This river town was evidently ready for the debut of Rivertown bourbon because it sold out nearly 500 bottles in one day.
“We’re blessed beyond measure,” co-founder Andrew Powell said Thursday while signing bottles with his wife, Meredith, who will be head distiller at the Rhythm River Distillery they are building on North Main Street.
The eight-year-old, single-barrel, barrel-proof Kentucky Straight bourbon whiskeys sourced from another Kentucky distillery first went on sale at 7 a.m. Thursday at Hometown Liquor Store on U.S. 41-North. One enthusiast reported on social media that a limited number of bottles there pre-signed by the Powells had sold out by 7:10 a.m.
Additional bottles became available when Beverage Barn and J’s Liquor stores opened two hours later. But all three stores sold out of the 498 bottles — three barrels’ worth — by 2:30 p.m.
“Superb, stupendous, exemplary, out of this world are just a few terms that came to mind on that first sniff and following sip,” Hendersonian Josh Hein wrote in a text after tasting the bourbon. “Rivertown is easily one of the top 3 I’ve ever had!”
Rivertown is a brand that parent company Henderson Distilling Co. is using for bottles filled from barrels acquired from other distilleries. Future releases could involve blends of whiskey of different ages, acquired from multiple distilleries or made with different aging finishes.
The Powells hope to open Rhythm River and begin producing their own whiskey by year’s end. Andrew Powell has said they will start tasting their rye whiskey after aging in barrels for two years and their bourbon after four years.
