Mattingly family distillery with roots in Marion County moves to Frankfort
NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT
Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023 — J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery, created by Jeff Mattingly, a descendant of distilling pioneer John Graves Mattingly, opened its distillery Wednesday, Nov. 1st in Frankfort.
The new distillery features 23,000 square feet, which includes a gift shop, tasting bar, a small pot still, and a premier custom Bourbon blending experience.
The distillery will offer tours, tastings and the custom Bourbon blending experience every day but Sundays.
Previously located in Georgetown, the new location at 20 Reilly Road in Frankfort is part of a $6 million investment which will also add up to 50 new jobs. That investment is projected to grow as the distillery starts distilling on site, and eventually adds a second column still and barrel warehouses on property purchased in Shelby County. The addition of the column still carries on the 19th-century Mattingly innovation of the coffee column still which greatly enhances the continuous production of Bourbon.
The grand opening was Wednesday and included Public Protection Cabinet Secretary Ray Perry speaking, joined by Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson; President of J. Mattingly 1845 Harry Richart IV; and Cameron Mattingly, vice president of production.
One could say Jeff Mattingly has bourbon in his blood. His ancestor, John Graves Mattingly started his first distillery in 1845 in Marion County. Although the distillery was Registered Distillery #2, it is widely reported his distillery may have been the first registered distillery in Kentucky. The Mattingly name is so ingrained with distilling there have been at least nine distilleries in Kentucky in which a Mattingly had a hand in developing. The family also has connections to some of the most prolific bourbon barons in the industry, including George Garvin Brown of Brown Forman, the Willett family, and the Samuels family, with Margie Mattingly Samuels creating the iconic Maker’s Mark packaging, label, bottle shape and famous red wax.
Today, current owner Jeff Mattingly, alongside his son Cameron, carry on the Mattingly family mantle and continue to innovate, much like their ancestors did. Each batch of their flagship J. Mattingly 1845 Bourbon is a custom, one-of-a-kind blend, using a proprietary double stave process to add texture, richness and depth before it is expertly blended by the J. Mattingly 1845 production team.
Visitors to the new location in Frankfort will have the opportunity to participate in a state-of-the-art custom blending experience, which allows them to blend their own bottle from a combination of hand-selected barrels of Kentucky bourbon, wheated bourbon or rye whiskey, then choose their bottle, customize their label, and choose their wax color, offering a premiere hands-on experience not found at any other distillery.
“We’re excited to be in Frankfort and we appreciate the warm welcome we’ve received from the community,” said Jeff Mattingly, founder and owner of J. Mattingly 1845. “Our slogan is ‘One Hell of a Pick,’ which came about when I was blending a batch with some bourbon experts from around the United States and it was so good we proclaimed it ‘One Hell of a Pick.’ That batch and that slogan will always have special meaning to me since it was one of the first bourbons sold and marketed in over 100 years under the Mattingly family name. Now, we’re starting another new chapter with our move to Frankfort, and we look forward to helping our guests blend their own ‘One Hell of a Pick!’”
The J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery will be open for tours, tastings, and the J. Mattingly custom bourbon blending experience Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed on Sundays.
Reservations are not required but are encouraged, especially for the custom blending experience.
-30-
