Union Horse Distilling Co

Kansas City's whiskey story went quiet after Prohibition and stayed that way for the better part of a century. Union Horse Distilling Co helped end the silence. Founded by the Garcia family in Lenexa, Kansas, the distillery has spent more than fifteen years proving that genuine grain-to-glass whiskey, milled, mashed, fermented, distilled, barreled, and bottled under one roof, can come from the Kansas side of the metro and stand up in national competition.

History & Heritage

The Garcia family opened the distillery in 2010 in Lenexa, Kansas, originally under the name Dark Horse Distillery, at a time when craft whiskey was scarce in the Kansas City area. Trademark disputes over the Dark Horse name forced a change in 2016, and the family chose Union Horse to reflect the unified spirit of the four siblings who run the business. As of July 2026 the distillery remains family owned and operated, with each sibling holding a role: Patrick Garcia is master distiller, Eric Garcia is general manager, Mary Garcia directs special events, and Damian Garcia leads sales and marketing. From its home markets of Kansas and Missouri, distribution has since grown to reach markets well beyond the two home states.

The Whiskey

Everything is done in house on a 500-gallon column pot still nicknamed Chester Copperpot, custom built by Vendome Copper & Brass Works of Louisville. A sour mash of corn and rye yields the Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey, aged five to seven years in oak, non-chill filtered, and bottled at 92 proof, which The Sentinel Room carries as Union Horse Distilling - Whiskey Bourbon Straight Reserve. A 100 percent rye mash bill produces the Reunion line, represented in the Reserve Whiskey Library by Union Horse Distilling Rye Whiskey, Union Horse Distilling Reunion Rye Whiskey Barrel Strength, and Union Horse Reunion Port Finish Straight Rye Whiskey. Rolling Standard Midwestern Four Grain Whiskey takes an unusual route: a wheated bourbon and an American single malt are each aged five years, blended, returned to barrel for roughly another eighteen months, and bottled at 92 proof. The Rivalist American Single Malt Whiskey, released in August 2022 after roughly seven years of development with odyssey, chocolate, and caramel malts, arrived as the American single malt category was moving toward formal recognition. The distillery's Bottled In Bond Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey earned a Double Gold with 96 points at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a place on Fred Minnick's Top 100 American Whiskeys of 2024.

Why It Matters

Union Horse is the Kansas City metro's own grain-to-glass distillery, family owned from the first mash. The Sentinel Room carries six of its expressions in the Reserve Whiskey Library, spanning bourbon, rye, four grain, and single malt, and pours the Bottled In Bond by the ounce. For those who appreciate good whiskey, it is a rare chance to taste a hometown operation across four styles side by side.

Visiting the Distillery

Tours run at the Lenexa distillery for 25 dollars per person, capped at 25 guests, ages 21 and up. Visits begin in the Rider Room with cocktails from the in-house bar, walk through milling, mashing, fermentation, distillation, barreling, and bottling, and end back in the Rider Room with a tasting. The Stable, the distillery's event space, hosts private gatherings.