The State of American Whiskey Distilleries 2017

Each March I review the state of craft whiskey per my Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries and Brands.  As of today, the list shows 803 American distilleries making whiskey, up from 683 last year. Here's the number for each year since I started doing the count (I didn't do counts in 2010 and 2011):

2009: 44
2012: 129
2013: 190
2014: 325
2015: 517
2016: 683
2017: 803

New York continues to lead the pack with 70 distilleries making whiskey (up from 53 last year), followed by Washington (58), California (51), Colorado (46), Pennsylvania (36), Texas (36) and Kentucky (35).

And be sure to check out this month's issue of Imbibe Magazine which focuses on whiskey and has a two page spread, including a color coded map, based on my whiskey list (only available in hard copy).

The State of American Whiskey Distilleries

It's time for my yearly update on the state of American whiskey distilleries.  This year, my Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries shows 683 total distilleries making whiskey. That's up from 517 last year at this time, which is similar to the number of new whiskey distilleries we saw between 2014 and 2015.

This year, New York passed Washington as the state with the most whiskey distilleries, having 53 to Washington's 52. They were followed by California (45), Colorado (38), Kentucky (30) and Pennsylvania (29).  There are distilleries making whiskey in 49 states plus the District of Columbia (still no whiskey being made in Hawaii).

Armagnac Producers

As I've become more and more interested in brandies, and Armagnac in particular, I thought I would try to put together a list of producers along the lines of my list of whiskey distilleries. In his excellent but regrettably out of print 1998 book Armagnac - The Definitive Guide to France's Premier Brandy, Charles Neal says that there are 800 producers in the Armagnac region. That is a pretty daunting number and covers many producers who sell to negociants and don't bottle their own product. As a more reasonable endeavor, I put together a list of major Armagnac producers whose products are more likely to be found in the U.S.

Much as whiskey production includes distillers, blenders and bottlers of sourced product, Armagnac includes a number of different types of producers.  There are grower/producers who grow their own grapes and make their own wine (which is often distilled for them by a traveling distiller), distillers who buy wine and distill and age it, and negociants who buy distilled Armagnac to bottle and/or blend.

The list below is divided into four sections. The first three sections list grower/producers in the three regions of Armagnac (though Haut Armagnac barely has any producers) which are listed along with their locations. Some of these growers bottle their own Armagnac while others sell casks to Darroze, the one Armagnac negociant that regularly lists the provenance of its casks.

The last list shows firms that distill and/or bottle Armagnac from other growers. Some of them grow some portion of their own grapes as well. As with whiskey, it's not always clear who does what, but I've tried my best to get it right.


Bas Armagnac

Artez, Arthez d'Armagnac. More information available on their distributor's website.

Baraillon Domaine de, Lannemaignan
Barigos, Domaine de
La Beroje, Chateau de,  Le Houg
Bernadotte, Domaine de, Parleboscq
Bertruc, Domaine de, Le Frêche
Boingneres, Domaine, Le Frêche
Bouillon, Domaine de

Briat, Chateau de, Mauvezin d'Armaganc
Busquet, Domaine de, Labastide d'Armagnac

Charron, Domaine de, Perquie

Coquillon, Domaine de, Le Frêche
Couzard Lassalle, Domaine,
Ducs, Domaine Aux, Le Bourdalat 

Esperance, Domaine de, Mauvezin-d'Armagnac
La Gardenne, Domaine de,
Garreau, Chateau, Labastide-d'Armagnac
Gaube, Chateau de, Perquie
Guillemouta, Domaine de

Jean Bon, Domaine de, Toujouse
Jouanchicot, Domaine de (aka Domaine de Dupont), Mauléon-d'Armagnac
Jouanda, Domaine de, Arthez d'Armagnac
Joy, Domaine de, Panjas

