cowdery Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 This past Friday I visited Limestone Branch, a new micro-distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky. Its proprietors are brothers Steve and Paul Beam, who are descended from both the Beams (Minor Case Beam, specifically) and the Dants (Joseph Washington Dant, specifically). I had a very pleasant time visiting with Steve Beam, seeing the place, and tasting the products.Limestone Branch is in a handsome, purpose-built building on about 25 acres just outside of Lebanon. They have two lakes on the property, which has a lot of potential for walking paths and other uses. Conveniently, Steve is a landscape architect by training.The Beams make everything themselves with help from their father, who worked at Cummins-Collins in Athertonville, among other distilleries. They grew some of their own corn on the distillery grounds. They make a very clean spirit, with very good flavor, and very little harshness or burn. They're double-distilling. Their doubler is a 150-gallon handmade copper Hoga. Everything they are selling now is unaged but they do have some product, including a bourbon, in barrels.In addition to the distillery itself there is a comfortable tasting room (including some seating outside), a gift shop, and a small museum.Lebanon has only recently shown up on my radar. It's a lovely little town with a nice historic core. The big attraction for bourbon fans is Kentucky Cooperage, the Kentucky branch of Independent Stave, which makes most of the barrels for the bourbon industry. Lebanon is the seat of Marion County, which as the name suggests was founded by and still has a large Catholic population. I also recommend the Cedarwood Restaurant, which is just west of the cooperage, for authentic country cooking and ambiance. Limestone Branch's brand is T. J. Pottinger, which was one of the brands, along with Old Trump, made by Minor Case Beam at his distillery in Nelson County. Pottinger, who died in 1832, was a prominent distiller, miller, and landowner. He founded the town of New Haven, which is still home to many members of the Beam and related families.Limestone Branch is one of the micro-distillery members of the Kentucky Distillers Association. Kentucky was somewhat late to the micro-distillery game, but it's a natural place for them and guys like Steve Beam are making up for lost time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourbon Boiler Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Thanks for the review. I was intending to make it there last week between a stop at MB Roland and Bardstown, but the schedule didn't work out for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourbon Boiler Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Has anyone else had a chance to visit these gentlemen? I'm considering stopping by either before or after IS in two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinningrecords Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Limestone Branch is a convenient stop when visiting Independent Staves in Lebanon. Our group spent twenty minutes there after a tour of IS and before heading to Maker's in Loretto. It's a worthy stop as a tour is effectively a behind the scenes tour from the get-go. The whole process is right in front of our your eyes. They were very friendly, readily provided samples and you can walk out with some Sugar Shine if it's to your liking. However, they are a ways off of having a four-year bourbon if that's your concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbierling Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I really enjoyed our visit. I'd prearranged with Steve a little tour since we couldn't make it until after hours and he happily showed us around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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