FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Whiskey Thief Distilling Co. in Franklin County makes it clear.
"We believe the differentiator at Whiskey Thief is in the fact that, one, we're known for the experience," Chief Operating Officer Jeff Markowitz said.
A $35 tour tasting lasts about 15 to 20 minutes and features four bourbons and one rye whiskey.
When you arrive on this 127-acre working farm, no reservations are necessary.
"We welcome reservations, however, we also welcome walk-ins. There's no cap on the number of tours and tastings. We just want people to come, sit, enjoy, not feel the pressure, not feel the stress. Truth of the matter is, if you're coming to taste whiskey, obviously you're looking to relax," Markowitz added.
Take a tour with Markowitz, and he will tell you word of mouth is key to the continued success of the Whiskey Thief.
"Here in Kentucky, I think eight out of ten people you're going to tell you're at Whiskey Thief, they're going to say where? You're gonna say this craft distillery in Frankfort, you gotta go, it's very different," Markowitz noted.
70 to 80% of the distillery's traffic is from out-of-state.
"The entire northeast, a lot of visitors from Ohio, Illinois, Virginia...people driving up from Florida, the west coast, they come from all over," Markowitz said.
With the bourbon trail attracting a wide array of visitors with so many options, it begs the question, what makes Whiskey Thief stand out?
"We don't distribute. The only place you can taste and buy our bourbons and rye whiskeys is here at the farm," Markowitz noted.
Around for more than a decade, Whiskey Thief projects to host about 54,000 visitors this year. Something that makes it very unique is the uncut, unfiltered experience of being able to fill your own bottle straight from the barrel.
"So our tour and tasting differentiator is, once you're taking your tour and your tasting, if there's something you really like, you need to go to the shelf, grab an empty bottle and fill it yourself," Markowitz added.
"This is a whiskey thief, in essence, a copper straw, and the reason it's called a thief, is that it steals the bourbon from the barrel. Hence, the word thief," Markowitz said.
After thirty years working on Wall Street, Markowitz now lives in a vastly different environment. He moved from New York to Kentucky to build startups and worked for three years in Lexington.
"When I was with Space Tango, which is a Lexington-based space engineering company that designs and builds research experiments that launch to the international space station to see the effect of performing those experiments in microgravity, I met this gentleman, Chris Carberry. That was through Jeff's friend, Kris Kimel. Carberry is the author of the book 'Alcohol in Space Past Present and Future.'"
"The idea behind the book is, eventually we hope to go back to Mars and when we go back to Mars, the reality is, our astronauts going seven months without alcohol, and we all know challenges of bringing alcohol in space. His book addresses what's involved in producing, consuming, manufacturing alcohol in space. Kris Kimel thought it would be a great idea to have Chris come speak, and he thought the perfect venue to do it was here at Whiskey Thief," Markowitz said.
Carberry will discuss his book at Whiskey Thief Saturday from 5-8 p.m. with ten percent of the proceeds going to Higher Orbits, a non-profit with a mission promoting science, technology, engineering and math.
For Whiskey Thief's Chief Operating Officer, it's too hard to retire with events like this on the schedule.
"I'm actually having the most fun I've ever had in my career," Markowitz said.
The "Alcohol in Space" event features Morehead State students and faculty leading guests through star-and-planet gazing through telescopes. The event is free, and guests will also get a chance to chat virtually with an astronaut.