Laballe, Chateau de, Parleboscq
Laberdolive, Domaine de, Labastide-d'Armagnac
Laburthe, Domaine de, Lacquy
Lacquy, Chateau de, Lacquy
Lamarquette, Domaine de
Laree, Chateau de, Laree
Lassaubatju, Domaine de, Hontanx

Lasserade, Chateau de, Lasserade

Laubade, Chateu de, Sorbets
Loujan, Domain (Armagnacs labeled just "Loujan" are sourced).
Luquet, Domaine de, Labastide-d'Armagnac

Maouhum, Domaine de

Marie Duffau
Martet, Chateau, Vic-Fezensac (owned by Maison Gelas)
Martin, Domaine au, Hontanx
Millet, Chateau de, Eauze
Miquer, Domaine de, Hontanx

Ognoas, Domaine De, Arthez d'Armagnac

Papolle, Domaine de, Mauléon d’Armagnac
Petita, Domaine de, Perquie
Peyrot, Domaine de, Sainte Christie d'Armagnac
Pounon, Domaine de, Labastide d'Armagnac
Pouteou, Domaine de, Lannemaignan

Ravignan, Chateau de, Perquie
Rieston, Domaine de, Perquie
Rimaillo, Domaine de,
Saint Aubin, Chateau du
Salie, Domaine de, Landas
Sandemagnan, Chateau, Cazaubon
Tariquet, Chateau du


Haut Armagnac

Grand-Comte, Domaine de, Roquelaure.

Tenareze

Arton, Domaine de, Lectoure.

Aurensan, Domaine, Cassaigne (common ownership with Leberon)

Busca, Chateau du, Mansencôme
Cassaigne, Chateau de, Cassaigne
Grangerie, Chateau de, Lannes

Ladeveze, Tenareze de

Leberon, Chateau de, Cassaigne (common ownership with Aurensan)
Pellehaut, Chateau de, Montréal
La Poste, Domaine de, 
Pouchegu, Domaine de
La Salette, Domaine, Condom (aka Domaine Duffour)


Negociants

Baron de Castelnau, Ayguetinte (Distills and ages purchased wines)
Baron de Lustrac, Magnan
Castarede, Maison, Lavardac. (Also use the label Chateau de Maniban). They distill in-house, except for some of their oldest vintages.
Cavé, Lannepax
Chabot, Villeneuve-de-Marsan
Cles des Ducs, Panjas
Darroze, Bas Armagnac. Darroze purchases Armagnac and discloses the producer on the label as well as making blends.
Dartigalongue, Nogaro (also uses the label La Croix de Salles). Use their own grapes as well as purchasing.
Delord, Lannepax (also sell under the Marie Duffau label). Delord has its own vines as well as purchasing wines.
Eric Artiguelongue, Arblade le Haut
Ferrand, Maison, This Cognac bottler also bottles Armagnac under the Cerbois label.
Gelas, Maison, Vic-Fezensac. Owners of Chateau Martet bottle it as well as other Armagnacs.
Janneau, Condom (Distills and ages from purchased wines)
Kelt, Nogaro. A Cognac bottler that also makes Chateau du Saint Aubin Armagnac.
Lafitte, Domaine a, Sion
Larressingle, Condom
Loujan, This new producer has purchased a vineyard but, prior to having its own wines, bottled sourced Armagnacs under the Loujan label. Now they have produced some Armagnacs from their wines under the label "Domaine Loujan.".
Marcel Trepout, Vic-Fezensac
Marquis de Montesquiou, Eauze (Pernod Ricard)
Marquis de Sauval
Montal, Nogaro.
Ryst-Dupeyron, Maison, Condom. Using the label J. Dupeyron.
Samalens, Laujuzan
Sempe, Villeneuve-de-Marsan
Veuve J. Goudoulin, Maison, Gondrin

The State of American Whiskey Distilleries 2015

Every year, I do a brief summary of the American distilling scene based on my Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries & Brands.

