The Tom Moore Distillery in Bardstown, KY, has been added to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The facility makes such brands as 1792 Ridgemont Reserve and Kentucky Tavern. It is a Constellation Spirits property.
This is the first addition to the tourist trail since it was created in 1999 with seven founding members.
"We've always been proud of our location and connection to the real heart and soul of bourbon," said Chris Gretchko, brand director for whiskeys at Constellation Spirits. "This is for people who really want to touch it, feel it, smell it, see it."
Free tours will begin October 1, although there is no visitors center at the plant. One is tentatively targeted for 2010.
Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association, said in a statement issued Thursday that he was happy Constellation Spirits had joined the trail. The company is the third-largest holder of distilled spirits in Kentucky out of nine members in the trade group, he said, with 11% of the state's nearly 5 million aging barrels.
The Tom Moore Distillery was founded in 1879 and encompasses 229 acres. It once was known for the Barton brand name but that has been done away with as of this month and the Bardstown is being called Constellation Spirits as a closer identifier with its parent company, Constellation Brands of Fairport, NY.
ON THE WEB
• Kentucky Bourbon Trail
• Introducing the Urban Bourbon Trail
• Hiking the American Whiskey Trail
• Dowd's Guides