18 distilleries come together for first-ever Missouri Bourbon Festival
Nearly 20 distilleries will be on hand Saturday for the Missouri Bourbon Festival, and the promised taste of Missouri's finest led the event to sell out in its first year.
Saturday's event will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the grounds of Copper Mule Distillery in Hermann.
Columbia favorite DogMaster Distillery will be on site, as will distilleries from relatively close locales such as Hermann (Black Shire/Hermann Farm Distillery, Fernweh Distilling Co., Lionheart Whiskey Co.), New Haven (Pinckney Bend Distillery), New Florence (Wood Hat Spirits) and Lohman (Blacksmith Artisanal Spirits).
Other areas of the state represented include Branson, Kansas City, Springfield and St. Louis. Ticket-holders will have the chance to sip the various bourbons in a Glencairn glass branded with the festival's logo.
In addition to tastings, the festival website promises bourbon games including "barrel golf, barrel stacking, and barrel rolling"; presentations on various aspects of the bourbon-making and consuming process, including distilling, aging, and food and drink pairings; and live bluegrass music. Food vendors also will be on site.
What standards must Missouri bourbon meet?
Back in 2019, the state — like its peers in Kentucky and Tennessee — set out official guidelines for any product labeled Missouri bourbon.
House Bill 266 mandates that "any whiskey labeled as Missouri bourbon must not only meet the federal standards for bourbon, but also be mashed, fermented, distilled, aged and bottled in the state; aged in oak barrels manufactured in the state; and ... made with corn exclusively grown in the state," Whisky Advocate reported at the time.
Missouri is unique in its barrel requirements, Whisky Advocate's Ted Simmons noted, as "no other whisky in the world puts restrictions on the origin of the wood used for its maturation."
"The whole point of the bill was to tie agriculture and tourism together in Missouri. Being able to make a high-class bourbon and make it truly a Missouri product — not just made in Missouri, but made from Missouri raw materials," Copper Mule Distillery's Don Gosen told Simmons in 2019.
To read up on this year's festival — and perhaps keep an eye out for future offerings — visit https://missouribourbonfestival.com/.
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 18 distilleries on site at sold-out Missouri Bourbon Festival