The rapid growth of distilleries continues. By my count, as of 2015, there are 517 distilleries in the United States that are currently making whiskey, up from 325 just a year ago.

Whiskey is being distilled in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Hawaii is the only no-show, though they do have a rum distillery.

Washington State continues to lead the way with 47 active whiskey distilleries, followed by New York with 43, California with 36 and Colorado with 29.  Four other states have twenty or more whiskey distilleries: Oregon (24), Kentucky (23), Texas (21) and Ohio (20).

The expansion of distilling really is amazing over the years if you look back at my reports from 2014 and 2013.

Lists - We've Got Lists

If you haven't checked out my big lists lately, you might want to as I am constantly updating them.

The Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries & Brands now lists 325 distilleries making whiskey in the US.  That's up from 190 a year ago which shows pretty amazing growth.  In addition, the list includes 115 independent bottlers (also known as non-distiller producers or NDPs).

Meanwhile, The Complete List of Whiskey Blogs lists 495 blogs as well as assorted other whiskey sites.  I like to click randomly through it and read a few posts from who knows where.

As always, please let me know if I've left anything out!  I get lots of great tips from readers, though please do check the list thoroughly first.  You won't believe how many emails I get asking me to include companies on the distilleries/brands list that are already there (usually in the bottlers section) or that only make vodka.

Check 'em out!

The State of Craft Whiskey

Given the recently reported division among craft spirits trade groups, I thought it would be a good time to review the state of craft whiskey based on the information I've culled in my Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries.

As of 2013, I count a remarkable 190 craft distilleries that are making whiskey (though not all are on the market yet).  A year ago, the count was 117.

Washington leads the pack with 25 craft whiskey distillers, but four other states have more than 10: California (16), New York (14), Colorado (13) and Oregon (11).

Clearly, the craft movement continues to grow at an impressive rate. It will be interesting to see where it goes.

News Flash: There are Now More Whiskey Distilleries in the US than in Scotland

It's true! In 2009, after observing the American micro-distilling boom for a few years, I set about putting together a list of all of the whiskey distilleries in the United States. When I first posted the two part list (one list for Kentucky and one for everywhere else), I was able to count 36 active distilleries, plus nine more in the works.

I now keep an updated list on a separate page (the list also includes independent bottlers as a separate category). The current count of whiskey distilleries on that list is a staggering 129. Now, some of those distilleries do not yet have anything on the market and many are very, very small, but it is still an amazing number, and it is still growing. I update the list more than once per month with new distilleries that I find out about from combing the news, the net at the good old TTB.

In contrast, Scotland has 97 active malt whisky distilleries, including new distilleries that are not yet marketing whiskey. In addition, there are seven grain distilleries, making a total of 104 whiskey distilleries in Scotland. So yes, there are more whiskey distilleries in the United States than in Scotland however you count.

Of course, there are a number of caveats that go along with that statement. The United States is obviously a much larger country than Scotland, and many of the American distilleries make only unaged "white whiskey" and other young whiskeys that could not even be legally called whiskey in Scotland. Still, given that 15 years ago there were only about a dozen whiskey distilleries in the United States, this is a remarkable growth rate which demonstrates the popularity of the American craft distillery movement.

Here are some fun facts about American distilleries:

• There are whiskey distilleries in 36 of the 50 states.


• Kentucky has the most distilleries with 14, followed by California with 12 and Oregon with 11.


• Eleven states have five or more distilleries.

Now, I've been a frequent critic of craft distilleries and continue to be, but as I try to keep track of them for my list, I can't help but be impressed by the sheer breadth of the movement and the rate at which they are opening. That being said, lets see how many of them last half as long as the average Scotch distillery. That, not the number in existence today, will be the ultimate test.

