Formerly: Blue Springs Distillery · Barton & Holladay · McCormick Distilling Company
Weston, Missouri · Founded 1856 · Building: mid-19th century historic distillery complex; individual building dates unverified
A Weston distillery founded by the Holladay brothers in 1856, still operating on its historic site under the revived Holladay name and McCormick ownership.
Holladay Distillery stands on the Weston, Missouri, property where Ben Holladay and his brother Major David Holladay distilled their first bourbon in 1856 under the Blue Springs Distillery name. The business passed through the Barton & Holladay, Shawhan, Singer, Cray, and McCormick eras before its visitor-facing Holladay identity returned in 2016. Its historic site and limestone spring endured, although bourbon production itself stopped for about 30 years between 1985 and 2015.
Ben and Major David Holladay purchased the Weston property, then associated with a slaughterhouse or meat-packing operation, after recognizing the value of its limestone spring water.
Source: Holladay Distillery, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Alcohol Professor, "Field Trips: Holladay Distilling Company in Weston, Missouri," June 7, 2023
Ben and Major David Holladay distilled their first batch of bourbon at the site under the name Blue Springs Distillery. The first whiskey was sold after a year of aging, according to the distillery's historical account.
Source: Holladay Distillery, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Holladay Bourbon, "History," accessed September 1, 2026
The family operation became Barton & Holladay under David Holladay's son and son-in-law.
Source: Holladay Bourbon, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Holladay Distillery, "History," accessed September 1, 2026
George H. Shawhan purchased the distillery, beginning a new ownership era after the Holladay family period.
Source: Holladay Bourbon, "History," accessed September 1, 2026
During Prohibition, historical summaries say the operation remained active by bottling previously distilled whiskey for medicinal purposes. The original federal authorization has not yet been reviewed.
Source: McCormick Distilling Company historical summary; secondary histories cited by Alcohol Professor and Kiddle
Isadore Singer acquired the distillery. This is an ownership milestone, not the year McCormick Distilling Company was created.
Source: Holladay Bourbon, "History," accessed September 1, 2026
The operation became known as McCormick Distilling Company.
Source: Holladay Distillery, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Missouri Chamber, "Capturing history in a bottle," October 8, 2025
Cloud L. Cray acquired the distillery.
Source: Holladay Bourbon, "History," accessed September 1, 2026
Bourbon production stopped as McCormick shifted attention toward value spirits.
Source: Missouri Chamber, "Capturing history in a bottle," October 8, 2025; Spirits Educator, "Ben Holladay Bourbon," October 16, 2023
Ed Pechar, Mike Griesser, and a group of private investors acquired the distillery, according to current Holladay history.
Source: Holladay Distillery, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; BrewView MO!, "Old Distillery Finds New Spirit," September 28, 2021
McCormick resumed bourbon distillation after an approximately 30-year break.
Source: Missouri Chamber, October 8, 2025; BrewView MO!, September 28, 2021
The historic visitor-facing Holladay Distillery name returned, operated by McCormick Distilling Company.
Source: Holladay Distillery, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Missouri Chamber, October 8, 2025
Holladay Distillery continues operating in Weston as the home of McCormick Distilling Company, with active visitor tours and Ben Holladay bourbon offerings.
Source: Visit KC, "Holladay Distillery," updated April 24, 2026; Holladay Distillery, official website, accessed September 1, 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The distillery, Missouri tourism coverage, and multiple industry histories consistently describe the Weston operation as the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi still operating at its original site. The 1856 founding and ongoing same-site identity are credible, but the reviewed record does not include an original parcel comparison, National Register documentation, or a full evaluation of all potentially older active distillery sites west of the river. The regional title remains unresolved.
Current Holladay history and independent accounts describe Ben Holladay as the "Stagecoach King" because of his western transportation empire, which included stage lines and later association with the Pony Express. The nickname is credible and widely repeated, but this review did not inspect a historical biography, business archive, or contemporary newspaper source to confirm the full scope of his holdings and transactions.
