Alltech opens Dueling Barrels distillery in eastern Kentucky

Kentucky’s Bourbon community has grown with the opening of Alltech’s Dueling Barrels Brewery & Distillery this week.

Dueling Barrels Brewery & Distillery is based in Pikeville

Based in Pikeville, Dueling Barrels Brewery & Distillery will become eastern Kentucky’s first combined beer, Bourbon and moonshine operation.

US spirits producer Alltech broke ground on the distillery in the summer of 2015. This followed the opening of the company’s Lexington-based Town Branch Distillery in 2012.

Spanning 30,000 square feet, Dueling Barrels features three copper pot stills and 19 fermenters, with capacity to produce 40,000 barrels annually. The distillery is expected to join the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in January 2019.

“There is a massive population on the east coast,” said Mark Lyons, president of Alltech. “Now they just have to come across the mountains. I think this can be the start of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, not the end.”

In addition to Bourbon, Dueling Barrels will produce a variety of craft beers, starting with Dueling Barrels Pikeville Ale, an American Pale Ale, and Dueling Barrels Hopfield & McCoy IPA.

It will also offer four varieties of moonshine: Dueling Barrels Original Kentucky Moonshine, a blend of corn, malted barley and rye; Dueling Barrels Apple Orchard Kentucky Moonshine; Dueling Barrels Bonfire Kentucky Moonshine; and Dueling Barrels Mountain Flower Kentucky Moonshine.

Dueling Barrels was described as a “passion project” of Pearse and Deirdre Lyons, who wanted to promote tourism in the region.

Dr Pearse Lyons, founder of Alltech, died in March this year at the age of 73. Last year, Dr Lyons celebrated the opening of the €20 million Pearse Lyons Distillery in Dublin, Ireland.

His wife Deirdre, director of corporate image and design at Alltech, and their son, Dr Mark Lyons, “remain focused on the success of Dueling Barrels”.