Whiskey Wednesday: Microdistilleries to Watch

As I learned in compiling my Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries, the world of craft distilleries is booming. In doing the research, I found a number of whiskey distilleries or planned distilleries that do not yet have anything on the market. I thought I would list these distilleries so we can follow their progress. The status of these operations varies from working distilleries that have whiskey maturing in barrels to projects that seem to be little more than a guy with passion and a website. In any case, the following distilleries are either producing or have plans (or dreams) to produce whiskey but don't have anything on the market yet.


Balcones Distillery, Waco, TX. This distillery is under construction with plans to make a single malt whiskey.

Dryfly Distilling, Spokane, Washington. This producer of gin and vodka is currently ageing their DryFly Single Malt Whiskey.

Ellensburg Distillery, Ellensburg, Washington. Ellensburg licensed a distillery in October 2008 and is selling futures for Gold Buckle Club Washington Frontier Style Whisky, a cask strength rye whiskey.

Garrison Brothers Distillery, Hye, TX. Garrison Brothers is currently ageing its Texas Bourbon, a wheater, which it hopes to release in 2011.

Nashoba Distillery, Boston, MA. This winery turned distillery is planning to release a five year old single malt in August 2009.

Penobscot Bay Distillery, Winterport, ME. This micro plans to open this year and aspires to produce Bourbon, rye, single malt and multi-grain whiskies. You can read about their start-up on Slashfood's Diary of a Distiller.

Pioneer Spirits, Chico, CA. This new Northern California distillery reports that they have a California corn whiskey "in production" as well as a light rum.

Roughstock Distillery, Bozeman, MT. This distillery is making Roughstock Montana Whiskey, a single malt which they claim will soon be coming to "a liquor store or watering hole near you."

Wyoming Whiskey, Kirby Wyoming. Wyoming Whiskey have plans to make "America's next great bourbon." It's not clear that they have built a distillery yet.

If you know of any others, please let me know, and if you are from one of these distilleries, I'd love to hear from you about your plans and progress.

The Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries & Brands

PLEASE NOTE: This list has moved. Click here for your up to date list of all American whiskey distilleries and brands.

Whiskey Wednesday: American Independent Bottlers

Over the last two weeks, I have been providing lists of American whiskey distilleries and their brand names. If you peruse those lists, though, you will find that there are many brands that aren't listed. The reason is that these brands are not released by the distillery but by independent companies.

The phenomenon of independent bottling is well known in Scotland, where there is a long tradition of bottling companies buying casks of single malt Scotch and selling them under their own labels. Unlike in the US, however, in Scotland, the bottlers usually say on the label where the whiskey was distilled. For instance, a bottle of Signatory whiskey will clearly state that it is a Signatory product distilled at Laphroaig (or wherever).

In the US, independent bottlers almost never say where their whiskey is from. They market it as an independent brand and many even imply that they distill it themselves. These are practices which I have long condemned and I renew my call for American bottlers to openly state that they are bottlers and tell us where they got their whiskey.

Please understand that this is not a criticism of the whiskey in the bottle. As with independent Scotch bottlers, there are independent Americans who are fully capable of putting out great whiskey. I just wish they were more honest about how they came to acquire it.

With all of the brands out there, it gets very confusing. I consider myself a very knowledgeable whiskey consumer and I still had many challenges in putting together this list and trying to find out the straight dope about who was making what brand and who was really distilling. I sent emails to bottlers, and I perused the writings of experts like Chuck Cowdery and other authorities for hints and theories.

Nearly all bottlers concentrate on Kentucky Bourbon and Rye. If you read our list of Kentucky distilleries, you know that there are a limited number of sources for Kentucky whiskey. So where does all of this whiskey come from? Heaven Hill is known to be a major supplier of independents as is Tom Moore/Barton Brands. In addition, some of the independents have old stock from closed distilleries such as Michter's or Stitzel-Weller. But, alas, in most cases, we won't get too far in this guessing game and will just have to accept that we don't know who makes this stuff.

In addition, some of the brands listed below are brand names held by one company that contract with a bottling company to acquire and bottle the whiskey, so they are actually twice removed from the distillery.

