DANVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — In a sea of bourbon, a Danville distillery is swimming in cachaça. Blue Rook Distillery has introduced the Brazilian spirit to the Bluegrass region, making a splash in the distillery scene.
“If you ask a Brazilian, cachaça is cachaça, but here in the U.S., it falls under the rum category, " said Zach Baeker, co-founder and CEO of Blue Rook Distillery.
The story began 15 years ago when the Baeker family traveled to Brazil and developed a love for the national cocktail, the caipirinha.
“It's super simple, that's what makes it so attractive,” said Baeker. “Lime, sugar, cachaça, just the three ingredients.”
Back in the U.S., the family realized that cachaça was rarely available behind bars.
“It's the 3rd or 4th most consumed spirit by volume in the world, and its relative difficulty to find it here felt like a void that we might be able to fill,” said Baeker.
Before they knew it, their Brazilian vacation transformed into a full-fledged business plan.
In 2012, the Baekers founded Blue Rook Distillery, importing the spirit from Brazil, bottling and selling it. In 2018, they broke ground on their facility on Techwood Drive in Danville – family run and fiercely unique.
In addition to his co-founder and dad, Thomas, Zach rattled off several other members of the family who keep business and cachaça flowing. You can see each family member’s role here.
“We have a tour where you can come in and make your own gin using botanicals,” said Baeker. “What we lack in terms of history and sprawling campus we make up for in a more experiential tour kind of programming.
In addition to distilling, visitors can enjoy fine dining at The Still, helmed by executive chef Jamie Prouten. “Our menu is very seasonally driven,” he said, emphasizing a focus on local farms and gardens.
The menu features a rotating selection, with everything from pierogies to pork chops. Just steps away from the kitchen, The Still also grows its own produce on the property.
“We’re a melting pot of a lot of different things in our cuisine,” said Prouten.
As Blue Rook Distillery continues to grow, it fills a unique niche in Kentucky's spirits landscape.
Simply put, it’s that “something different” in Danville, according to Prouten.
