Whisky Advocate Exclusive: A Once-Dry Kentucky County Now Has a Distillery

Garrard County, Kentucky, is a place with an interesting distinction, certainly in regard to the whiskey world. It's the birthplace of Carrie Nation, the most famous figure in the temperance movement that led to the establishment of Prohibition. She's best remembered for her hatchet-wielding attacks on saloons around the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, done long after she had moved on from the Bluegrass State. But it was not until November of 2023 that Garrard voted to allow alcohol county-wide. Now, it will soon see the opening of a new distillery, its first since the 1800s.

The new Garrard County Distilling Co. is owned by Staghorn, an Atlanta-based company founded in 2018 by Ray Franklin, a former beer and liquor distributor. The original announcement was planned for 2020, but Covid caused delays. Construction continued, however, and Garrard County Distilling Co. is now fully operational, having filled its first barrel on January 2. In a nod to Garrard County's most famous daughter, Staghorn's key whiskey brand is called All Nations, which launched in 2019 and is currently sourced. The name commemorates the fact that many saloons and tavern keepers in Carrie's day hung signs in the window that read, "All Nations Welcome Except Carrie." The All Nations whiskey label displays the words "Welcome Except Carry" in smaller lettering below the "All Nations" name.

The distillery is located in the city of Lancaster on 210 acres of land, and it's a large-scale operation. The still house measures 50,000 square feet and is capable of producing up to 8.5 million proof gallons, or 150,000 barrels per year. That's even bigger than the Whiskey House of Kentucky's distillery being built in Elizabethtown, which will have a capacity of 7 million proof gallons or 112,000 barrels. Two 20,000-square-foot warehouses will be onsite at Lancaster to start, with capacity for 25,000 barrels apiece, and longer-range plans call for an additional 28 warehouses to be built by 2030. A visitor center, tasting room, and restaurant are also included, with opening dates scheduled toward the end of the year.

The distillery’s design was imagined by Franklin himself, who had previoulsy worked with Dave Pickerell on building Stillhouse Creek Distillery in Georgia. “I knew I wanted people to be totally immersed in the distilling process, so no matter where you are, you can see the column stills, the doublers, the fermentation tanks,” he explains. Given that Franklin isn’t an architect or a distiller by trade, he eventually needed to run his ideas by someone with experience. He chose Shane Baker and Dr. Pat Heist of Wilderness Trail, both of whom lent their expertise to Garrard County Distilling's development.

Garrard's focus will be on high-rye bourbon, though smaller amounts of wheated bourbon, rye, and American single malt will also be in the offing. Some 17,000 barrels are already aging onsite. Aside from All Nations, a number of new brands will eventually come on stream, and Franklin notes that he’s solidified a handful of contract distillation partnerships as well.

The distilling team will be comprised of around 20 people, many of whom come with experience from stints at Four Roses, Wild Turkey, MGP, and elsewhere. The name of the head distiller is expected to be announced soon.

This is far from the only major distillery Kentucky will get this year, with Jefferson’s, Eastern Light, Whiskey House, and Willett all set to open up shop in the coming months.