An Authentic, Hands-on Bourbon Experience
About six years ago, I took some visitors to a small family-run distillery just outside Frankfort, Kentucky called Three Boys Farm Distillery. My promise that day, “You’re not going to find a more authentic, hands-on bourbon experience.” It was the first place you could dip a whiskey thief directly into five different whiskey barrels to then taste.
Today, the 127-acre distillery has a new owner and new name: Whiskey Thief Distilling Company. The operation is bigger and more polished, but every bit as authentic.
Whiskey Thief Distilling Company recently opened a second location in downtown Louisville to complement the original Franklin County farm location.
What’s a Whiskey Thief?
A whiskey thief, like a wine thief, is the long copper tube that you use to draw whiskey from a barrel. Think of it like a big copper straw: you dip it in the barrel, let it fill up, put your finger over the end, and draw out a few ounces of amber whiskey goodness for either your tasting class or to fill your own bottle.
Uncut and Unfiltered
I recently went to the farm to meet with Walter Zausch, the owner and CEO of Whiskey Thief Distilling Company, to learn more about this burgeoning bourbon operation. It turns out I already knew Walter. He taught my Stave and Thief Society Certified Bourbon Steward Course about five years ago at the Pendennis Club in Louisville (which claims to be the home of the first Old Fashioned cocktail.)
After touring the distilling operation, I asked Zausch what his “elevator speech” is on why someone should visit Whiskey Thief Distilling Company.
“We’re a 12-year-old small craft distillery that is uncut and unfiltered in every way possible. You’re going to get an uncut and unfiltered experience, you’re going to taste some uncut and unfiltered whiskey. It’s very hands-on, you get to see the whole process. We’re on a 127-acre farm. You can enjoy a true taste of Kentucky and enjoy some great 5,6,7-year-old bourbons and whiskeys straight out of the barrel — the way nature intended it and fill your own bottle if you want to.”
Next, I asked Zausch what brought him to the world of bourbon.
“I was always a bourbon fan,” Zausch said. “I worked in technology, and we bounced around between California and Chicago, then we moved back to Kentucky. The bourbon boom was in full effect, so I started a little wholesaling company called Distijl; I was buying and selling barrels. This is where I met Ross Caldwell, who was the founder of Three Boys Farm Distillery, 12 years ago.”
Zausch stored barrels and had his bottling done on the farm that Caldwell had named in honor of his three triplet sons. Caldwell became a good friend and Zausch was a frequent visitor to the beautiful farm.
How did the property eventually change hands? Zausch tells it this way, “Ross said, ‘You know, I think most days you like this place better than I do…I think I’m ready to retire and go back to Louisiana. I’m looking to sell the place and I think you should consider buying it.’”
“We drank a bunch more bourbon and the deal got better and better,” Zausch said. “Six months later, we figured it all out and signed the deal. I’ve been the owner now for four years.”
Ironically, Caldwell had originally wanted to name the operation Whiskey Thief Distilling Company, but a legal snafu prevented that. Zausch was able to obtain the copyright and rebranded when he took over.
A Differentiated Product
Zausch said that Whiskey Thief creates, “a differentiated product, meaning every bottle is different, every barrel is different, every batch is different.”
“That barrel that you taste here, you can also fill a bottle of it and take it home,” Zauch said. “That is a singular experience. Barrels are always changing in flavor, even when they’re out here in our tasting areas, that flavor is changing just because of the temperature, barometric pressure, and humidity influencing that barrel. These barrels go through upturns and downturns.”
Zausch continued, “You could come out and taste the barrel on a Saturday, come back the following Saturday and taste from the same barrel, and it might be slightly different. We celebrate that differentiated experience; we celebrate what barrels do to whiskey.”
Walk-ins Are Welcome
Both locations are now open seven-days-a-week, year-round. The Franklin County location recently hosted the first Whiskey Thief Fest which included four bands and hundreds of visitors at an intimate music and bourbon festival that lasted into the night.
Other events in Franklin County have included a night dedicated to Alcohol in Space, featuring an author discussing his book on producing and consuming alcohol in space, along with local university students and professors leading star-and-planet gazing.
Here’s another great reason to visit Whiskey Thief in Franklin County: while they encourage reservations, you can show up without a lot of advance planning and still see the place.
