5 Tennessee Whiskey Destinations for Distillery Tours and Tastings

In a nondescript commercial building a few miles from the honky tonks of Lower Broadway, Whiskey House - Nashville hides in plain sight. Through a cluttered antechamber, more than 5,500 bottles line its walls, which founder John G. Brittle, Jr., 60, claims is the largest collection of open whiskies in the U.S., and maybe the world. In grass-stained jeans and a dirty black T-shirt (he spent the morning gardening), Brittle explains that expressions are organized by origins: Kentucky and Tennessee have adjoining rooms; Indiana, home to the mass-distiller MGP Ingredients, occupies a hallway. The Chapel, complete with upholstered pews and surrounded by distilling relics, hosts industry nights and trustee meetings. And then there’s the Vault, where only the rarest whiskies are displayed: the Pappys, Wellers, the Michters. “‘The whiskey experience of a lifetime,’” he says, brandishing an engraved snifter with the motto. “People want an experience, and we’ve created one.”

Established in 2019 as a 501(c)(3) and in its current location for the past three years, WHN has harnessed America’s infatuation with its native spirit into a philanthropic tour de force. Through auctioned rare whiskey tastings, it has raised more than $1 million in the last two years for charity partners with missions ranging from the hyper-local to national in scope. “You can go to a bar and drink good whiskey,” Brittle says. “[At WHN,] you’re drinking extraordinarily rare stuff that you can’t get at a bar.”

The growth of Brittle’s nonprofit mirrors that of the Tennessee spirits industry in general: sudden and with a surprising passion. Like its neighbor Kentucky, the Volunteer State has a distilling legacy measured in centuries. But unlike its sister, Tennessee adopted prohibition early, in 1910, a full decade before the 18th amendment. And unlike Kentucky’s exceptions, the ban was a blanket on the industry. Following the country-wide repeal, it reluctantly resumed, but at a glacial pace: Jack Daniel’s restarted production in 1938, five years following the repeal of the 18th amendment, while George Dickel, the state’s other large-scale heritage producer, fired up its stills in 1964. It took special legislation in 2009 to finally usher in craft distilling, and even today, 14 of the 95 counties remain dry.

“I call it the hundred-year hangover,” says Seth Weinberg, a WHN trustee, liquor consultant, and founder of the soon-to-open Vintage Whiskey Vault in Nashville. “Tennessee still has a lot of room to grow.”

The classic Tennessee spirit will always be its namesake Tennessee whiskey. According to Weinberg, however, the definition — and the taste — is not always distinct. According to the internationally binding NAFTA, Tennessee whiskey is straight bourbon whiskey made within the state. But state code further restricts it, requiring filtration through maple charcoal before aging in a step called the Lincoln County Process with rare exception. Some say this results in a sweeter, less biting product. But some Kentucky bourbons voluntarily charcoal-filter, and the same limestone shelf that purifies Tennessee springs also runs under parts of Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois, blurring terroir distinctions. Even experienced aficionados can struggle to identify the state of origin of higher-proof expressions in a blind taste. “I don’t necessarily differentiate Tennessee whiskey from bourbon whiskey or American whiskey in general, because there are so many different styles,” he admits.  

Tennessee’s distilleries are legion and the whiskey is broadly distributed around the state. From Old Dominick in Memphis and Chattanooga Whiskey to Ole Smokey in Gatlinburg and Corsair in Nashville, options abound. Traditionalists will find their favorites, but the next great expression may be aging in a dusty barrel waiting for the right time to be tapped.

“There are distilleries out there with these young people who trained in the industry under the bigs. Now they’re out there on their own,” Brittle says. “That’s the future of great whiskey, and we’re looking for the next great stuff.”