Another phenomenon in the independent bottling world is that many of the new microdistilleries which want to release whiskey but don't have any of their own yet are releasing whiskey purchased from other distillers, usually the big Kentucky distilleries. Some of the micros are forthright about this, but others imply that they, themselves, are distilling the whiskey.

Unlike my distillery list, the list below is not exhaustive. There are many independent brands, and I'm sure that some have been left off, but it's a good start. If you see any that I missed, please let me know. And as with my other lists, all brands refer to Bourbons unless otherwise stated.


Chatham Imports: This company sells Bourbon and rye under the Michter's label, which is bottled for them by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (see below). Michter's was a Pennsylvania distillery, the last of whose Bourbon is owned and bottled by Preiss Imports (see below). This Michter's brand has nothing to do with that distillery except that Chatham now owns the name.

Conecuh Ridge Whiskey: This Alabama bottler uses Kentucky Bourbon for its Clyde May's Conecuh Ridge Whiskey.

Diageo: The world's largest spirits corporation owns the George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey distillery, but they don't own any Bourbon distilleries. To get into the Bourbon game, they released Bulleit Bourbon, which is made for them by Four Roses.

High West: This Utah company is planning to distill rye whiskey; for now they have released Rendezvous Rye, which is a blend of two rye whiskies distilled elsewhere.

Kentucky Bourbon Distillers: I shudder everytime I read the name of this bottler which shamelessly refers to itself as a distiller. KBD is the big daddy of Bourbon and Rye Bottling, using all of the following brand names, many of which are popular and have garnered positive reviews:

Black Maple Hill Bourbon and Rye
Classic Cask
Corner Creek
Johnny Drum
Kentucky Pride
Kentucky Vintage
Michter's Bourbon and Rye (bottled for Chatham Imports, see above).
Noah's Mill
Old Bardstown
Pure Kentucky XO
Rowan's Creek
Vintage Bourbon and Rye
Willett

Luxco: Luxco sells Bourbon under multiple brands, including Ezra Brooks, Rebel Yell, Rebel Reserve and Yellowstone.

McCormick Distillery: Unlike some of the entries on this list which call themselves distillers, this Missoui producer is an actual distillery. For years, this distillery made Platte Valley Corn Whiskey at their Missouri plant. McCormick still owns the brand but apparently isn't making the whiskey anymore. No one seems to know for certain who produces it, but given that Heaven Hill is the only macrodistillery producing corn whiskey, they are a pretty safe bet.

McLain and Kyne Distillery: There's the dreaded D-word again. McLain and Kyne bottles Bourbon under the brands Jefferson, Jefferson Reserve and Sam Houston.

Old Pogue: Bottlers of Bourbon under the Old Pogue label.

Preiss Imports: Preiss imports is a bottler and importer that bought up the old stocks of A.H. Hirsch from the closed Michter's distillery in Pennsylvania. (The Michter's name is now used by Chatham Imports to bottle unrelated whiskey). They are bottling the last of the old Michter's Bourbon as A.H. Hirsch, but they are also using the Hirsch name on a variety of whiskies, including a Canadian whisky, a rye and an "American whiskey," none of which appear to have any relation to A.H. Hirsch.

Prichard's Distillery: This Tennessee microdistillery makes its own rum, but they also bottle a Kentucky Bourbon under the label Prichard's Double Barrelled Bourbon Whiskey.

Templeton Rye: This Iowa microdistillery aspires to make their own rye whiskey but for now, has bottled a rye from elsewhere.

Wathen's Bourbon: It's unclear to me who exactly is making this stuff or where they are getting it. They imply that it's made at the Medley distillery in Owensboro, Kentucky, but that distillery shut down years ago (though Chuck Cowdery reports that there are plans afoot to reopen it). An email to Wathen's went unanswered.


