The weather is getting warmer which means we can finally get out of the house and do something! It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and always end up at your favorite neighborhood watering hole or end up doing the same old thing. With more than 20 craft distilleries in Indiana (and counting!), mix things up a little and give these spots a try. With various tours and sampling options, there’s bound to be something for everyone.
O.Z. Tyler® Distillery
While O.Z. Tyler began production in 2016, its Daviess County, Kentucky, site is rich in bourbon tradition, housing distilleries for more than 100 years. Covering nearly 28 acres, O.Z. Tyler is renovated but respects its elders by preserving the property’s 1930s historic buildings. Hop on a tasting tour and get a behind-the-scenes peek into the bourbon-making process and the patented filtration technology that makes the distillery stand out. Grab a craft cocktail from the lounge, stroll through the gift shop, and—well, the bourbon tasting isn’t bad either. Try a rye that has just a hint of cinnamon or the flagship Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey with tastes of pepper, honey, and orange. Proud member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Spirits of French Lick
A spinoff of the Doty family’s French Lick Winery, the distillery sits across the street from the hotels in the French Lick Resort complex. Experience unique spirits inside the winery’s tasting room like the caraway, coriander, juniper, and dill found in the botanical Aquavit, a traditional Scandinavian liquor. You can also try an Absinthe Julep, made with spearmint and root beer. Rolling out the first in a series whiskeys last year, the operation pays homage to Indiana’s Lee W. Sinclair, naming the four-grain-straight bourbon after the businessman who converted the Baden Lick Hotel into the West Baden Dome and Hotel. After touring the property and maybe enjoying some Italian food at The Vintage Café, round out your experience with a Blackberry Eau-de-Vie brandy.
Monkey Hollow Distillery
As if a full line of homegrown wines isn’t enticing enough, the family-owned operation released its first distilled product in 2017. Monkey Shine is an unaged corn whiskey, and it makes a mean chocolate shot that could reach local-legend status. Try mixing it with fruit for a refreshing oomph. In addition, Fire Monkey, a cinnamon-flavored whiskey is sure to pack a punch. Relax on the large and inviting patio that overlooks the vineyard and the rolling hills that surround it. Local pride abounds in snacks of native cheeses and meats that complement your cocktail and the arts and crafts that decorate the tasting room. We can’t wait to see what spirits this little tucked-away spot produces next.
Cardinal Spirits
What’s better than chatting over a drink? Jeff Wuslich and Adam Quirk opened Cardinal Spirits with a mission to get people away from screens and into face-to-face conversations. So, grab a buddy and a bar stool and enjoy spirits that include spiced rum with citrus and vanilla, and a bramble vodka with hints of black raspberries, hibiscus, and agave. Their pride and joy is Terra Botanical Gin, an Indiana product that received glowing reviews in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The distillery’s whiskey rests in barrels and is strategically poured on a limited basis. The tasting room and a variety of snacks and brunch in the restaurant are calling your name.
Dusty Barn Distillery
The product of a passion for using local ingredients, the small-batch whiskeys of Dusty Barn are field-to-bottle with fixings harvested on farms right in Posey County. Try Doc’s Hoosier Moon, a moonshine-like corn whiskey; Doc’s Cask Corn Whiskey, an oak barrel–aged bourbon-like whiskey, or Doc’s Rye Whiskey, which is aged in charred oak barrels. Local materials are featured in more than just the liquor, though. Built by the father-son duo of Duane (the “Doc”) and Jesse Kuhlenschmidt, the distillery’s wood comes from trees from their land, and the marble top of the tasting bar was once located on the wall of Roberts Municipal Stadium in Evansville. Tours of the distillery end in the small gift shop at the tasting bar.
Starlight Distillery
Since 1843, seven generations of the Huber family have lived and worked on this Starlight, Indiana, farm. Already known for selling produce in the summer, picking pumpkins in the fall, and making wine on the Huber Orchard & Winery property, the family began the distillery with an 80-gallon copper pot still. A decade after first bottling brandy, Starlight expanded into distilling grain spirits. The product line now includes vodka, gin, rum, bourbon whiskeys, and grappa. Several of its American spirits are award winning, including the apple brandy and 1794 Gin.
