Old Pogue Distillery

Love their location and view! The Bourbon was good, but none for sale. The Rye was the best I have ever had but also the most I have ever spent on liquor. I guess I wish I had passed on it. $ 45 for a 325. My mistake for taking out my visa…

In one word, EXCELLENT!
I’m a bourbon drinker and have been to most of the distilleries on the bourbon trail and some craft bourbon distilleries popping up. This one is by far my favorite! You will not taste a better bourbon than their Old Pogue, on the trail. Its $ 80 and its completely worth it!
They are very small scale, its basically like a one man team. The main distiller basically does it all. If you set up a tour (by email, there is no phone number, but he responds very well to emails), he will walk you through the small distilling area, but the real beauty is the house if he’ll let you go inside. On the main floor if you walk out to the balcony you get a spectacular view of the river. Not to mention if your a history buff, the first floor he basically left untouched so it feels like you’re walking through time.
Be careful when driving here. The directions I listed are the ones listed on the web but its not the right address. It takes you to downtown maysville to some random location. Keep driving through the downtown area and on the outskirts across from the river you’ll see a sign on your left hand side that will say ‘Old Pogue’ its not a huge sign but if you know to look for it you’ll see it. Turn into the property. It will look like you are driving up someone’s driveway to their house. Park on the pavement to the right or you might be able to drive up the steep driveway and find very limited parking there (there’s limited parking in general). The distillery is the small white building on the left.
I want to warn you that this is the exact opposite of commercialization. You are basically driving to a residence that has been in the family for generations. With that in mind please be respectful to the distiller when he talks to you about the history of the place and the distillery. It was his grandfather’s or great-grandfather’s. The history was it opened back in the day and had to close because of the prohibition and now he’s trying to get it back up and running. And he’s doing a phenomenal job and we want him to stay around for a long time :-D
Enjoy! You’ll absolutely love your time here, the bourbon and the distiller is very nice.

After my visit here are some important details to note:
* Make your reservations online using their easy-​to-​use system
* It’s hard to see the house from the road, if not impossible. It’s up high on a hill
* That being said, since the hill is so steep and the road being so narrow, there’s one narrow entry and on narrow exit-​all one way
* The sign you see from the main road running along the river is the exit. You’ll need to drive past the sign, turn to go up a hill then a sharp right turn then a steep decline down to just a few parking places.
* I noticed parking along the road’s shoulder at the entrance and there are just a few parking spots on the grounds
* The handicap spot is by the family house and adjacent to the distillery. Even though the road is horribly steep I think everyone can enjoy the experience.
* There isn’t much more to experience in the area of the house or in downtown Maysville
* The distillery is exceptionally small, yet still rich with history
* They only sell three types of liquor: a Pure Rye Malt Whisky, a 91 proof Bourbon and a clear Single Malt Rye Whisky. You get to sample all three at the end of your tour, but it’s a very small sampling. VERY small…
* The Master Select Bourbon is some of the best I’ve had. Really good and worth the investment. Definitely one to sip and savor.
We were the only ones on the «tour,» which was lead by the main distiller John Pogue. I won’t go into the details of the family history for he’ll do that with great interest and enthusiasm. What I will leave you with is an affirmation that this distillery is very small and the tour is very short. Definitely worth the visit but I wish there was more in the area to experience…

Visited the distillery today and I loved the place. The man giving the your knew a lot about the history of the facility, the family and bourbon itself. This place is a must see for any bourbon or history buff.

I love the Old Pogue Distillery. Sure, I might be a bit biased (my last name is Pogue) but they make an an incredible small-​batch bourbon whiskey here. The whiskey is complex, yet smooth and best served straight. My wife, who abhors any whiskey, even enjoys this bourbon. Be warned though. This is not Evan Williams. A bottle of Old Pogue will set you back about $ 45.
The distillery is located just off the banks of the Ohio River in Maysville Kentucky, far from the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The recipe of Old Pogue goes back to the H. E Pogue distillery which shutdown shortly after prohibition. The story is that one night the Pogue family found an old bottle of whiskey in the basement and decided to reopen the family business, albeit as a craft distillery.
John Pogue, the master distiller, is a great guy. He gave us a personal tour late on a Sunday after having to cancel a Saturday appointment. How many distilleries would do this? It should be noted that the distillery is very small. There’s really no walking involving. John will explain the history, the distilling process, etc but everything can be seen in one spot.
The Pogue home was the highlight. The home was beautiful and contained all sorts of historical memorabilia from the old distillery. My understanding is that the plan is to eventually turn the home into a museum.
If ever in the Maysville area I would highly recommend stopping by Old Pogue. Make sure you make a reservation via their website as it is a very small operation. If not, stop by your local liquor store and pick up a bottle of this fantastic small-​batch bourbon whiskey.

This was our final stop during our Bourbon themed adventure in Kentucky and we’re really glad that we made the slight detour to get to Maysville to visit this place.
It can be a bit tricky to find, but only if you don’t read the instructions on the website properly. Your GPS is probably going to direct you to the exit on 2^nd street, and trust me, you’re not going to get into the place that way without causing a ruckus. The entrance is on W. Germantown Road, it’s really not hard to find if you look at a map.
Anyway, the distillery. We really enjoyed chatting with the distiller John Pogue, who was forthcoming with information regarding the process, the distillery and Old Pogue’s history. It’s different from the other small distillers we saw (in the same way that the larger distillers are all different from each other). The boutique distillery is very pretty and in view of the Ohio river. John is very knowledgeable and friendly. Tours are free and of course there’s a tasting.
The product itself also gets a thumbs up. Pop by, try a bit of the good stuff and buy a bottle.
I strongly recommend adding this to you Bourbon themed itinerary. Maysville itself is worth the excursion.
Tip: try and use the online booking system on the website for tours, there’s just one guy at the distillery so it’s good to make sure he’s expecting you — I’d hate for you to be disappointed. The parking is also pretty limited (this is a very small distillery), so it’s probably good at the height of the season to make sure there will be room for you.