Evening with the Masters

Mark your calendar for an evening with the bourbon masters! Doug Frost, Kyle Merklein, Maggie Kimberl, and Michael Veach will join us at the distillery on Friday, June 3rd, from 6-9 p.m. for a night of bourbon history, insight, and expertise.

The evening will include heavy appetizers, a sampling of Ben Holladay Bourbon led by Master Distiller, Kyle Merklein, specialty bourbon cocktails, a panel discussion with the experts followed by Q+A from attendees, and one bottle of Ben Holladay Bourbon.

Guests must be 21+ and present a valid ID.


Doug Frost is a Master of Wine and Master Sommelier as well as an author and wine consultant based in Kansas City, Missouri.  In 1991 he passed the rigorous Master Sommelier examination and two years later became America’s eighth Master of Wine.  He was the second person in history to complete both exams and more than a quarter century later he is currently one of only three people in the world to have achieved both these remarkable distinctions.

Michael Veach was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2006.  He’s written and contributed to five books and is the foremost authority on bourbon history. In addition to this he is the former Filson Historical Society Bourbon Historian. Michael has provided bourbon history education in many different forms over the years. He owns his own bourbon consulting company, Bourbon Veach LLC.

Maggie Kimberl is the Content Editor of American Whiskey Magazine. She is a freelance spirits journalist focusing on whiskey culture in the United States, though she considers herself to be ‘geographically blessed’ to live in the epicenter of the bourbon world, Louisville, Kentucky. When she’s not covering the bourbon beat you can find her browsing through vintage vinyl with her kids or tending to her homegrown tomatoes.

Kyle Merklein has been Holladay Distillery’s Master Distiller since 2016. He is Kansas-born and raised and earned his biological and agricultural engineering degrees from Kansas State, with a Master’s research focus on the optimization of various fermentation systems. He is currently working toward a Ph.D. in industrial engineering as well. Kyle is passionate about bourbon – both making it and drinking it – and notes that he probably thinks about time more than most, knowing that what will be best six or ten years in the future is more important than what is convenient today.

$125 per person – includes appetizers, bourbon cocktails, bourbon sampling, an opportunity to mingle with the Masters, and a bottle of Ben Holladay Bourbon.

Distillery Hours

Sorry, we're closed right now

Friday11 AM - 6 PM
Saturday10:30 AM - 6 PM
Sunday11 AM - 4 PM
MondayClosed
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday11 AM - 4 PM
Thursday11 AM - 4 PM

x