Bardstown Bourbon Company

Bardstown Bourbon Company built its reputation on an unusual pitch: a working Kentucky distillery that produces its own estate whiskey and quietly makes whiskey for dozens of other brands at the same time. Ten years in, the estate line has caught up to the ambition, earning double gold medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a permanent place on serious back bars.

History & Heritage

Peter Loftin founded Bardstown Bourbon Company in 2014, alongside co-founders David Mandell, Daniel Linde, and Garnett Black, with production beginning at the Bardstown, Kentucky facility in 2016. Constellation Brands acquired a minority stake that same year, giving the young distillery early institutional backing. Loftin, who died in 2021, was posthumously inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2024, recognition of a company that grew from a single Bardstown site into one of the largest independent whiskey producers in the state.

The ownership structure has consolidated significantly since. Lofted Spirits joined the Pritzker Private Capital family of companies in March 2022, and in March 2025 Lofted Spirits was formally established as the parent company uniting Bardstown Bourbon Company with Green River Distilling Company and the contract-production arm Lofted Custom Spirits under one roof. Bardstown Bourbon Company is owned, as of July 2026, by Lofted Spirits, which is part of the Pritzker Private Capital family of companies.

The Whiskey

Bardstown Bourbon Company is a physical distiller, not a bottler sourcing someone else's whiskey. Its Origin Series is the estate-distilled core: four expressions, each distilled, aged, and bottled on-site at six years old. Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Bourbon runs a high-rye mash bill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley at 96 proof. Origin Series Wheated Bottled-in-Bond swaps in wheat (68% corn, 20% wheat, 12% malted barley) and bottles at the standard 100 proof bottled-in-bond mark. Origin Series Rye Whiskey uses 95% rye and 5% malted barley, then spends a minimum of six months finishing in a custom hybrid barrel that alternates cherry wood and oak staves before release at 96 proof. Origin Series High Wheat pushes further into wheat-forward territory at 53% corn, 39% wheat, and 8% malted barley, bottled at 106 proof.

Beyond the estate line, the Discovery Series blends sourced straight bourbons from multiple states into a single high-proof release; Discovery Series #10 combines components from Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee ranging six to thirteen years old at 114.24 proof. The company has also released limited collaborations, including a straight rye finished in Amrut Indian malt whiskey barrels and blended with straight bourbon.

Running alongside the estate brand is Lofted Custom Spirits, the company's contract distilling operation. It offers more than 65 mash bills, four in-house laboratories, bottling infrastructure, and more than 45 rickhouses of aging capacity for outside brands, which is a significant part of why so many newer bourbon labels on shelves today trace back to this one Bardstown address.

Why It Matters

Few distilleries operate this openly on both sides of the business: a estate-distilled line built to compete on its own merits, run in parallel with a contract operation that supplies much of the wider bourbon category. The awards record backs up the estate side specifically, with Origin Series Bourbon and Origin Series Wheated Bottled-in-Bond both recognized at international competitions, and the Amrut collaboration taking Double Gold at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Visiting the Distillery

The Bardstown, Kentucky visitor center runs guided experiences including the Core Four Tour, Rickhouse Barrel Thieving, a cocktail class, vintage whiskey tastings, a Behind the Scenes look at operational techniques with a stop in the rickhouse tasting room, and Tour with the Master, led by Master Distiller Steve Nally. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday 9 AM to 5 PM and Monday through Tuesday 10 AM to 3 PM; tours are not offered on Mondays or Tuesdays, and guests must be 21 or older. Bardstown Bourbon Company also opened a tasting room in downtown Louisville on historic Whiskey Row in October 2023, offering interactive education, craft cocktails, and exclusive bottles.