Tom Conroy
For the past few years, my wife and I have stopped in Kentucky on our drive down to see my parents in Florida. During this drive, we make a point to try to visit a new distillery each time. As bourbon fans, it’s always a pleasure, but at a certain point, a lot of the distilleries start to blend together: a tour, a tasting, and a gift shop. What if there could be more to the Bourbon Trail experience? That’s what the founders of Horse Soldier Bourbon thought, which is what led to the opening of their new distillery at Horse Soldier Farms in Somerset, Kentucky.
Horse Soldier Bourbon
The new distillery facility at Horse Soldier Farms in Somerset, Kentucky.
Horse Soldier Bourbon was started in 2015 by a group of retired Green Berets from the 5th Special Forces Group. You might know them best as the unit that deployed to Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, as depicted in the movie 12 Strong. Their unit was also honored with the America’s Response Monument statue of a horse soldier in NYC’s Liberty Park. Hence, Horse Soldier Bourbon.
Co-founders Scott Neil and John Koko first got to work making bourbon at the original facility in St. Petersburg, Florida, which is also home to The Urban Stillhouse restaurant and cocktail bar.
Fast forward to this year, and the decorated vets cut the ribbon on the new 50,000-square-foot facility on more than 225 acres of land near Lake Cumberland, which will eventually include hospitality venues, outdoor recreation, event spaces, lodging, and bourbon tourism experiences. It’s a fitting space for one of the fastest-growing bourbon brands in the country, with a capacity to distill seven million proof gallons annually.
Governor Andy Beshear cutting the ribbon with the Horse Soldier founders on the 4th of July weekend.
I got a chance to check out Horse Soldier Farms before their 4th of July grand opening. Somerset is about two and a half hours from Louisville and 90 minutes from Lexington via I-75, so it’s a great stop if you’re making north or south through Kentucky.
The experience began with a dinner at The Urban Stillhouse (their second location) in downtown Somerset, which offers a mix of steakhouse and southern favorites. I went with the shrimp and grits and paired it with a Monty on 5th, their play on a Manhattan. I also stuffed myself with an array of delicious desserts and washed them down with more perfect cocktails. My compliments to executive chef Chad Welch, a former Navy cook now overseeing the food program at both locations.
And, of course, plenty of bourbon, including the 13-year Liberty Edition Bourbon released earlier this year and limited to 1,776 bottles.
I drifted off to sleep that night in a delightful bourbon-y haze, knowing that there was plenty of fun to come in the morning.
The next day, we enjoyed a sun-soaked day in the Somerset area, which attracts thousands of summertime visitors to Lake Cumberland. Touring the scenic lake on a pontoon, I can see why the Horse Soldier team fell in love with the area.
After several hours of boating and off-roading through the woods, we arrived at Horse Soldier Farms for our first look at the facility and another excellent dinner prepared by Chef Chad.
My takeaways from this trip went beyond great food and fine bourbon in a beautiful southern setting. Talking to Scott Neil and his team, you get the real sense of a group forged by the experiences of military service that drives everything they do. After all, these Green Berets were training near the Cumberland River when the September 11 attacks happened.
25 years later, Neil and John Koko still approach everything in business and life not only with a real sense of duty and patriotism, but a lust for life and fun that really makes you proud to be an American. I came home from the trip and informed my wife that we will definitely be stopping at Horse Soldier Farms on our next drive down to Florida.