By Ben Sheroan

Source: The News Enterprise

Distillery drawing tourists ahead of formal opening

Although he promotes bourbon-related tourism at every turn, Brent Goodin admits to being stunned by the initial visitor count at Boundary Oak’s new location off Ky. 313 in Radcliff.

With no promotion, no interstate signage and not yet being admitted to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Goodin’s craft distillery is seeing 40 to 50 visitors per day since its soft launch two weeks ago. The peak attendance thus far exceeded 100, he said.

“The traffic’s been great,” the master distiller said Thursday.

Word-of-mouth promotion and a chance to meet the distiller are bringing tourists to Radcliff, Goodin said.

“It’s the great thing about a craft distillery,” he said. “People want to meet the guy who made it and have a story to take back home.”

He said many visitors have come from hotel referrals in Radcliff and Elizabethtown. Travelers in the area to visit Fort Knox or the Elizabethtown Sports Park are the most frequent guests  thus far.

While open from noon to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, Boundary Oak’s grand opening is not yet scheduled and awaits some final touches. For example, videos to be shown on an over-sized oak barrel suspended from the ceiling still are being completed.

Visitors can see the pot still at work through lobby windows, visit the gift shop and sample the company’s two versions of Kentucky Moonshine or its new Kentucky Amber.

“It will evolve,” he said. “We want to be the most interactive of all the bourbon tourism sites.”

Thanks to a law passed by the 2016 Kentucky General Assembly, qualifying bourbon tourism sites will be able to apply next month for liquor licenses and the distillery will be able to sell drinks. Goodin also expects to introduce a wheated whiskey plus cinnamon and creme flavored products later this year.

The company’s first batch of bourbon, produced on family property near a natural limestone-filtered spring off Battle Training Road, continues to age in charred white oak barrels.

Unlike major manufacturers, Goodin and his family can provide a personal touch by getting to know the guests and answering individual questions.

“You can’t meet Jack Daniel or Evan Williams, but you can meet me,” he said.

Ben Sheroan can be reached at 270-505-1764 or [email protected]