Lexington bourbon maker offers special release, tasting with UK coach Mark Stoops
A Kentucky bourbon distillery owned in part by University of Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops is planning a special release for a special occasion.
RD1 Distillery at The Commons is opening its new distillery and visitors center in Lexington on May 14. The distillery announced plans to build a $5 million brand destination site and craft distillery in January 2024. The new site is at Turner Commons off Leestown Road, which will eventually include restaurants as well as other amenities.
“What we’ve built with RD1 Distillery at The Commons is a bourbon landmark unlike any other in Lexington,” said Mike Tetterton, CEO of RD1 Spirits. “Through The Commons development project, RD1 is expanding and enhancing Lexington’s Distillery District, revitalizing entertainment for our community, and boosting tourism for our county.”
Details on special release, tasting with Stoops
To mark the event, RD1 is releasing a highly limited Single Barrel 12-Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon bottled at cask strength for $799, available for pickup at The Commons.
Only 250 bottles, drawn from six barrels, will be available, and each bottle is presented in a crystal decanter etched with gold in a black display case inspired by Lexington’s iconic horse farm fencing. You can order it online at RD1spirits.com.
The new distillery will have a two-story tasting room and gift shop along with a research and development distillery and a wood finishing lab, a bourbon bar, a speakeasy and event spaces, according to the news release.
Stoops plans to host a private bourbon tasting at RD1 Distillery at The Commons in late summer for those who purchase one of the RD1 12-year bottles by July 15.
According to the tasting notes, it has a nose of sweet caramel, leather and fountain vanilla cola. On the palate, it’s rich oak progressing to spiced peppercorn and stone fruit with a finish that leads into savory caramel.
Where RD1’s bourbon comes from
RD1 Spirits’ bourbon and whiskeys are produced by Western Kentucky Distilling Co. in Beaver Dam, which has several owners in common with RD1 Spirits. Besides Stoops, partners in RD1 Spirits include national brand ambassador Barry Brinegar, CEO Mike Tetterton, Marsha Couch and Raj Patel.
RD1 Spirits launched in 2020. Its first releases were named after William Tarr, who owned Lexington’s first registered distillery, RD1. The Old Wm. Tarr Manchester Reserve won several medals at blind-tasting spirits contests.
Tetterton, a Lexington businessman who started Hometown Suites and then sold the concept to Red Roof Inn, also started Creative Lodging Solutions, which was bought out in 2017. He and his business partner, Couch, joined Stoops as original investors.
The first RD1 Spirits releases used bourbon and rye made at Green River Distilling in Owensboro, which was bought out by Bardstown Bourbon Co. in July 2022.
Tetterton and some other RD1 Spirits investors partnered with the former Green River team, Jacob Call and JD Edwards, to establish Western Kentucky Distilling Co., which now makes RD1’s spirits, according to Tetterton.
In 2022, RD1 released its existing portfolio of four bourbons: a straight Kentucky bourbon, a version finished with French oak, a version finished with oak and with maple barrels and a version finished with Brazilian amburana wood.
Western Kentucky Distilling will continue to produce the whiskey, which is aged in Nicholasville, he said, with a new 800-gallon pot still in Lexington making between 50 to 100 barrels a year for experimental research and development with more wood finishes.
Visitors to the new RD1 Spirits site in Turner Commons will be able to sample different existing bourbons, as well as some in development. They also will be able to do custom blending, and even bottle and keep the results if they like, Tetterton said in an interview in 2024.
What else is at Turner Commons
In 2023, the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority approved economic incentives of more than $500,000 for the new project, which will be part of a 40-acre mixed-use development and more than 600 parking spots that received approval from Lexington’s Urban County Planning Commission in December 2022.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council gave final approval to the zone change in February 2023.
The distillery and other buildings will be part of the former tobacco warehouse area at 1409 N. Forbes Rd. Turner Commons will also include restaurants, bars, retail space, 25 townhomes and offices and industrial operations.
About 14 commercial buildings and a new road will be built on the long, skinny tract next to the railroad tracks near Lorillard Lofts, according to the development plans.
In December 2022, developer Daren Turner told the planning commission he hoped to locate the distiller, as well as a bar called Paws and Pints and a pickleball group on site. Battle Axes, an ax-throwing and entertainment venue, is already tucked near the back of the property.
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 8:13 AM.