Now when you see these labels in the liquor store, I hope you will have a better idea of what they are, even though you won't know who made the whiskey in the bottle.

Next week, we will wrap up our series on American whiskey distillers and brands.

Whiskey Wednesday: Beyond Kentucky - Whiskey Distilleries in the Other 49

Last week we examined the nine distilleries in Kentucky. This week, we attempt to create an exhaustive list of every non-Kentucky whiskey distillery in the US. Unlike many of the Kentucky distilleries, most of these distilleries market their whiskey under their own name.

Looking at this list, it is amazing how the microdistillery category has grown. A couple of years ago, I gathered all of the microdistilled whiskey I could find for my American single malt tasting and ended up with four. The list below shows the explosion of these distilleries along with the diversity of whiskies they are producing, which includes nearly every recognized American whiskey category.

Outside of the Tennessee Whiskey distilleries, A. Smith Bowman and Lawrenceburg, Indiana, all of the distilleries on the list below are micros, and I only included those that are actually selling whiskey. There are many other projects that are just starting up or waiting to get their first bottles on the market. In fact, with new micros popping up all the time, this list was much harder to pin down than the Kentucky list. After a lot of work, though, I believe we've crated one of the few complete lists of microdistillery whiskey. If, however, you know of any that I missed, please drop me a line or a comment.

You may notice that many of these microdistilleries produce corn whiskey. That's because corn whiskey is the only type of American whiskey that does not have to be aged. This quality makes it attractive to start-up whiskey distilleries because they can put it right on the market while they are waiting for other whiskies to mature.


California

Anchor Distilling: The makers of Anchor Steam Beer in San Francisco opened one of the first microdistilleries, making single malt rye whiskey under the name Old Potrero.

C&C Shine: This Monterey area distillery is somewhat of a novelty line, making unaged rye spirit that is sold with a small barrel or a piece of oak for ageing. They don't label it whiskey, probably because it is unaged, but once you age it at home, whiskey is what you have. Along with their Monterey Rye Spirit, they make Clear Madness California Moonshine, a corn-based spirit.

Charbay: This Napa Valley distillery has issued limited releases at extravagant prices of a single malt and a hop flavored whiskey.

St. George: Like many of the micros, St. George makes vodka and brandies as well as a very nice Absinthe. They make a single malt which is probably the fruitiest whiskey I've ever tasted.

St. James: Located in Irwindale, California, St. James Spirits makes Peregrine Rock single malt.


Colorado

Colorado Gold: A new micro in Colorado's Western Slope, they are currently making barely aged corn whiskey and have plans for Bourbon.

Peachstreet Distillers: This Colorado distillery has recently marketed a two year old Bourbon labeled Colorado Straight Bourbon.

Stranahan's: One of the most well reviewed of the new microdistilleries, Stranhan's makes its single malt Colorado Whiskey from local barley.


Indiana

Lawrenceburg (Angostura/CL World Brands Ltd.): Angostura, of bitters fame, owns this Indiana distillery. While they don't market any of their own whiskey, the distillery produces Cougar Bourbon and rye for the Foster's Corporation. Cougar is an export-only whiskey market primarily in Australia. Lawrenceburg is also said to make the whiskey component of Diageo's Seagram's 7 Crown blended whiskey.


Kansas

High Plains Distillery: This Kansas distillery makes Most Wanted Kansas Bourbon and has also made a single malt, a rye and a wheat whiskey.


Massachusetts

Triple Eight Distillery: This Nantuckett distillery's single malt, known as Notch (i.e., Not Scotch) is the most expensive new American whiskey I know of at $888 (or triple eight, get it?). They also have made Nor'Easter Bourbon, though I don't know if that whiskey is still in production.


Michigan

New Holland Brewing Co.: Another brewery which has branched out to whiskey, New Holland makes Zepplin Bend Straight Malt Whiskey.


