You don't have to travel to Scotland to find great whiskey. A trip to a local town, or even to your favorite liquor store here in Lawrence, will likely showcase the delightful and delicious whiskey brewed at the Union Horse Distillery in Lenexa, Kansas.
At this locally owned distillery, founded in 2010 by the Garcia family, corn, wheat, rye, or barley are sourced locally and used to make fine whiskey. Everything is done in-house and by hand, from barreling and bottling to producing one of the many different flavor options marketed and sold in Kansas and around the country.
"We set out in 2010 to produce grain-to-glass whiskies, special and unique to our hometown of Kansas City that had not been done since the prohibition," says Damien Garcia, director of marketing and sales and co-founder.
A little history:
The history of whisky goes back hundreds of years. The practice of distilling alcohol made its way to Europe in the twelfth century. However, the earliest written evidence of distillation in Scotland is from the fifteenth century when malt whisky was known as aqua vitae, Latin for "water of life." The distillation process has been refined to create some of the nuanced flavors available today, distilled by both home distillers and businesses for sale to whiskey lovers.
The Process:
Whiskey makers set themselves apart from one another in the first stage of the production process by the type of grain used and the blending of grain as it enters the first step in the process known as milling or preparing.
Next, during the malting step, the grain is mixed with water and cooked to form the mash. The mash now moves into the step known as fermentation, where it is mixed with yeast. The yeast multiplies, producing CO2, which bubbles away, leaving behind alcohol particles and elements such as flavor. This slurry is pumped into a still.
The still at Union Horse, lovingly named "Chester Copperpot," is a gleaming 500-gallon pot and is the first thing you see when you enter the facility. The smell of grain blending is enticing and wonderful as you tour the site.
Once fermentation is complete, distillation begins with the heating of the still. The alcohol vaporizes, is collected, and then cools to form the clear droplets of "high wine" or "new whiskey.
Before entering the barrel, the distilled spirit will be proofed down to an ABV of 55 percent to pull out more complex flavors (caramels, butter scotches, vanillas) as the whiskey ages.
Finally, the whiskey moves to a step known as maturation, which includes aging the whiskey in barrels for approximately five years. The liquid is transferred into barrels and stacked in the non-climate-controlled barrel house. As the Midwest seasonal temperatures change, so does the temperature in the warehouse. This fluctuation of temperatures creates bolder flavors that are then imparted into the whiskey as the barrel expands and contracts.
After two and a half years, each barrel will get tested but won't be emptied until it reaches a maturity level of around five-plus years. The barrels are then proofed, and some are blended in a particular way and sampled again. Each whiskey is tested for complexity and full flavor before the bottling stage.
At Union Horse, all bottling and labeling are done in-house by hand. Patrick Garcia, the Master Distiller and co-founder, signs and numbers each bottle of Reserve Straight Bourbon, Reunion Straight Rye, and Barrel Strength Rye whiskies.
Union Horse also hosts guests for meetings and events. It is a beautiful space with smaller and larger rooms that accommodate different-sized groups who can end their meeting with a tasting.
Buying a bottle for a fellow whiskey lover is a great way to celebrate the holidays and procure that special gift. Union Horse Whiskeys are available here in Lawrence at several liquor stores. If you want to see the production process, you can book a tour at Union Horse Distillery. Go to UnionHorse.com for more details.
Be sure to have that designated driver so that you can end the tour with a tasting. And enjoy those lovely sips! Cheers!
Learn more about Union Horse’s spirits or to book a tour at UnionHorse.com
The Union Horse Spirits
Rivalist: A small batch of artisanal American single malt whiskey made from 100-percent malted barley. Handcrafted using three styles of barley, then aged in new oak barrels.
Reunion Barrel Strength: A rye whiskey handcrafted from 100-percent rye mash and barreled at a proof of 110.
Reunion Straight Rye Whiskey: A small batch of 100-percent rye whiskey that harkens back to the start of American whiskey.
Rolling Standard: A Midwestern four-grain whiskey that blends two different styles of whiskey—a wheated bourbon and an American single malt that captures the four grains of barley, wheat, corn and rye.
We set out in 2010 to produce grain-to-glass whiskies, special and unique to our hometown of Kansas City, that had not been done since the prohibition.