Tobacco Barn Distillery

Long before anyone in places like Kentucky or Tennessee thought of filling their first barrel of Whiskey, Southern Marylanders such as Basil Hayden, Henry Wathen and even the Jesuit Priests at Newtown Neck were busy perfecting their Whiskey recipes and their craft of distilling. A strange twist of fate in the late 1700’s drove many of these early distillers from Southern Maryland to places such as Virginia, and the area now known as Kentucky. Had it not been for this event, Southern Maryland may very well have been America’s Whiskey capital. The importance Southern Marylanders have played in the production of Bourbons and American Whiskies cannot be disputed. Walk in to any liquor store and you will see homages to those early distillers that once called our area home.