Embryonic bourbon maker has clear start

If you're planning on going into the bourbon-making business, you ought to figure into your plan something to do while you're waiting for the whiskey to take shape.

At the Barrel House Distilling Co. in Lexington, KY, they've found an activity. They're making vodka and rum.

Frank Marino, Jeff Wiseman and Peter Wright teamed up to create the micro-distillery at the former Pepper Distillery on Manchester Street. But first, they're making the other spirits, with their Pure Blue Vodka now available on a limited, and local, basis. In the new year, they'll expand sales to area liquor stores and some restaurants and bars. It's currently selling for $20 for the 750ml bottle.

By late in 2009, they're planning to produce a honey rum aged in bourbon barrels. The bourbon will come in 2114 or so.

"We need people to buy the vodka to support the other products," Marino told Kentucky.com. Marino, an architect, is the company's master distiller.

Marino is at left in photo, with Wiseman in the middle and Wright on the ... well, the right.

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