Green River Distilling tours ranked fourth in state

Dec. 13—Owensboro's Green River Distilling Co. has the fourth-best distillery tour of the 18 distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

That's according to TheTravel.com, a website that says it serves "a community of 4 million readers and counting."

The article was headlined, "These Are The Best Bourbon Tours In Kentucky Worth Your Cocktail Hour."

Only nine of the state's distilleries made the list.

"I was very excited to see that we were named fourth-best distillery tour in the state," Jacob Call, master distiller and Kentucky general manager for Green River Spirits, said Thursday. "I'm very proud of our team and all of the hard work that they have put into our distillery tour experience.

"Tours are beginning to pick back up at the distillery post-COVID. We look forward to hosting even more visitors from around the world in 2022 and introducing them to Owensboro."

Mark Calitri, president of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said, "I'm impressed with Jacob Call and his new marketing team's efforts. International exposure like this validates Owensboro and Daviess County as a bourbon hub and destination. Visit Owensboro is committed to helping our community capitalize on the incredible economic impact stemming from bourbon tourism."

He said earlier that the CVB will be focusing more on bourbon tourism in 2022.

Nicole Ebelhar, manager of visitor experience at the distillery, said, "We work hard every day to make sure all our guests have a great experience when they visit us at Green River. This ranking proves that and it's an honor to be listed among these other great distilleries. We have an amazing group of tour guides who are all very passionate about what they do and sharing our story with our visitors."

"We have been busy with tours and even guests coming by to shop in the gift shop and have a drink at the bar. We are quickly getting back to normal with the visitor count being the highest we've ever had over the last three months. We've added new tour experiences that have been a huge hit with our visitors."

Finishing below Green River were Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort at No. 9; Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg at No. 8; Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretto at No. 7; Angel's Envy Distillery in Louisville at No. 6; and Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont at No. 5.

The article says, "The folks at Green River Distilling Co. had to change their slogan to 'The Whiskey Without Regrets' after their old catchphrase, 'The Whiskey Without a Headache,' was questioned by the federal government. Four comprehensive tours take visitors on a behind-the-scenes journey through the facility. Every sense will come alive as tourists marvel at the expansive operation, catch whiffs of the aging bourbons, hear the machines going in the production areas, feel the glass in their hands, and tickle their taste buds with samplings of delectable liquid magic."

The Top 3 tours were Bulleit Distilling Co. in Shelbyville at No. 1, Castle and Key Distillery in Frankfort at No. 2 and Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles at No. 3.

Keith Lawrence, 270-691-7301, klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com