Town Branch Distillery - Bourbon Obsessed

Alltech Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co

Alltech Lexington Brewing Co.

Town Branch Distillery

Visitor Center

Introductory Video

Brewery

Pearse's Place - Beer Tasting Bar

Pipe carrying whiskey mash from the brewery to the distillery

Barreling & Bottling Area

Bottling Line

Distillery Overview

Copper Pot Stills from Forsyth’s in Scotland

Cypress Fermenters

Distilling Process on Barrels

Spirits Tasting

Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co (Town Branch Distillery)

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Click here to check out the short video of our visit!

401 Cross Street

Lexington, KY 40508

(859) 255-2337 (Tours)

(859) 225-8095 (Customer Service)

https://www.lexingtonbrewingco.com

The Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. is a one of a kind stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. It is the only brewery-distillery hybrid producer on the KBT. In fact, this Kentucky phenom is the only hybrid in the state of Kentucky and one of several handfuls across the United States. The Lexington Brewing Co was purchased in 1999 by Alltech, a company founded on the principal of applying yeast fermentation to assist in animal nutrition. Alltech’s expertise in yeast made the company a fitting buyer of the newly resurrected, yet struggling brand. The introduction of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale in 2006 helped to solidify the company’s presence in the market and in 2008 an entirely new market was to be tapped when whiskey distillation began.

Alltech’s Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co can be found on the northwest end of downtown Lexington. It’s a quick ten minute walk from Rupp Arena and only a mile from the popular Distillery District. The visitor’s center is open Mon-Wed: 9:30-5:30, Thurs-Sat: 9:30-6 and Sun: 11:30-5:30. A wide variety of tours are offered daily. The standard tour offered covers both brewing and distilling and lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes. If time is limited, a 30 minute distillery only tour is available. Master Brewer or Master Distiller tours can also be booked, however these require reservations a month in advance. However, the most unique tour offered just might be the Twilight Distillery Tour with Sunset Views. Currently, there are eight different tours from which to choose. The costs vary, but range from $9-$30. Detailed information and planning can best be done at

lexingtonbrewingco.com. While walk-in is an option for some tours, availability can be verified online up to 2 hours before the specific tour time. If a tour is sold out, it will be posted as such.

We met our guide, Austin, in the vintage red brick visitor’s center where guests “sign in” or “sign up” for all tours. Our tour began with a brief six minute video introduction about Alltech’s Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. and with a little history about the company under our belt, we were off to the brew house. Austin explained that the company produces most of their own grain. This is unusual as most companies just source locally. Hops on the other hand come from Washington state. Another interesting tidbit is that the brew house pulls double duty since cooking grain, whether for beer or for whiskey, is very much the same process. This allows Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co to use the same equipment for cooking all grains regardless of whether those grains are to be mashed for beer or for whiskey. The next step, fermentation, is where the path deviates. On the beer side, the solids are separated from the liquid and then the liquid is sent to one of the numerous fermenters in the brew house, while the whiskey mash is piped across the street to the distillery side for fermentation.

Click here to check out the short video of our visit!

With fermentation underway, this ended the brewery portion of the tour. Due to space constraints, Lexington Brewing Co does not bottle on site, although the bottling facility is very nearby and can be visited via the Hard Hat Tour. The last stop before exiting the brewhouse was Pearse’s Place, the tasting room for Lexington Brewing Co. It was time to belly up to the beautiful wooden bar and sample a variety of brews. Each tour comes with 4 tokens for tasting. While all of the tokens can be used for beer tasting, some can be saved for the spirits tasting at the end of the tour. Seven different beers were available on our visit. Austin gave a brief description of each and then the beer began to flow. Although not too quickly, as the tastes are just that, a taste.

Having been schooled in the basics of beer making, we then headed across the street to the distillery. The distillery portion of the tour was unique. Since mashing of the grains was already covered during our brewery lesson, we started not with the still and distillation, but in the barreling, storage, and bottling areas. Once again with limited space, and the fact that Lexington Distilling Co is certainly on the smaller end of the bourbon producing spectrum, all 3 of the aforementioned areas are lumped into the very large warehouse type building which sets directly behind the distillery proper. There is a lot happening in here, from newly distilled bourbon ready to be barreled to aged bourbon ready to be hand bottled. Barrels, once filled, are stored off site.

The final stop on the tour was the still itself. In the case of Lexington Distilling Co , there are 2 copper pot stills imported from Scotland, beautifully housed with floor to ceiling glass walls. This area is also home to the distilleries fermenters, two of which are cypress fermenters built from reclaimed wood. A unique barrel pyramid display provided a step by step explanation of the distilling process. Austin also gave a very brief explanation of the mechanics that occur in the distillery and then it was time for any remaining tokens to be put to use. Although distilling began is 2008, Lexington Distilling Co chose to wait and did not release its first Town Branch Bourbon until 2012. The spirits tasting area is just off to the side of the stills. A semicircular barrel bar was ready for service. Six different spirits were available: Town Branch Whiskey, Bourbon, Single Barrel Bourbon, Rye, Town Branch Gin, and Town Branch Caribbean Style Rum. The final taste and a bonus for everyone was the Bluegrass Sundowner, a dark roasted coffee infused with Kentucky bourbon and sugar. This liqueur type product is mixed with hot water and topped with a layer of heavy cream.

With the Sundowner down the hatch, the tour wrapped up. We headed back to where it all began, the visitors’ center. The pub style store front displays in the visitors’ center showcase everything from bourbon to beer to memorabilia. While there is ample bourbon (and other spirits) and beer for purchase, there is also plenty of Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co swag. In fact, it’s a great store to stop by anytime to find that perfect gift for your favorite bourbon or beer lover. Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co. is indeed an exclusive Kentucky 2 for 1 experience. Learn, taste, shop right in the heart of the Bluegrass!

Click here to check out the short video of our visit!

Please note that Distillery Hours and Tour/Tasting Availability may vary. Please contact the distillery or check their web page or social media for details before you go.

Days of operation	Mon-Wed: 9:30am-5:30pm Thur-Sat: 9:30am-6:00pm Sunday: 11:30am-5:30pm
Paved Drive / Lot	Ample parking in lot behind distillery
Motorcycle Parking	No separate parking, just the paved lot
Motorcycle unfriendly features	No
Number of tours per day	At least 10 tours daily
Length of Tour(s)	Varies by tour type
Advanced topic tours?	Yes
Advanced topic tour names	Master Brewer Tour Master Distiller Tour
Tours by owners /distillers available?	Yes
Number of different types of tours	8
On-Line Tour Reservations Available	Yes
Advanced Reservations Recommended/Required	If you’re looking for a specific time, then yes
Cost for tour(s) in $	$9 and up US Military discount offered
Tasting Included?	Yes
Number of samples included in tasting	4
Tasting Only Option?	No
Tasting Only Option Cost	N/A
High-end tasting option?	No
High-end tasting option cost?	N/A
Designated Driver Option	No
Handicapped Accessible?	Yes
Souvenirs included with tour?	On some of the tours
Gift shop	Yes
On-Site bottle sales?	Yes, but on Sundays not until after 1pm
On-site food: Restaurant/Cafe/Snacks	No
On-site Cocktail bar	No
On-site event space	Yes
Should I visit? (Yes, Perhaps, No)	Yes
Unique Features	Both a brewery and Distillery in one
Website	https://www.lexingtonbrewingco.com
Date Visited	March 2020

Town Branch Distillery (Alltech's Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.)

Please note that Distillery Hours and Tour/Tasting Availability may vary. Please contact the distillery or check their web page or social media for details before you go.