“We welcome walk-in customers,” Zausch said. “Because we’re such a large facility here and we can still hold on to a little bit of our capacity for walk-in customers.”
Whiskey Thief Louisville in NuLu
I attended the VIP Preview of the new Whiskey Thief Louisville location in the trendy NuLu section of downtown in early October.
It’s located on Nanny Goat Strut, an alley not to be confused with Billy Goat Strut that runs behind Angel’s Envy Distilling a few blocks north. In honor of the occasion, you could get your photo taken with a nanny goat, who attended all the festivities of the opening weekend.
The venue is a welcome addition to the downtown Louisville whiskey experience scene. It offers a well-stocked bar, live music, and later hours to extend your day on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. You have the same opportunity here to grab a whiskey thief and fill your glass or an entire bottle straight from the barrel at full strength.
Whiskey Thief Distillery Company by the Numbers
- 1000 barrels a year.
- Seven 1200-gallon fermenters.
- One 1200-gallon cooker.
- 127-acre farm, growing 12 acres of corn.
- 650-gallon pot still with a column still.
- 4,000-barrel warehouse (with 2,500 barrels aging).
- 24-hours a day: distilling takes place around the clock.
- 50,000 visitors in the past year.
- Products are only sold in Franklin County and Louisville locations.
“One of my goals has been to really to expand the experience, to see more visitors, and really tell our story in a bigger way. So, we've grown very quickly in four years.”
Whiskey Thief Single Barrel Picks
The only thing better than thieving your own bottle right from a barrel might be getting to pick your very own whole barrel. On my visit, I met Hannah Melillo, who oversees Direct Sales & Single Barrels for Whiskey Thief Distilling Company.
Here’s what she told me about the Whiskey Thief Single Barrel Pick Program:
- “Three to five separate barrel samples ready for you to taste.”
- “We invite you to come to the farm to enjoy that process here or we can send samples to you.”
- “We’ll select those samples ahead of time based on age, a particular mash bill, or other criteria if you have any. We’ll only select barrels that we feel are prime and will let you know ahead of time if we don’t have something available to meet your criteria.”
- “Pricing will be based on the age of the barrel you select as well as whether you want barrel strength or want to proof down your bourbon.”
- “Most of our available inventory is between 4–7-year stock, but we do have some others if interested.”
- “We are unique in that we will work with you if you don’t want to purchase the entire lot. We’re a smaller operation and would gladly keep a portion to sell through our distillery and gift shop.”
- “Unfortunately, we can’t ship the product out of state at this time, but you can pick the goods up from our farm. Typically, we can deliver in 6-8 weeks.”
Once the barrel is chosen and emptied, individual bottle price depends on the age of the whiskey and how much was still in the barrel after the angels’ share. If you want, you can even keep the barrel.
For more information on the Whiskey Thief Single Barrel Program, write to [email protected]
A Memorable Experience
My visit to Whiskey Thief ended with a tasting that allowed me to draw samples from each of five different barrels; four bourbons and one rye. The ages of each barrel (five-to seven-years-old), mash bills, and proofs (94.4 to 131.6 – remember this is straight from the cask) are handwritten on a nearby chalkboard. I’m a wheat guy and decided to fill my own bottle from the barrel containing a six-year-old, 75 percent corn/15 percent wheat/10 percent malted barley bourbon. Absolutely delicious.
I’ve said it before, there is no more sublime and memorable experience for a whiskey enthusiast that to take copper thief in hand and fill your own glass or bottle. The bourbon at Whiskey Thief is excellent and the experience is even better.
When You Go to Whiskey Thief Distilling Company
Franklin County
283 Crab Orchard Road
Frankfort, Kentucky
Mon – Sat: 10 a.m to 5 p.m. (4:30 p.m. last tour)
Sun: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (4:30 p.m. last tour)
Louisville
610 Nanny Goat Strut
Louisville, Kentucky
Mon – Thur: 11 a.m to 7 p.m.
Fri – Sat: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sun: 12 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Book a tour here.
Colonel Brian G. Miller is the Editor of Whiskey Network Magazine. His column, The Bourbon Tutor, covers the latest in bourbon tourism, events, culture, and history. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky. You can reach him at [email protected]
