The Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, continues to grow rapidly with the addition of Whiskey Thief Distilling Co. in Franklin County as its 24th stop.
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association created the statewide journey in 2012 as the nation’s first attraction to feature the burgeoning boutique distilling movement. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour’s partner attraction was founded by the KDA in 1999.
Also in 2012, Whiskey Thief Distilling was founded, operating more recently under the name Three Boys Farm Distillery. The new owner, Walter Zausch, acquired the Franklin County site at 283 Crab Orchard Road two years ago and set his sights on joining the KBT Craft Tour.
“We’re ecstatic to welcome guests into our 10-year-old distillery,” Zausch said. “We offer a unique and unforgettable experience celebrating single barrel Bourbons at barrel-strength, uncut and unfiltered. And we will keep making Bourbon and Whisky using our very traditional processes. We are ready to share the next decade of Whiskey Thief Distilling as part of the Craft Tour.”
Visitors to Whiskey Thief Distilling Co. enjoy an informative and casual Bourbon experience, sampling from several barrels of uncut and unfiltered Bourbon, and can even bottle their favorite to take home. The back patio and cocktail bar, surrounded by the corn grown and used in the Bourbon, allows guests to relax and enjoy the scenic Kentucky landscape.
Coupled with the 18 larger-scale distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour, the KDA now boasts a record 42 immersive experiences for Bourbon and spirits lovers to enjoy when visiting the Bluegrass State.
The KBT Craft Tour has tallied over 2 million distillery tours since its inception.
The KBT Craft Tour is divided into four regions — Northern, Central, Western and Bluegrass — with unique challenge coins commemorating the finish of each upon completion. After finishing all four regions, guests are awarded a collectible barrel stave tray for displaying their coins.
The 24 participating distilleries are:
NORTHERN REGION
- New Riff Distilling, Newport
- Second Sight Spirits, Ludlow
- The Old Pogue Distillery, Maysville
- Boone County Distilling Co., Independence
- Neeley Family Distillery, Sparta
CENTRAL REGION
- Copper & Kings American Brandy Co., Louisville
- Kentucky Artisan Distillery, Crestwood
- Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co., Louisville
- Jeptha Creed Distillery, Shelbyville
- Log Still Distillery, Gethsemane
- Limestone Branch Distillery, Lebanon
- Preservation Distillery, Bardstown
WESTERN REGION
- The Bard Distillery, Graham
- Boundary Oak Distillery, Radcliffe
- Casey Jones Distillery, Hopkinsville
- Dueling Grounds Distillery, Franklin
- MB Roland Distillery, Pembroke
BLUEGRASS REGION
- Barrel House Distilling Co., Lexington
- Bluegrass Distillers, Lexington
- Whiskey Thief Distilling Co., Franklin County
- Castle & Key Distillery, Frankfort
- Hartfield & Co., Paris
- James E. Pepper Distillery, Lexington
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