Bourbon County will soon have its first locally-produced bourbon on the market since Prohibition.
The Gentleman Distillery is located in downtown Paris, and is aging its whiskey in much smaller barrels and for shorter amounts of time than most bourbon producers. Co-owner and head distiller Andrew Buchanan says their bourbon will stay in the barrels for four to five months—as opposed to years.
“We can really push through and get a product to market a whole lot quicker, which obviously helps smaller, startup distilleries get a product with some age, and color, and taste.
Because it’s aged less than two years in a barrel, The Gentleman Distillery can’t label its whiskey as “straight bourbon.” However, Buchanan says whiskey drinkers are becoming more willing to try shorter-aged spirits.
Bourbon County was home to 26 distilleries before Prohibition. None re-opened when the act was repealed in 1933.
Buchanan says it feels good to bring Kentucky’s signature spirit back to an area that still has many of the old warehouses that once housed distilleries.
“Once we really started researching the history of bourbon in Bourbon County, those names that are on those warehouses are some of the same names that are part of the bourbon history here.”
Buchanan says the first bottles of The Gentleman Distillery’s bourbon will be available Sept. 18.
