Gunnar’s Bourbon Company
Gunnar's Bourbon Company is a new distillery located in Sedan, Kansas. I had known about Gunnar's Bourbon company for about a year because I bought a bottle of their Bradford Single Barrel Bourbon on a whim. I enjoyed it, but it was a slow sipper because it is 118 Proof. I also picked up a bottle of the Heritage Batch Bourbon to bring to a buddy’s bachelor party in the Poconos. I remembered it being good, but sipping bourbon at 3 am after an extreme game of Binn Pong *See footnote*, a day of paintball, and partying the previous night does not give the bourbon the justice it deserved. I knew we would have to visit the distillery and give the products the tasting they deserved.
A while back, when I was trying to decide what to do, I looked up to see if they were open but found out they did not have their tasting room open and weren’t offering tours yet. We got excited when we saw on Instagram that they were soon having their grand opening for their distillery and tasting room. We couldn’t make it on the grand opening day but were able to make it during the grand opening weekend. We should have gone on Saturday when the weather was nicer, but we decided Saturday evening to go on Sunday since the weather wasn't looking too bad, *so that was a lie GIF.*
Sunday morning looked a little gray in Wichita, and there was supposed to be only a little snow in Wichita and Sedan. We left around noon for our 2 o’clock tour. Everything was smooth sailing until we got east of Augusta. The snow came down way harder and longer than expected. Most of the snow was blowing, so the roads were alright once we got to K-99, and the snow just kept dumping. The snow and the windy roads through the Flint Hills made for quite the drive. At this point, we’re about two-thirds of the way to Sedan, and it would be less safe to turn around and go home. As we get closer to Sedan, Hannah receives a weather notification on her phone advising of winter conditions, but according to her weather app, there was a 0% chance of snow. We kept pushing ahead and finally safely made it to the distillery.
We get to the beautiful snow-covered tiny town of Sedan, Kansas, and head into the distillery. We learned that the beautiful building is the historic Bradford Hotel, built in 1904. We get there, and they are slow due to the weather, but several others are waiting for the tour to begin. When you first walk in, you enter the restaurant/tasting room. To the right is the tour check-in and gift shop area. We checked in for the tour and browsed around the gift shop. They told us they were still waiting for another group, so we headed over to the tasting room to try some whiskey before the tour/tasting. We chatted with the bartender and enjoyed our samples of whiskey.
We began the tour, greeted by our tour guide, Bill. He gave us some history about the hotel and the resident ghost! So, of course, Hannah and I are hooked already. The tour guide took us around and explained the process of their whiskey making, explaining each step in detail. They were currently working on getting their new column still up and running. Our tour guide informed us that the column still will be able to quadruple their product output. We then braved the cold and snow again and walked to their temporary barrel house across the street. Gunnar's stores the whiskey in barrels at this location temporarily until they can move it to one of their larger barrel houses to age.
After the barrel room, we returned to the former hotel and into a private tasting room where samples were set up for each person on the tour. Gunnar's currently only makes two products, the Heritage Bourbon and the Bradford Single Barrel Bourbon. So, along with the two bourbons, they had a sample of their Old Fashioned and a Manhattan. Our tour guide walks us through the tasting and explains what tasting notes to look for. Both bourbons were fantastic. The Single Barrel I had during the tasting was smoother than the bottle I had at home.
The Old Fashioned and the Manhattan were also fantastic. I have yet to venture into pre-made Manhattan syrups, but I have had plenty of Old Fashioned syrups and have yet to find one I like. I may have found one at Gunnar's that I enjoy, Proof Syrups. I have never been a massive fan of Manhattans, either. It's mainly the vermouth. There's better out there. This one I enjoyed, though! After the tasting, we talked to a couple who used to live in Wichita. They were super friendly, and their son (I think it was their son) is the owner/brewer at Scissortail Brewing in Dewey, OK. So, we'll add that to the list of places to visit. Overall, the tasting was great, and an excellent end to the tour.
After tasting and talking to people, we browsed the gift shop again and bought a T-shirt, hat, shot glass, and a small bottle of the Bradford Single Barrel so I could compare it to one I have at home. We then made our way to the restaurant for dinner. I decided to go with their maple bacon old fashioned, once again made with Proof Cocktail Syrup and once again delicious. We were starving, so we ordered the Bavarian pretzel as an appetizer. I ordered the Bourbon Barrel Burger, and Hannah got the Grilled Chicken Breast sandwich. Our food was about as delicious as the whiskey and cocktails.
When we left, the sun had begun to shine a bit, but Sedan was still snowy. Once we got out of town, it looked like it hadn't snowed. If you ever find yourself out in rural southeastern Kansas or want to take a nice little road trip, swing out to Gunnar’s Bourbon Company you won’t regret it!
Footnote* Binn Pong is a fast-paced, chaotic variation of Beer Pong that the bachelor and his best man played in college.
