Preservation Distillery + Farm sits on 380 acres of rolling Kentucky farmland in Bardstown, founded by Kyle and Ryan Byrnside along with master distiller Adam Seger in 2020. The brothers, who previously worked in finance and technology, partnered with Seger—formerly of Chicago’s Violet Hour cocktail bar—to create something different in bourbon country. Their facility combines a working grain-to-glass distillery with an actual farm that grows corn, wheat, and rye for their spirits, making them one of the few truly farm-to-bottle operations in Kentucky. The story started when Kyle Byrnside visited Bardstown in 2017 and fell in love with the idea of preserving traditional bourbon-making methods while innovating for the future. They spent three years planning and building before opening their doors, focusing on creating a sustainable operation that controls every step from seed to spirit. Seger brought his cocktail expertise to the whiskey-making process, experimenting with different fermentation techniques and barrel treatments that reflect his bartending background. You’ll find a modern distillery building housing copper pot stills and fermentation tanks, surrounded by fields where their grains actually grow. The tasting room overlooks the production floor, and large windows provide views of the farmland beyond. Tours take you through their grain storage, milling, and distillation process, ending with tastings of their bourbon, rye, and seasonal spirits. It’s part distillery visit, part farm tour, with the kind of grain-to-glass transparency that’s rare even in craft distilling.