STAFF REPORT

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Boyle County’s newest bourbon, Luca Mariano Old Americana Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon, along with the Luca Mariano Small Batch Kentucky Straight Rye, are being released at an event in Danville next week.

From 4 to 11 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16, a launch party will be held outside of Liquor Barn, located at 2900 S. Danville Bypass, according to Francesco S. Viola, founder of Mariano Distillery. The Old Americana Band, a group founded and produced by Viola will also perform at the public launch party from 7 to 11 p.m.

In a news release, Viola said, “This is a very exhilarating and emotional time for me, the launch party is the culmination of many, many years of unwavering hard work. Releasing Old Americana Bourbon and Rye in Kentucky, the epicenter of the bourbon world, is a dream come true.”

In a story in The Advocate-Messenger last September, Viola said he had distilled his own bourbon as a hobby several years ago. “I didn’t know it was illegal to distill until 2010. That’s the real reason why I got into the business,” he said. “… I felt the energy pushing me toward getting my license and trying to develop something.”

For the next three years, Viola worked on his bourbon recipes and did a test launch in Nashville in 2014, he said.

When he became tired of drinking his own “green” bourbon, Viola wanted to improve its flavor so he contacted Shane Baker and Pat Heist with Wilderness Trail Distillery and Ferm Solutions Inc. here in Danville. They worked with Viola on his recipes and used their high-tech methods to “take it to the next level,” Viola said.

Viola’s whiskey and rye are now distilled in Danville and are aged here for more than four years before being shipped to Michigan in barrels for bottling. Old Americana Bourbon initially launched in April of this year in Michigan, Francesco’s home state with the rye being launched in June.

Luca Mariano’s offerings will be available across the state at restaurants and retail outlets.