A Bourbon Distillery Without Bourbon (Yet)

My wife and I recently visited the Holladay Distillery in Weston, Missouri.  It is billed as the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi River located on its original site.  It is on the grounds of the McCormick Distilling Company, which has a large portfolio of brands, including McCormick's Vodka, 360 Vodka, Tequila Rose, Broker's Gin, and others.
The grounds are small compared to some of the distilleries we visited in Kentucky (see here), but there are rolling hills and the area was quite beautiful during this autumn season.  Some of the surrounding farms grow tobacco.    Our tour guide, Rochelle, said that there is a spring on the property that was discovered by Lewis and Clark on their expedition of the Louisiana Purchase in 1804.  It is due to these limestone springs that the water is suitable for bourbon, as the limestone naturally filters out the iron in the water.

The limestone spring discovered by Lewis and Clark in 1804

The distillery used to distill bourbon over 30 years ago, but stopped for some reason.  The grounds didn't actively distill again until 2016, and the first batch of bourbon, although barreled, will not be ready for purchase until 2018.  (They do have their White Dog available for purchase, and also sell a mini-barrel that you can age the white dog in at home.)  There is a brand new beautiful still, made by Vendome Copper and Brass from Louisville, KY.  I recognized that they also made the still at the Angel's Envy Distillery (and likely most commercial distilleries in the country).

The smaller building in front is a rickhouse converted to corporate offices.  The larger building in back is another rickhouse

Outside of the distillery, with a covered limestone well

The North Well, with the Rickhouse C in the background where the new bourbon is aging

A sign with the warehouse capacities listed

Our tour guide said that all of the ingredients for the bourbon are sourced within 90 miles of the distillery.  They use a traditional corn, rye, and barley mash.  The barrels are also made within 90 miles of the distillery, and they are using a #3 char for their product.  Unlike at the Buffalo Trace Distillery where they pump steam into their rickhouses in the winter, there is no climate control other than the doors and windows.  I assume this will lead to slower aging over the cold season months.  Photos weren't allowed in the distillery, the rickhouse, or the bottling facility.

We were able to tour the bottling facility, where they were bottling the McCormick Vodka the day we visited.  This was cool to watch.  It was a cross between Laverne and Shirley and How It's Made, as the bottles were cleaned, filled, capped, and labeled as they zoomed down the line to be packaged and shipped.

There will be a party next year when Holladay releases their first batch of bourbon.  I'm sure this will be very exciting, to have Missouri Bourbon, all made locally.  Unlike some brands that start as a concept and immediately start selling product made by an outside mega-corporation while they get their distilleries up and running, it is exciting to anticipate the true arrival of a brand in the making.  The name Holladay honors the brothers David and Benjamin Holladay who started the distillery on the site in 1856.  The current company is using the original recipe they used back then for its bourbon.  Let's hope tastes haven't changed since then!  (It is my understanding that there have been some batches made previously as proof-of-concept to ensure the recipe was proper, before investing millions of dollars in creating a brand and thousands of gallons of product).

Overall the tour and the grounds make for a nice visit if you are ever in Weston, Missouri.  While it is a bit anti-climactic not getting to taste the bourbon after the tour, you do have the ability to sample two of any of the McCormick Company brands, and can have additional samples for a quarter each.

Every time I end a distillery tour, I am inspired to go out and try more bourbon!  It also makes me want to distill my own.  Unfortunately, that is completely illegal here in the US.  But perhaps when I grow old, I'll find some rolling hills in the country, and a limestone spring, and have at it.

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