Both of us are at Holladay Distillery in Weston. Walking the original limestone springhouse, tasting the Ben Holladay Bottled-in-Bond, and the kind of bourbon-history-of-Missouri lecture that doesn’t exist anywhere else. Holladay is the reason Missouri belongs in the American whiskey conversation.

What is Holladay Distillery?

Holladay Distillery in Weston, Missouri sits on the McCormick Distillery Historic District site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Founded in 1856 by Ben Holladay — the ‘Stagecoach King’ — and his brother David, the operation draws its water from a limestone spring noted by Lewis & Clark in 1804.

Master Distiller Kyle Merklein restarted bourbon production on-site in 2015 after a thirty-year hiatus; the first new release (six-year Bottled-in-Bond) shipped in 2022. The flagship Ben Holladay Bottled-in-Bond Missouri Straight Bourbon runs the original soft red wheat mash bill, with Soft Red Wheat Bottled-in-Bond, the 8-Year One Barrel, and Rickhouse Proof rounding out the Ben Holladay line. McCormick Distilling Company is the parent.