Bourbon once again being made in Boone County

Made by ghosts. That's the tagline for a new distillery that's resurrecting the industry in Boone County, where it has been dormant for more than a century.

Boone County Distilling Company is now making and aging bourbon at 10601 Toebben Drive, in an industrial park about a mile from the highway. But though it's housed in a new steel building, just completed in September, the distillery is drawing on the area's history to help its bourbon stand out from the crowd.

"One of the things people don't realize is how big the industry was here in Boone County in the 1800s," said Jack Wells, co-owner and managing partner of Boone County Distilling Company.

That history is the story of the original Boone County Distilling Company, also called Petersburg Distillery. The new distillery's first bourbon is named Eighteen 33, for the year that William Snyder and his brother, John, converted Petersburg's old steam mill into the original distillery, per Wells' research. It grew to be the highest producing distillery in Kentucky and one of the largest in the United States, eventually producing four million gallons per year, according to Enquirer archives. Spirits were produced there until the distillery closed in 1910.

But back to modern times. Three years ago, Wells and a friend — who's now one of his two partners — got to talking about bourbon, and figured they could parlay their love of the spirit into a business venture.

A little research got them excited about the distilling history in Boone County, where Wells, once an owners of Jack Quinn's in Covington (now Molly Malone's) lives.

"The fact that the largest whiskey distillery in the state of Kentucky, when Kentucky was known for bourbon, was here in Boone County — that was a big aha! moment," he said.

So they found a product to sell while their own bourbon aged: Seven-year-old bourbon whiskey from what's now MGP Ingredients (formerly Seagram's) in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, across the river and less than two miles from the original Petersburg distillery. That whiskey, now 10 years old, became Eighteen 33. It's 90.8 proof –an "8" appears throughout the distillery's branding, even linking the words “Boone” and “County” in the name, to reflect the original distillery's “Registered Distillery 8” designation.

The new distillery describes Eighteen 33, sold in custom bottles imported from Italy, as "rich and full bodied in the mouth with an almost everlasting finish, notes of aged oak, vanilla, caramel, and a hint of cinnamon." Available in independent shops in Northern Kentucky, it retails at about $55 per bottle, Wells said.

Well-known master distiller Larry Ebersold was master distiller in Lawrenceburg when Eighteen 33 was made. His history will stay entwined with Boone County Distilling Company's: He's now serving as a consultant for the new distillery.

Wells hopes visitors will be able to come and see the distillery for themselves soon: He wants to have the tasting area and gift shop open within the next two weeks (hours to be determined). A tasting licence will allow customers to try samples, and tours will be offered. The latter will include the 5,000 square-foot distillery, set on 2.5 acres in a building made to look like an old barn. (It's adorned with an image of the old distillery, based on a historic photo. Neltner Small Batch, whose work is easily recognizable in Boone County Distilling Company branding, created that artwork.) About 1,500 square feet is the tasting room and visitors' area, with cedar ceilings and stone-like walls, and a dozen seats at a long table.

Then there's the distillery itself, with its 500-gallon cooker, four 500-gallon fermenters, a 500-gallon pot still and a small bottling line. Current capacity is 250 barrels per year, but Wells said the distillery was built with expansion in mind. Four more fermenters could double that capacity. The addition of a column still could allow the distillery to make 10 times more bourbon.

A 3,000-square-foot steel building behind the distillery serves as an on-site rickhouse. Wells is in the process of moving 800 barrels from Indiana to store there. It's also where the whiskey the distillery is now making will age for at least four years, without heat or air conditioning.

"One of the reasons Kentucky is so good at aging whiskey is because of our weather," Wells said. "We have four seasons, so it's really good for aging whiskey."

Wells hopes to get the distillery's products into circulation beyond Kentucky, into Ohio, particularly Cincinnati, soon. From there, he may even look to get it into other states and maybe even other countries, drawing on his background exporting coal.

But for now, he's focusing on things closer to home. He hopes to get the distillery added to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour to help bring more visitors to the tasting room. And the distillery will continue making small-batch bourbon, and maybe add another product, perhaps a gin or a moonshine, next spring.

After all, the history might help Boone County Distilling Company get noticed, but making a good product is what will keep it in the spotlight.

"We want to make really good whiskey; at the end of the day, that's what we want to do," Wells said. "The fact that it's going to come out of Boone County after (more than 100) years makes it even more special."