Thirsty fans line up as Weston distillery resurrects pre-Civil War Missouri bourbon
May 26, 2022 | Emily Woodring
Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by Flatland, the digital magazine of Kansas City PBS and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the weekly Flatland email newsletter.
This is a historic moment for the folks at Holladay Distillery in Weston, Missouri, and also a big deal for bourbon enthusiasts alike.
Holladay is releasing a bottled-in-bond bourbon, Ben Holladay Missouri Straight Bourbon, for the first time in over 35 years at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 21, at the distillery. Sales are limited to one bottle per person. Would-be buyers should be early risers.
The distillery is using the same recipe and some of the processes that Ben Holladay, also known as the “stagecoach king,” used to make his bourbon in 1856. Holladay, one of the region’s most successful early business magnates, eventually sold his stagecoach lines to Wells Fargo.
Unsure what this process looks like and want to hear more of the history behind it and about Ben Holladay the man himself? Watch the video from Flatland below, then keep reading.
McCormick Distilling Co., which owns 360 vodka, Tequila Rose and Five Farms Irish Cream, is the local company resurrecting Ben Holladay bourbon.
Ben Holladay Bourbon is bottled-in-bond. This means “the spirit must be aged for at least four years and bottled at precisely 100 proof (50% abv). It must be made by one distiller at a single distillery in one season, then aged in a bonded warehouse,” according to the Wine Enthusiast
The Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 was created to make sure people were actually getting a distilled spirit with nothing else added, and to make sure what you were drinking was safe and wouldn’t kill you. Drinking yourself to death wasn’t at all uncommon back then. Spirits were often cut down with things like methanol, tobacco spit, prune juice, caramel coloring etc.
View this post on Instagram
Kyle Merklein, master distiller at Holladay Distillery, says bottled-in-bond has “morphed into a stamp of authenticity,” but it still means “you’re not going to die.”
The Ben Holladay Bourbon release is the latest sign of a booze boom in these parts. J. Rieger & Co. plans to release its bottled-in-bond straight bourbon on June 2, 2022.
Taste test anyone?
Emily Woodring is a food content producer for Kansas City PBS.
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
2022 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Married puppeteers had a hand in reviving iconic Mr. Rogers characters for film; now they’ve returned to KC (with their studio)
Puppeteers are often anonymous, but Spencer Lott — and his wife and business partner, Grace Townley — are stepping into the spotlight to start their own creative studio, they shared. The Lawrence-based couple — who built the puppets used in the Tom Hanks film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” about the life of TV’s…
Show-Me Honeywell: How this high-security KC tech campus became a one-day classroom for Missouri school leaders
A group of Missouri educators, counselors and administrators took a summer trip across the state to visit notable companies and learn firsthand about relevant career pathways for their students, detailed Brian Crouse. Among the behind-the-scenes looks: a rare glimpse into the work at Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, which manages the U.S. Department of Energy’s…
PHKC awards $25K to Alchemy Sandbox winners; It’s amazing when someone understands your vision, founder says
Year one challenges can be difficult for entrepreneurs to swallow, James Thomas noted, but he’s raising a cup to the first anniversary of Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri Shop with validation and a splash of funding. Two days after completing The Porter House KC’s fourth small business development cohort and competing in its finale competition, Thomas…
After his eye-catching KCI installation took flight, Willie Cole had 100+ horns leftover; He kept building
Willie Cole didn’t choose to be an artist. It’s always been part of him. “I think I was an artist in a previous life,” said the contemporary American sculptor, printer and perceptual engineer. “When I was 3 years old, my mom found me drawing in the kitchen, and since then, my family always said I…