From College Town to Craft Distillery
Columbia, Missouri — home to the University of Missouri and one of the best college-town food and drink scenes in the Midwest. The District on Broadway is packed with bars, restaurants, and a population that appreciates quality craft beverages. At Smoky Valley Distillery, we're producing the kind of grain-to-glass spirits that Columbia's discerning palates will appreciate — 10 handcrafted vodkas, bourbons, and whiskeys made in a historic 1919 building in Marquette, Kansas.
Four hours west on I-70, the campus buzz of CoMo gives way to the quiet beauty of the Smoky Hills — and a tasting experience you won't find in any college town.
Getting Here from Columbia
It's a straight shot on I-70 W. Drive through Kansas City, continue past Topeka and Junction City, and exit at Salina for KS-4 W to Marquette. The 290-mile drive takes about 4 hours and follows one of the easiest interstate corridors in the Midwest.
For a break along the way, stop in Kansas City for lunch (BBQ is mandatory) or in Abilene for the Eisenhower Presidential Library. Katy Trail cyclists — Columbia's Katy Trail connects to the same westward spirit that built the towns along I-70.
Buy Our Spirits
Vintegrity is our Missouri distributor and we're actively expanding retail coverage. Ask your favorite Columbia liquor store to carry Smoky Valley Distillery. The nearest current retailer is Brook's Liquor in Salina, KS, right along your I-70 route. Our distillery retail shop in Marquette has the complete lineup plus exclusives, open Thursday through Saturday.
A Weekend That Beats Homecoming
Here's a Columbia-to-Marquette weekend that Mizzou students, faculty, and alumni will love:
Friday:
- Leave Columbia after classes or work — arrive in Marquette by evening
- Check into Preston House (sleeps 11, perfect for groups)
- Walk to the distillery retail shop and grab bottles for the evening
Saturday:
- Morning: Guided tour and tasting — $10/person, 30-45 minutes covering the full 10-spirit lineup
- Afternoon: Hike Kanopolis Lake State Park — the sandstone bluffs and Faris Caves are unlike anything in central Missouri
- Evening: Catch live music at our venue — 140-seat space with a 15x30 stage and full bar
Sunday:
- Drive to Lindsborg ("Little Sweden USA") for breakfast and shopping
- Head east on I-70, stopping in Kansas City for BBQ before the final stretch home
Kernza — A Grain a Mizzou Ag Student Would Love
The University of Missouri's College of Agriculture is one of the oldest in the country. Our Kernza Whiskey would make their soil scientists proud. Kernza is a perennial wheat grain developed by The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas — it grows back year after year without replanting, rebuilds soil health, and produces a whiskey with an earthy complexity that conventional wheat can't match.
We're the only distillery in the world making whiskey from this grain. Pair it with our best-selling Bud & Dewey's wheated bourbon and our Lingonberry Vodka — which has become a cocktail favorite among visitors who think they've tried every vodka flavor — and you've got a tasting lineup that's worth skipping a Saturday in The District for.