New York

Tuthilltown: Tuthilltown has recently expanded distribution of their line of whiskies which includes: Hudson Baby Bourbon, Hudson Four Grain Bourbon, Hudson Manhattan Rye, Hudson Single Malt and Old Gristmill Corn Whiskey.


Ohio

Woodstone Creek Distillery: A Cincinnati winery recently turned distillery, Woodstone Creek makes a Bourbon, a malt whiskey and a blended whiskey.


Oregon

Cascade Peak Spirits: This organic vodka distillery has released a rye whiskey and is also working on Bourbon and corn whiskey.

Clear Creek: This Portland distillery uses imported Scottish barley to make America's most peated whiskey, McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt.

Edgefield: One of the earlier entries in the micro world, but still hard to find, this Oregon distillery makes Hogshead single malt and Devil's Bit rye whiskey.

Rogue: Following Anchor's lead, this popular brewery recently jumped into distilling with Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey, a four grain whiskey make in Oregon.


Tennessee

George Dickel (Diageo). The other Tennessee Whiskey, owned by liquor giant Diageo, is my favorite of the Tennessians.

Jack Daniel's (Brown Forman). Makers of the world's top selling whiskey, Jack Daniels is, for much of the world, the first and last name in whiskey, not to mention t-shirts, barbecue sauce and other trinkets.


Virginia

A. Smith Bowman(Buffalo Trace/Sazerac Co.): A. Smith Bowman is your source for Virgina Gentleman, the only Virginia Bourbon. This venerable distillery has been owned by Kentucky's Buffalo Trace since 2003.

Copper Fox Distillery: This Sperryville, Virginia distillery makes Wasmund's single malt whiskey and an unaged rye spirit; they are working on a rye whiskey.

Virginia Moonshine: Makers of Virginia Lightening corn whiskey and Kopper Kettle three grain whiskey.


West Virginia

Isaiah Morgan Distillery: A winery that makes an unaged rye as well as Southern Moon, an unaged corn liquor.

West Virginia Distilling Co.: Claiming the banner of legal moonshine, this Morgantown, West Virginia distillery produces corn whiskey to use in its Mountain Moonshine Spirit Whiskey.


Wisconsin

Death's Door Spirits: This distillery only recently started marketing its Death's Door Wheat Whiskey.


As far as I know, this list, combined with last week's list of Kentucky distilleries, constitutes an up to date list of every distillery in the United States that is currently distilling and selling whiskey. There will be more to come, as I know there are distilleries starting up, ageing whiskey and even planing releases in Maine, Texas, Utah and Washington state, among other places. Clearly, the American microdistillery movement is in full swing and there is lots out there to taste and experiment with.


In looking at the last two weeks of lists, you may ask, what about Black Maple Hill, Wathen's, Michter's and all of those other Bourbons I see on the shelf of my local liquor store? We will answer all of those questions next week with our list of Independent bottlers. Stay tuned.

Whiskey Wednesday: The Kentucky Distilleries

As as service to the whiskey-drinking readership, over the next few weeks, we will be doing our best to identify every American distillery which makes and sells whiskey as well as many of the brand names those under which those whiskies are sold. We will start today with the big boys, the Kentucky Bourbon (and Rye) distilleries. We will then proceed to cover the whiskey distilleries outside of Kentucky, including the growing category of microdistilleries, and then, we will list the major independent bottlers. Our goal is to make it easier for you to figure out where your bottle of whiskey was actually made.

Not all of this information is easy to come by and I'm grateful for the work that's been done by Chuck Cowdery and the good folks at the Straight Bourbon forums, Barturtle in particular, in revealing some of the harder to find tidbits.

Below is a list of the nine currently operating Kentucky distilleries, along with their corporate owner and their most prominent brand names. All of the brands are Bourbon unless otherwise stated. The list of brand names is not exhaustive as some of these distilleries produce regional brands, blended whiskies and other products; the aim was to cover the biggest brand names.


