You might be familiar with Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail, but did you know there’s a Tennessee Whiskey Trail? There are over 30 distillers across the state from Memphis to the Tri-Cities. Download your passport or pick up a physical printed version from any participating distillery and start your adventure! In Knoxville, there are two stops on the Tennessee Whiskey Trail: PostModern Spirits and Knox Whiskey Works.
We asked a few questions so you could get to know them better and plan a visit in person!
KNOX WHISKEY WORKS
How/why did you open your distillery?
We had a passion for bourbon, so when the laws changed to allow for new distilleries in Tennessee, we decided to pour that passion into Knoxville’s first legal distillery!
What specific products do you make?
We make two vodkas:
Tennessee Valley Vodka - Our award-winning 100% corn vodka.
Tennessee Tailgate Orange Vodka - Made from our corn vodka, this spirit is both naturally colored and flavored with blood oranges. A great spirit to show your VOL pride!
Marble City Pink Gin – Popular Jackson Ave Gin, barrel finished in Cabernet barrels from Napa Valley. The toasted French oak adds a subtle floral flavor while subduing the big botanical flavor. The distinct pink color is reminiscent of the pink marble that made East Tennessee famous.
Dry Gap Gin – Our Dry Gap Gin is derived from different cuts of our distillation process and bourbon barrel finished to create an interesting twist on a traditional spirit.
Jackson Ave Gin – Distinct, bold gin with a big juniper aroma and s smooth floral finish. Made from nine botanicals including chamomile, rose hips and orris root (the root of the iris flower, the TN state flower).
Old City Heirloom Corn Whiskey - Our award-winning unaged corn whiskey is double distilled using a repurposed pot still.
Gold Release Tennessee Whiskey - We take our Silver Release Bourbon and filter it three times through Sugar Maple charcoal, also known as the Lincoln process. Creating a superbly smooth Tennessee whiskey.
Deals Gap Dragon Tail - Habanero and ghost chile extract infused whiskey, naturally sweetened with local clover honey.
And lastly, elderflower and coffee liqueur and a rum:
Fleur De Vie - Our elderflower liqueur is made with rose buds, lavender, chrysanthemum, red clover tops and hibiscus. Sweetened
Cold City Old Brew Coffee Liqueur - Made with locally roasted coffee beans from Honey Bee coffee.
Three Rivers Rum - Jamaican rum blended with light brown sugar and maple.
Is there anything unique about your process/approach to your craft?
We use locally grown organic products whenever possible. All of the spirits made here at Knox Whiskey Works are made from 100% non-GMO, Heirloom Hickory Cane Corn grown at Riverplains Farms in Jefferson County, Tennessee.
Where can your products be found in Knoxville (bottle form and cocktails)?
Our products can be found in liquor stores, bars, and restaurants in East and Middle Tennessee, as well as the Tri-Cities. Check out the bottle finder feature on our website.
Do you offer tours?
Due to our small space, tours have been temporarily suspended during the pandemic. We are hopeful that we will be able to reopen our distillery for tours in the near future!
Anything else you would want a visitor to your distillery to know?
We are proud to be Knoxville's first legal distillery. And as a local business, we try to partner with as many other local entities to help out our community. We also proudly offer a discount to all military, firefighter, police officer or first responder personnel.
POSTMODERN SPIRITS
How/why did you open your distillery?
We founded PostModern Spirits five years ago to mindfully craft spirits at the intersection of artistry and chemistry. Our goal is always to bring together the traditional spirit and technique and marry it with modern science to craft a broad range of unique spirits.
What specific products do you make?
At PostModern we craft 3 distinct Gins:
Giniferous Gin - a modern American Style gin featuring bright citrus notes from distilling fresh lemon & lime zest, and Citra hops, along with juniper, coriander and lavender.
Empirical Dry Gin - a Navy strength, dry gin with loads of juniper, lemon and grapefruit.
UpRoot Barrel Rested Gin - distilled with Szechuan Peppercorns, Galangal Root, Wild Cherry Bark and barrel rested in our used whiskey barrels.
Amaro Artemisia - a wormwood bittered Italian style liqueur
Fernet Gallo - the newest release, a bitter, minty liqueur in the Italian style
Is there anything unique about your process/approach to your craft?
We take a completely different approach to distilling and crafting our spirits. By utilizing real ingredients and fresh botanicals, from fresh citrus fruits to fresh herbs & flowers, we distill and capture true flavors that make for distinctly original liqueurs and spirits. In addition, we never source finished whiskey from other distilleries. We ferment, distill and barrel age every drop of whiskey that we release - every drop of our Double Gold winning Hi, Rye Whiskey was made right here in the Old City of Downtown Knoxville.
Where can your products be found in Knoxville (bottle form and cocktails)?
Our spirits can be found in most of the surrounding liquor stores for sale by the bottle. In addition, you can find PostModern Spirits on many restaurant and bar cocktail menus. For a full listing of accounts with PostModern Spirits, please check out the Spirits Finder.
Do you offer tours?
We have a very active tasting room that is open 7 days a week and offers spirit samples and flights, cocktails and bottle sales. In addition, we offer distillery tours on Saturday and Sunday and reservations can be booked online. The tour lasts approximately 45 minutes and includes our distillery history and methods and ends with a tasting of 9 spirits.
Anything else you would want a visitor to your distillery to know?
We love being in the Old City of Downtown Knoxville, and love bringing the Maker Spirit to our creative and exciting block of the Old City. We were super excited to win Double Gold in the San Francisco World Spirits Contest, the oldest and largest wine and spirits contest in the world. We love to represent the Maker Spirit of Knoxville and want to help put Knoxville on the map for crafting great spirits.
We hope this helps you learn a bit more about the distilleries in Knoxville, a great way to celebrate National Craft Distillery Day, today – and every day!
Author
Kristen Combs
Kristen Combs is the Director of Communications & Social Strategies for Visit Knoxville. With an extensive knowledge of Knoxville as a tourist destination, Kristen is also the author of 100 Things to Do in Knoxville Before You Die, published by Reedy Press and available in the Visitors Center Gift Shop. Find Kristen on Instagram at @100thingsknoxville.
