The Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) has welcomed three new distilleries into its ranks in recent weeks. Buzzard’s Roost Spirts in Louisville, Heaven’s Door Distillery in Pleasureville (Henry County), and General George Stillhouse in Grayson County, have joined the KDA at the Craft Distillery level. This means they age between one and 1,000 barrels each year.
Buzzard's Roost Spirits
Buzzard Roost Spirits began in 2019 blending sourced whiskey and doing some interesting things with the maturation process in a second barrel. The Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey Row Experience opened earlier this year on Main Street in Louisville. It now includes a 75-gallon pot still.
Buzzard’s Roost produces Buzzard’s Roost Barrel Strength Bourbon, Buzzard’s Roost Toasted American Oak Bourbon, Buzzard’s Roost Char # 1 Bourbon, Single Barrel Bourbon for private selection, RYE, Buzzard’s Roost Barrel Strength Rye, Buzzard’s Roost Toasted Barrel Rye and Buzzard’s Roost Char #1 Rye. Learn more at https://www.buzzardsroostwhiskey.com.
Heaven's Door Distillery
The KDA describes Heaven’s Door as “a collection of handcrafted bourbon and American whiskeys co-created in 2018 with the legendary Bob Dylan, one of the greatest singer-songwriters ever.”
The new Heaven’s Door Distillery will open in the spring of 2024. The distillery said it will include “two separate stillhouses, each in its own towering western horse barn, a visitor’s center with tasting rooms and lounges overlooking Six Mile Creek, an 18th-century grist mill, two 18th-century cabins and a Moravian barn, all of which have been painstakingly restored.”
Learn more at https://www.heavensdoor.com
General George Stillhouse
General George Stillhouse started last year in south-central Kentucky on property that George Washington once owned.
The General George Stillhouse currently has a 7,000-square-foot production facility, with one pot still for bourbon whiskey and one for gin. When a third still starts up next summer, production will increase to 12 barrels a day.
Still to come: a rickhouse, bottling line, additional staff and a tasting room. Learn more at https://www.ggstillhouse.com.
The KDA has more than 60 members, the most it has had since before Prohibition.
