Hartfield & Co. Distillery, Paris

Hartfield & Co. is finally putting the "bourbon" back in "Bourbon County." True, the distillery is far from the only place producing the spirit in the region—in fact, it's a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, which highlights 10 local producers of small-batch spirits. Nonetheless, it has a pedigree that's unique even among other microdistilleries. Read on to learn more:

The History

Before Prohibition, Bourbon County, Kentucky, was home to an estimated 26 distilleries. But in 1919, the entire whiskey industry shut down, and, oddly, not a single distillery re-opened there even well after Prohibition was repealed. It took until 2014, when Hartfield & Co. was founded, for spirits to be legally produced again in Bourbon County. (The Hartfield name, in fact, is a nod to founder Andrew Buchanan's distilling ancestors.)

The Spirits

Though Hartfield & Co. is constantly experimenting with aging and distilling processes, they focus on different varieties of bourbon, whiskey, and rum. It strives to be a truly Bourbon County operation by sourcing all ingredients besides sugar and molasses—so grains and fruits, mainly—from within 10 miles of the distillery. Visitors can learn more about the production of small-batch spirits through two tours that include tastings.