MB Roland Distillery

MB Roland Distillery Visitor Center and Rickhouse

MB Roland Distillery Visitor Center and Gift Shop

MB Roland Distillery Mash tun

MB Roland Distillery Mashtun & Fermenter Area (behind the window)

MB Roland Distillery Fermenters

MB Roland Distillery Stills

MB Roland Rickhouse & Cat, Red

MB Roland Distillery Tasting Bar

MB Roland Distillery Sign

MB Roland Distillery Barrel Head

137 Barkers Mill Rd

Pembroke KY 42266

270) 640-7744

MB Roland Distillery was founded in 2009 by Paul & Merry Beth Tomaszewski near Pembroke, KY. Paul had been stationed at nearby Ft. Campbell and Merry Beth had grown up in the area. The distillery lies on an old Amish Dairy farm, which makes for very picturesque surroundings. The old farm buildings serve as homes for the visitor center, rickhouse and distillery. Various other spaces on the farm are utilized for events such as the porch (for Pickin’ on the Porch, a biweekly live music event in the summer months) and the old Dairy Barn, available for a variety of events.

Our visit began, aptly, in the visitor center, which doubles as the gift shop and has a homey, general store vibe. Our $5 tour price included a shot glass. We were given the option of upgrading to the MB Roland official Kentucky Bourbon tasting glass for an additional $7. Just a word of warning - if you are planning on completing the Stateline Whiskey tour (which includes the MB Roland Distillery, Old Glory Distilling Co. and Casey Jones Distillery), you may want to stick to the shot glass. When you visit your final distillery to complete the Stateline Tour, you are given a stave to display a shot glass from each of the three distilleries. If you upgrade to the tasting glass, which won’t fit in the stave, you won’t have a shot glass to put in the stave.

After meeting our friendly and knowledgeable tour guide Mike, the tour began on the front porch with a brief history of the MB Roland Distillery. Next was a short walk to see the distilling equipment. On the way we passed the old tobacco shed, where the corn for the Dark Fired Whiskey and Bourbon is smoked. The distillery equipment layout is fairly spartan, but quite functional. The mash tun sits in the center of the left side of the room. It is an interesting setup, because every time the mash temperate is changed, it must be pumped out of the mash tun, into a separate area for cooling, and then pumped back into the mash tun. No built in heating or cooling units here. Distillation is accomplished using two separate Trident Stills pot stills. The philosophy here is a little different than elsewhere. All the whiskey is distilled to a fairly low proof, and is placed in the barrel at the proof at which it comes off the still. After aging, the whiskey is bottled at “barrel proof” (the proof at which it comes out of the barrel). The spirit is not diluted with water at any point after leaving the still. The final strength of the whiskey ranges from 105-120 proof.

The rickhouse sits on a small hill adjacent to the visitor center. We were greeted by the distillery cat, Red, who was dutifully guarding the entrance to the rickhouse. Things had changed a bit since we last visited, with the ricks now full with 53 gallon barrels. MB Roland is quickly outgrowing their single rickhouse's storage capacity and overflow barrels are stored in additional temporary units around the property. Construction of a new rickhouse is planned to house these, and future barrels.

Following our tour, we returned to the visitor center where we could choose seven of MB Roland’s products to sample. That may seem like a lot, but with 23 different whiskies, brandies and moonshines to choose from, it is not. I chose to stick mainly with whiskies. These included a small batch and a single barrel version of their bourbon recipe, the “Dark Fired” bourbon made with smoked corn from the previously mentioned tobacco shed, a straight corn whiskey, a rye whiskey, a malt whiskey and a “wheated” bourbon. The tasting is free whether one takes the tour or not, so there is no reason not to do some sampling when you stop by. If you like what you try, bottles are available for purchase in the gift shop. I took home a bottle of the Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the spirit that I enjoyed the most.

As we were leaving the distillery, I had to pause once again to take in the beauty of the surrounding landscape. I look forward to seeing (and tasting) what is in the bright future for this relatively young distillery.

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	Open For Tours, Tastings & Product Sales: MON – THU – 10AM – 6PM FRI & SAT – 9AM – 6PM (First tour at 10AM) SUN – 1PM – 6PM Tours are offered every hour on the hour. MAR – OCT the last tour of the day is given at 5pm except at 4pm on “Pickin’ On The Porch” Saturdays during the summer months. NOV – FEB the last tour of the day is at 4pm.
Paved Drive / Lot	No
Motorcycle Parking	No
Motorcycle unfriendly features	Long gravel driveway and gravel parking lot
Number of tours per day	Hourly, 7+
Length of Tour(s)	30-40 minutes
Advanced topic tours?	Yes. Select dates, by appointment only, 4 person minimum
Advanced topic tour names	Distiller’s Tour
Tours by owners /distillers available?	Yes - Distiller’s Tour
Number of different types of tours	2
On-Line Tour Reservations Available	No
Advanced Reservations Recommended/Required	Not required for regular tour. Required for Distiller’s tour
Cost for tour(s) in $	$5 with shot glass $12 with larger tasting glass Distiller’s Tour - $30
Tasting Included?	Free tasting with or without tour
Number of samples included in tasting	7
Tasting Only Option?	Yes
Tasting Only Option Cost	Free
High-end tasting option?	No
High-end tasting option cost?	N/A
Designated Driver Option	No
Handicapped Accessible?	There are a few stairs. Rickhouse is up a grass hill.
Souvenirs included with tour?	Shot glass or Tasting Glass
Gift shop	Yes
On-Site bottle sales?	Yes
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	The distillery is in a beautiful rustic location, on what was an Amish farm. Corn for the Dark Fired Whiskey and Bourbon is smoked in an old tobacco shed on-site. All whiskeys are barreled at the proof at which they come off the still, and are bottled at barrel strength. Whiskey is distilled using two pot stills.
Website	http://mbroland.com/
Date Visited	May 2019

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