulled directly from hand-selected barrels during a behind-the-scenes tour. The distillery tour takes visitors through 28 acres of bourbon production and barrel storage areas and includes a tasting of several products.