Modern historical summaries say the distillery remained open during Prohibition by bottling whiskey that had been distilled before the ban for medicinal use. The story is consistent with the federal medicinal-whiskey system, but this review did not retrieve the original Treasury or Prohibition Bureau permit, warehouse, bottling, or tax records needed to document the exact activity and dates.
The 1856 Blue Springs/Holladay operation has a long site lineage, but bourbon production stopped in 1985 and resumed in 2015. The site may have maintained broader spirits activity in intervening years, but the 30-year gap defeats a literal continuous Ben Holladay bourbon-production claim.
Holladay's current history and Missouri business coverage both date the McCormick Distilling Company name to 1942 and the return to Holladay Distillery branding to 2016. The distinction prevents the present heritage brand from being projected backward as though it had been the site’s continuous public name.
McCormick Distilling Company began after Prohibition in 1936.
Historical accounts place Isadore Singer's acquisition in 1936, but date the McCormick Distilling Company name to 1942. The current Holladay Distillery heritage name returned in 2016 under McCormick operation.
Source: Holladay Distillery, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Holladay Bourbon, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Missouri Chamber, October 8, 2025
Ben Holladay bourbon has been distilled continuously at the Weston site since 1856.
The Weston distillery lineage began in 1856, but bourbon production stopped in 1985 and resumed in 2015. The present Ben Holladay bourbon is a heritage revival rather than an uninterrupted product line.
Source: Missouri Chamber, "Capturing history in a bottle," October 8, 2025; BrewView MO!, September 28, 2021
Holladay Distillery has always been the public name of the Weston business.
The site began as Blue Springs Distillery, became Barton & Holladay by 1894, passed through later ownership eras, and became McCormick Distilling Company in 1942. Holladay Distillery returned as the visitor-facing heritage name in 2016.
Source: Holladay Distillery, "History," accessed September 1, 2026; Holladay Bourbon, "History," accessed September 1, 2026
Holladay survived because its spring-fed Weston property remained useful through every change of ownership, product strategy, and public name. The Holladay brothers built a distilling business around limestone water, later operators expanded it into a broader spirits company, and McCormick maintained the plant even after bourbon production ended in 1985. Reviving Ben Holladay bourbon in 2015 and the Holladay Distillery name in 2016 turned a long but uneven industrial history into a modern heritage destination.
Ben Holladay and his brother Major David Holladay distilled their first bourbon at the Weston property in 1856 under the Blue Springs Distillery name. The operation later became Barton & Holladay, passed through several ownership changes, and was known as McCormick Distilling Company from 1942. Bourbon production stopped in 1985, resumed in 2015, and the visitor-facing Holladay Distillery name returned in 2016.
Holladay Distillery is widely described as the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi River still operating at its original site, based on its 1856 Weston founding. The claim is plausible but not fully resolved in this register because no complete comparison has been made with other older active distillery sites west of the river. Its site lineage should also be distinguished from continuous bourbon production, which had a documented 1985–2015 interruption.
Yes. McCormick Distilling Company is the operating company behind Holladay Distillery. Historical accounts date the McCormick name to 1942, while the company restored the Holladay Distillery name as its visitor-facing heritage identity in 2016.
No. Holladay's historic site and distillery lineage date to 1856, but bourbon production stopped in 1985 and resumed in 2015 after about 30 years. The modern Ben Holladay bourbon revival is historically connected to the original site, but it is not uninterrupted bourbon production from 1856.
Ben Holladay is widely called the Stagecoach King because he built a major western transportation empire, running stagecoach lines from Missouri toward the West Coast and becoming associated with the Pony Express. The nickname reflects his transportation career, while Holladay Distillery preserves another of his business ventures: the 1856 Weston bourbon operation.
1 McCormick Ln, Weston, MO 64098
(816) 640-3056
Holladay Distillery operates at the historic Weston site as the home of McCormick Distilling Company. Confirm current tour times, tasting availability, and reservation requirements directly before traveling.