Brown Forman's Shively Distillery: Brown Forman owns three distinct American whiskey distilleries (Shively, Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel's). Their Shively, Kentucky plant makes Old Forester Bourbon and Early Times Kentucky Whiskey. They also make rye whiskey for Heaven Hill (see below).


Buffalo Trace (Sazerac Co.): Formerly known as Ancient Age, the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky is one of the most loved by whiskey aficionados. They market their whiskey under one of the most diverse collection of brands, including:

Ancient Age
Benchmark
Blanton's
Buffalo Trace
Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection
Eagle Rare
Elmer T. Lee
George T. Stagg
Hancock's Reserve
Old Charter
Rock Hill Farms
Sazerac and Thomas H. Handy Rye
Van Winkle and Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon and Rye
W.L. Weller


Four Roses (Kirin): Lawrenceburg, Kentucky based Four Roses only recently began bringing their Bourbon back to the US. Aside from their own Four Roses label, the distillery makes Bulleit Bourbon for Diageo.


Heaven Hill: The last family owned distillery in Kentucky, Bardstown based Heaven Hill's diverse brand portfolio includes Bourbon, rye, Kentucky's only straight wheat whiskey and nearly all of the American corn whiskey brands. To make it more confusing, Heaven Hill's rye whiskies are actually distilled at the Brown Forman Shively distillery (see above).

Bourbon
Cabin Still
Elijah Craig
Evan Williams
Fighting Cock
Heaven Hill
Henry McKenna
Old Fitzgerald
Parker's Heritage Collection

Rye
Pikesville Rye
Rittenhouse Rye

Wheat Whiskey
Bernheim Wheat Whiskey

Corn Whiskey
Dixie Dew
Georgia Moon
JW Corn
Mellow Corn


Jim Beam (Beam Global/Fortune Brands): Jim Beam is the biggest name in Bourbon. The brands made at their signature operation, with facilities in Clermont and Boston, Kentucky, include:

Baker's
Basil Hayden
Booker's
Jim Beam Bourbons and Rye
Knob Creek
Old Crow
Old Grand-Dad
Old Overholt Rye
(rī)¹ (Rye One)


Maker's Mark (Beam Global/Fortune Brands): Simplicity reigns at this Jim Beam owned distillery in Loretto Kentucky. It makes only one brand - Maker's Mark.


Tom Moore/Barton Brands (Buffalo Trace/Sazerac Co.): Constellation Brands recently sold this Bardstown gem to Buffalo Trace. Beloved for their Bourbon in Kentucky and for their rye in Wisconsin but little known outside those states, they are the makers of:

Fleischmann's Rye
Kentucky Gentleman
Kentucky Tavern
Ten High
Tom Moore
Very Old Barton
Ridgemont Reserve 1792


Wild Turkey (Pernod Ricard/Campari): News recently broke that drinks giant Pernod Ricard is selling this venerable name in American whiskey to the Italian Campari company. Most of the Bourbons and rye whiskies made at this Lawrenceburg distillery carry the Wild Turkey name, though they have recently begun to market Russell's Reserve as a separate brand.


Woodford Reserve/Labrot & Graham(Brown Forman): Brown Forman's second Kentucky distillery in Versailles, Kentucky, makes Bourbon marketed under the Woodford Reserve brand.

Along with the big nine, there is a new microdistillery in Bowling Green called Corsair. As with most new microdistilleries, they are only marketing unaged spirits right now, so no Bourbon yet, but they do have something called Wry Moon Unaged Rye Whiskey, which is distilled from 100% rye. (Technically, if it wasn't stored in oak for some portion of its life, they cannot call it rye whiskey, so they must have done some minimal storage of the spirit if they are within the regulations). They have plans to make Bourbon and a regular rye whiskey.


Next week we will look at the whiskey distilleries outside of the Bluegrass State, including a complete list of whiskey producing microdistilleries.