Photograph by Amanda Boyd Walters
As you wind down Germantown Road off of U.S. Route 68 near Maysville, keep your eyes peeled for a barrelhead sign heralding the home of Old Pogue Distillery. This is a family operation: Today, fifth and sixth generation Pogues distill bourbon, rye, and wheat whiskey here, producing about 200 barrels a year. The tour—and tasting!—is free, but you must make reservations online in advance. When we visited, there were only eight slots available for each tour (one morning, one afternoon). Early birds might get lucky—we did—and have tour guide Dan Crum all to yourself. He starts in the brick Greek Revival three-story that was once the Pogue family home. Crum filled us in on distilling history and showed us the still, where John Pogue was working on that day’s batch. Then he led us to the back porch, where we tasted Old Pogue Master’s Select, a smooth 91 proof bourbon made from an old family recipe, along with Old Maysville Club rye and Belle of Maysville, the wheat malt whiskey. Overlooking the Ohio River, it’s a beautiful setting for sipping some history.
Old Pogue Distillery, 705 Germantown Rd., Maysville, Kentucky
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