Where the Pony Express Meets Prairie Bourbon
St. Joseph, Missouri launched the Pony Express in 1860 — young riders carrying mail across Kansas and the Great Plains at breakneck speed. At Smoky Valley Distillery, we take a slower approach. Our spirits are crafted grain-to-glass in Marquette, Kansas — the same central Kansas landscape those riders crossed — and we believe the best bourbon, whiskey, and vodka can't be rushed.
Visit the Jesse James Home Museum and the Glore Psychiatric Museum in the morning, then point your car southwest toward the Smoky Hills for an afternoon tasting. It's about 3 hours and 30 minutes from St. Joseph to Marquette — considerably more comfortable than horseback.
Getting Here from St. Joseph
You have two good options:
Route 1 (US-36 W): Take US-36 W from St. Joseph across northern Kansas through Hiawatha and Mankato, then head south on US-24/KS-15 to connect with I-70 at Salina. This route is more rural and scenic, with rolling farmland and small Kansas towns.
Route 2 (I-29 to I-70): Take I-29 S to Kansas City, then I-70 W through Topeka and Salina. Exit onto KS-4 W to Marquette. More interstate driving but slightly faster.
Both routes take about 3 hours and 30 minutes. The US-36 route is recommended for the scenery; the I-70 route for convenience.
Buy Our Spirits
Vintegrity distribution is expanding across Missouri — ask your St. Joseph liquor stores to carry Smoky Valley Distillery. The nearest current retailer is Brook's Liquor in Salina, KS. At the distillery, our retail shop is open Thursday through Saturday with the complete lineup of 10 spirits plus limited releases.
Museums and Moonshine Country
St. Joseph has some of Missouri's most unique museums — the Glore Psychiatric Museum, the Pony Express Museum, and the house where Jesse James met his end. Here's a weekend that pairs your love of the unusual with a distillery experience unlike any other:
Friday:
- Leave St. Joseph in the afternoon — take the scenic US-36 route across Kansas
- Arrive in Marquette by evening, check into Preston House (sleeps 11)
- Walk to the distillery for a bottle from the retail shop
Saturday:
- Morning: Guided distillery tour and tasting — $10/person, 30-45 minutes, all 10 spirits
- Lunch: Drive to Lindsborg ("Little Sweden USA") for Swedish cuisine and the Birger Sandzén Gallery
- Afternoon: Kanopolis Lake State Park — sandstone canyons, Faris Caves, and bluff overlooks
- Evening: Live music at our 140-seat venue — a Saturday night worth the drive
Sunday:
- Drive to Abilene for the Eisenhower Presidential Library (45 minutes east)
- Head back to St. Joseph via I-70 E and US-36 E, arriving by late afternoon
Frontier Spirits, Modern Craft
The Pony Express riders who left St. Joseph carried the frontier spirit across Kansas. Our spirits carry that same Kansas identity in every bottle. Kernza Whiskey is made from a revolutionary perennial grain developed right here in Kansas — a crop as forward-thinking as the Pony Express was in 1860. Our Bud & Dewey's wheated bourbon is smooth enough for a quiet evening on the Preston House porch, while our Lingonberry Vodka brings a Scandinavian twist courtesy of nearby Lindsborg's Swedish heritage.
St. Joseph preserved the starting line of the Pony Express. We're preserving the craft of grain-to-glass distilling in the heart of Kansas. Come visit and taste the difference.