More than two years ago, Beth and Cam Goodwin partnered with Hunter Yeager to set off on a journey to return whiskey production to the town of Franklin for the first time since Prohibition. They purchased the building that served as the stable for downtown Franklin and housed the horses that shoppers rode to town to do a little commerce.
The refurbished building at 412 Main St. has been converted into an extremely attractive tasting room and production facility named Stable Reserve Spirits where the staff serves locally roasted coffee from Narrow Gate Coffee Co. from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and slowly turns into a tasting room and bar around noon until late. The building was also the home to the Franklin newspaper for decades, and old copies of the Review-Appeal have been worked into the decor of the space.
The trio are all Franklin natives and were looking for a way to contribute to the local economy while jumping into the spirits business. Of course, operating a working still in a historic building that happens to be connected to the rest of the structures on the block made the town council a little nervous, but the Stable Reserve folks worked with them to establish the Main Street location as their bottling operation within a fire-proof room with windows so that guests can watch the process. The distillery's main production facility is a few miles down the road on Columbia Avenue.
Once the building was secured, the trio set about planning the product line of the distillery. Working with consultants, they purchased and trained on a 200-gallon pot still. They also began to source purchased whiskey to blend into their own products while the whiskey they were distilling ages in barrels for at least four to five years.
The product line that they have opened with features some really good whiskey along with a vodka and a gin. The vodka is, well, vodka, but it is made using non-GMO corn and filtered ten times to impart a really nice mouthfeel. It’s also the base for Stable Reserve’s 92-proof gin, derived from a recipe that the partners worked long and hard to develop.
The resulting botanical mix that they came up with leans toward a Plymouth-style gin, meaning that it’s not as juniper-forward as many gins. Among the 14 different organic botanicals that they came up with are lemon verbena, white pepper and orris root, which happens to be the root of the state flower, the iris. All these herbs and spices go into a gin basket attached to Stable Reserve’s column still to impart a flavor that Beth Goodwin describes as “a gin for people that don’t like juniper.”
Despite being a Tennessee-based distillery, Cam Goodwin describes their flavor preference as more Kentuckian, specifically wheated bourbons, and that’s what they hope to produce in the future. For now, their flagship product is Stable Reserve Bourbon, bottled at 94 proof, which demonstrates equal facility as a sipper or as the base of a great Old Fashioned. Made from aged, high-rye Indiana bourbon, Stable Reserve has developed a flavor profile that they blend to create a really nice creamy vanilla whiskey with notes of toffee and a spicy rye finish.
Their Stable Reserve Bourbon Century Series is closer to their own palate preferences, made with a mash bill that includes 20 percent wheat to add more of a Triscuit character as opposed to the spicy rye bread of their biggest release. Bottled at 96 proof, this is a very complex whiskey, exhibiting notes of green apple and an interesting green pepper on the palate.
Being such a small operation currently, Stable Reserve can choose single barrels from their initial inventory to offer in special releases that are only available in the tasting room/bottle shop. Their current offering is only 175 bottles of an 8-year-old Indiana bourbon bottled at 113 proof. The high rye content of this special barrel definitely shines through, despite the heat of the ABV. The time in oak has extracted luscious notes of vanilla and caramel plus a little bit of bitter cocoa. The color of this whiskey is a beautiful dark amber thanks to the extended time in barrel. At $129.99, this is probably more of a collector’s whiskey, but after they sell out, it shan’t pass this way again, so jump on it if you’re interested!
Stable Reserve’s final product is an objectively delicious Coffee Cream Liqueur, made using their own high-rye whiskey along with cold brew coffee from their coffee bar. Not too thick or sweet like some other coffee creams, this is a shelf-stable product that you might consider keeping right next to the Keurig for days when you need to take the edge off the morning. At Stable Reserve, they refer to this as “a cup of giddyup.”
The tasting room is set up like a bar, except for the fact that they are limited to using only their own spirits in cocktails. That’s not a huge sacrifice since they have the basis for many classic cocktails, but until they get a rye in the stable, you’ll have to order your Manhattan with bourbon. Flights are also available if you want to taste through several of their products, and instead of using the stereotypical barrel staves to craft their tasting boards, Stable Reserve actually made them from slabs of the original wood floors of the building.
The food offering is fairly limited, but thoughtfully chosen with small bites and muffins from a local baker in the mornings and chocolates from a Franklin chocolatier and charcuterie boards for later in the day into the evening. The tasting room also hosts live music and private events in their space and has become a popular destination for those planning holiday shindigs.
If you’d like to try out some Stable Reserve for yourself, visit the Franklin tasting room or attend one of their upcoming liquor store sampling appearances at Westside Wine & Spirits on Tuesday, Nov. 21, from 4-7 p.m. or Moon Wine & Spirits on Friday, Nov. 24, also from 4-7 p.m.
