Three years in, this distillery in Marquette is still lifting — and creating — spirits

MARQUETTE — After opening in central Kansas just over three years ago, Smoky Valley Distillery is making its mark and continuing to introduce new drinks to the spirits scene.

Opened by Stan Von Strohe in downtown Marquette in 2020, Smoky Valley prides itself on making some of the best distilled spirits using Kansas-sourced grains.

Whiskey requires aging and for Smoky Valley, that aging process takes at least two years, so it started as many do, creating and bottling vodka, while waiting patiently for their bourbons, ryes and other whiskey to get to that perfect age.

"One of the things that we do is use smaller barrels (to age our whiskeys) in most cases," Von Strohe said.

While many distilleries use traditional 53-gallon barrels to age most of their whiskeys, Smoky Valley uses 30-gallon or even 10-gallon barrels for most of its aging, which allows for the process to go faster.

"If you put something in a 10-gallon barrel, age it two years, it's got the flavor of a four and a half to five year bourbon," Von Strohe said.

This small-barrel process is important for microdistilleries, especially newer ones like Smoky Valley, as it allows quality product to get to people in a shorter amount of time.

Signature bourbon at Smoky Valley Distillery named after local legends

There is history behind Smoky Valley's signature spirit, the straight bourbon whiskey called Bud and Dewey's, named after a couple of wild guys from Marquette.

"Bud was my grandfather, Dewey was the (local) barber," Von Strohe said. "Their favorite thing to do was smoke cigars, drink whiskey and cruise Main Street in Marquette."

Bud and Dewey's, which has only been available since the beginning of June this year, is a special, small-batch bourbon, meaning only a select number of barrels at the distillery are used to age it. It also is the only spirit made by Smoky Valley that is in a square bottle, which doesn't fit in a standard labeler.

"It's the only one we have to (label) by hand," Von Strohe said.

Each of those hand-labeled bottles also had handwritten information about which batch and which bottle from that batch it came from.

Smoky Valley Distillery becoming a destination for visitors

Another new venture for Smoky Valley is an event space next door and attached to the distillery.

The venue, originally opened in 1901 as a hardware store, has been renovated and restored to host events such as music, parties, dinners, weddings and more with space for around 140 people and a stage.

With a population of just under 600 in 2020, Marquette isn't necessarily thought of as a place to host these types of events with large groups, but Von Strohe said the pricing for events is pretty reasonable compared to larger cities, and it doesn't take too much time to drive here from places like Salina, McPherson, Lindsborg or even Wichita.

"That's really my market," Von Strohe said. "For most of my customers, this is a destination...they don't live here."

He said on a typical Saturday, the distillery will have a total of maybe two or three local people and the rest are people who have traveled to see and experience it.

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Visit Smoky Valley Distillery or buy its products across Kansas

Smoky Valley Distillery is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursdays and Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays in downtown Marquette at 105 N. Washington St.

During these hours, the retail shop where customers can buy spirits from the distillery, including bourbons, ryes and vodkas, is open.

Tastings and tours of the distillery are also available by appointment on days it is open with the last tour beginning at 2 p.m. To schedule a tour, which is limited to 10 people per group and costs $10 a person, visit www.smokyvalleydistillery.com/tastings-and-tours.

Additionally, a calendar of events can be found on the distillery's website, www.smokyvalleydistillery.com/eventstest, and includes things like concerts.

Spirits by Smoky Valley Distillery are currently available for purchase at locations across the state, including in Marquette, Salina, Hutchinson, Lindsborg and Wichita.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Here's why Marquette's Smoky Valley Distillery is becoming a destination