Spirits of French Lick

Short about the distillery

Spirits of French Lick is located in West Baden Springs, Indiana, and is a family-owned artisan craft distillery tied to French Lick Winery. The distillery is regionally known as the state's largest pot-still producer and focuses on bourbon, brandy, botanical spirits and American whiskey. The work rests on the principle “Respect the Grain” and combines their own farm grains, traditional pot-still methods and ongoing technical improvements.

History

The family farm behind French Lick Winery traces back to 1888, when Heaven’s View Vineyard was established and has been passed down through generations. Hobby winemaking developed into full-time work for John Doty, and in 2016 the family's focus on farming and grain led to the establishment of Spirits of French Lick. The distillery grew out of the winery's activities, with family members in leadership roles: Kimberly Doty is listed as founder, John Doty as founder, and several Doty family members are listed as owners or leaders. The family has also been active in the local wine industry; Kim Doty was president of Indiana Uplands Wine Trail 2007–2014 and the first female president of the Indiana Wine & Grape Council 2016–2018.

Raw materials and production

Spirits of French Lick builds production on their own and local ingredients: wheat, corn (including the special Amanda Palmer heirloom corn), as well as alternative grains such as oats, kasha and buckwheat. The distillery has its own grain mill and seed cleaner to ensure purity in the mash. Technically they work with pot-stills, including a pot still named Sophia, and practice double pot-still distillation for retention and concentration of flavor compounds. For botanical spirits like absinthe, they macerate most of the botanicals 18–24 hours in the pot still and use a gin basket for essential oil extraction; the distillation is performed slowly to draw out the essence. The absinthe is progressively proofed down from 145 to 120 and tank-aged in neutral stainless steel tanks. Overall, the distillery emphasizes temperature control at all production stages and combines historically inspired, pre-Prohibition methods with modern temperature control and ongoing experiments in distillation and aging.

Aging and barrel types

In their aging strategy they work with lower entry proofs for barrels and lower char levels on the barrels. They also use toasted staves and toasted heads as variations in barrel treatment. For botanical distillates such as absinthe, neutral stainless steel tanks are used for tank-aging instead of wooden barrels, preserving the botanical characters.

Whiskeys

The range covers four main areas: bourbon, brandy, botanical spirits (including gin and absinthe) and American whiskey. The products include pre-Prohibition-style distillates and an estate bourbon based on the farm's heirloom corn. The distillery also offers single-pass Calvados-style apple brandy, an Old Tom gin with a citrus focus, and Indiana’s first commercial absinthe as examples of their broad product portfolio.

Visit the distillery

The distillery welcomes visitors but tours are offered by appointment only; book by phone (812-936-2293) and you should expect up to 48 hours response time. Upon arrival, guests should check in at the front desk. A guided tour costs $35 per person, all participants must be at least 21 years old, and the price includes a tasting (spirits or wine) plus a goodie bag. Tasting and purchase of spirits take place in the French Lick Winery & Distillery tasting room and gift shop, which is located next to the distillery. Opening hours are listed from Sunday to Saturday with Tuesday closed.

Hours of operation are Sunday 11:00–17:00; Monday 11:00–17:00; Tuesday CLOSED; Wednesday 11:00–17:00; Thursday 11:00–17:00; Friday 11:00–21:00; Saturday 11:00–21:00.

Philosophy and craft

The distillery's stated philosophy centers on respect for the grain: “Respect the Grain”. They believe grain has terroir and grow their own heirloom varieties on a Hoosier Homestead-designated farm with sustainable practices. Production combines historically inspired, pre-Prohibition methods with modern temperature control and ongoing experiments in distillation and aging.

Sustainability

Growing grain on the Hoosier Homestead-designated farm with sustainable agricultural practices.