Harvest Hosts Aleblazer’s Favorite Distilleries: A Recap

Nita and Glenn Hughes are the Harvest Hosts AleBlazers and the couple behind Cubby Van Life. In the past year, they’ve traveled far and wide in their van to explore Harvest Hosts Breweries and Distilleries and they’ve walked away with several favorites.  Three of their favorite distilleries are also a part of the infamous Stateline Whiskey Tour. Within 30 miles, there are three great distilleries, Casey Jones Distillery, MB Roland Distillery, and Old Glory Distilling Company. By participating in the Stateline Whiskey Tour and visiting all three locations, you’ll receive a gift for completing the challenge. Also, each distillery is also a Harvest Hosts location, so you can take your time to enjoy each distillery and spend the night there in your self-contained RV after your whiskey tasting.

Stop #1: Casey Jones Distillery

Casey Jones' distillery is 70 miles northwest of Nashville in eastern Kentucky. They took a really interesting tour that included the original Still built by Casey Jones himself. Then they moved on to their modern facility and learned about the grains they use, their mash, and their unique distillation process. Then it was time to see the bottle shop and tasting room, where they were able to sample 92-proof moonshine and 30-proof flavored moonshines, bourbons, and ryes. But the star of the show was the 126-proof four-year-old Casey Jones Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

Stop #2 MB Roland Distillery

After sleeping off the strong bourbon from Casey Jones, Glenn and Nita headed to MB Roland Distillery. This beautifully scenic distillery was formerly an Amish dairy farm. They began with a tour and learned their fermentation process. But the most interesting part of the tour was the old dairy bag barn, which they use to store barrels.  At the tasting room, Glenn and Nita came to the consensus that MB Roland would take the prize as the distillery with the widest variety of offerings. They tried Kentucky bourbons, ryes, and even a premixed mint julep. But the standout spirit was the St. Elmo's fire, a cinnamon and cayenne-flavored spirit. As Glenn describes it, “This is everything Fireball wants to be when it grows up.”

Stop #3 Old Glory Distilling Company

At Old Glory Distilling Company in Tennessee. On a tour of the distillery, Glenn and Nita found something they’d never seen before: a 22-stage still that was so tall, that they had to cut a hole in the ceiling just to fit it in. They also learned the difference between Tennessee Whiskey and all other kinds. One, it has to be made in Tennessee, and two, it has to be filtered through a sugar maple charcoal filter. This filter adds a sweetness and smoothness to the whiskey that is unmatched.  Old Glory Distilling Company also has an extensive cocktail menu where Rita was able to try a lavender lemon drop. Glenn’s favorite thing was their 100-proof Pin-Up barrel-aged American gin, which might be his favorite gin of all time!

Bonus Stop #4 - Axe Handle Distilling

Although Axe Handle Distilling is not a part of the Stateline Whiskey tour, Glenn and Nita felt this location stood out to them and was one of their top favorite distilleries of the year. Every Friday night, they have live musicians playing bluegrass music. While there, they got a tour of their small batch distilling and described how they use a basket with wood sticks to separate the botanicals, used to flavor their unique gin. They're also dog friendly, and Glenn and Nita had a great time sitting at the bar, meeting the locals, and enjoying once again amazing cocktails. Nita had a grapefruit martini. Glenn had a raspberry bourbon made with fresh, muddled raspberries, lemon juice, simple syrup, and whiskey.  Interested in following Nita and Glenn on more of their adventures? Follow them on YouTube and Instagram @CubbyVanLife or check out the Harvest Hosts Adventure Series to hear more about their travels across America.