Lux Row Distillery

Bardstown, KY

Traveling to Kentucky is my zen space. It's where I feel at my most... well... me.

There's nothing quite like parking at a distillery, opening the door, and smelling that sweet grain scent that saturates the air from mashes slowly cooking like a great vat of bubbling oatmeal.

In 2015, Luxaco expanded its operations to a new distillery so they could continue meeting their growing demand.

They house brands such as Blood Oath, Ezra Brooks, Rebel, and David Nicholson.

Many of these are well-known within the whiskey community and widely available at your local liquor store.

Their distillery is new, shiny, and full of people incredibly passionate about whiskey.

They were kind enough to have us to their distillery to have a poke around.

They selected Bardstown, KY for their location for... well... obvious reasons.

You know, Bardstown begin the bourbon capital of the world and all that.

They really wanted to capitalize on the prospect of heritage and tradition while fusing that feel with the innovation of modern technology.

It truly is a striking aesthetic. A sleek and modern distillery with unmistakable roots in rustic ruggedness.

The facility sprawls over 18,000 feet, making it more of a campus alongside other prominent distilleries peppering the Kentucky countryside.

The inside of the cooking room is all business.

Everything is placed for production, including the tour path.

But, with them producing over 3-million gallons of whiskey per-year, and them striving to reach 50,000 barrels annually, they have to mean business.

The great thing is that their brands spread across a large range of different tastes and prices, meaning that you can tour the distillery and very likely find something that's right up your alley.

They also don't just give you the cheap stuff, your tasting will give you a good idea of the range of their production.

Their mash tanks are constantly in motion, producing over six whiskey brands and over twenty different individual lines.

You can always hear a thrumming in the background of some machine going, making the distillery feel alive.

The people there were spirited and passionate. They were happy to speak with tourists about their process and what they love about working at Lux Row before diligently returning to their tasks.

If you want a good look at a functional distillery, this is very close to an unscripted and realistic look of a distillery operation without all the tour placement.

Many other distilleries along the trail have areas that aren't actually producing or reduce operations during tour hours.

Lux Row's column still is as massive as it is impressive.

Just don't touch it, it's hot with alcohol vapors being purified and condensed before it hits the barrels.

The still is custom made for the distillery and towers at an impressive 43-feet.

The column still, developed by Aeneas Coffey in Ireland, is made to produce a higher volume of spirits more consistently.

Everything at Lux Row is clean and shiny.

While that is a stark contrast to the decade-old and worn parts to some of the most historic distilleries, there is something about the innovation that still strikes home.

While whiskey is historic for sure, it's still very much a living history. Meaning that these new distilleries will one day display the same level of wear and use.

It reminds you that while whiskey has had a long history, it still has so much more to go and that these distilleries on the forefront of innovation that are expanding their footprint are carrying on the spirit of the frontier in their own respective way.

Their campus is made for walking, and that's just what you'll do.

All joking aside, they do have six filled-to-the-brim state-of-the-art warehouses that are just an absolute delight to walk through.

Their open architecture was definitely designed to be equal parts functional and visually-pleasing.

Their brand is prominently placed on every barrel facing in towards onlookers.

It's a far cry from the deep, labyrinthian halls of older rickhouses. Here, everything is on display, well-lit, new, and placed perfectly for jaw-dropping photo ops.

Overall, our time at Lux Row was great.

They have a wonderfully open architecture to their distillery that makes it a joy to walk through.

The staff is knowledgeable, kind, and passionate, making the tour a great experience where you feel valued rather than a hindrance to production.

Overall, we'd recommend making a stop in here on your next Kentucky run. It's a great, rounded experience.