Big dreams in a small town: Burton James Whiskey puts Adairville on the map
Adairville is a small Kentucky town located in Logan County, about a mile and a half from the Tennessee border. About 800 folks call this farming community home, and most families have resided there for generations. Shawn McCormick is one such resident, and while he wasn’t born in Adairville, his family’s roots have been firmly planted in the lush soil since the early 1900s.
McCormick, 55, would spend his childhood summers and holidays at his great-grandparents’ farmhouse, and he always had a soft spot for small-town life. He returned often throughout his adulthood to visit family, and when the idea to start his own bourbon distillery struck him in 2012, just as the bourbon boom was beginning, McCormick only had eyes for Adairville.
Of course there were many obstacles to face, including the fact that the town was dry, but with patience and persistence, he opened B.H. James Distillers in 2022 in the former Adairville Fire Department on West Gallatin Street, adjacent to the town square. (The residents of Adairville voted to allow alcohol sales in 2017).
B.H. James Distillers is named after McCormick’s great-grandfather Burton James, who played professional baseball from 1908-1919. Burton was from Coopertown, Tenn., just across the state line from Logan County, and he met his wife Estelle, from Adairville, at a general store.
After his baseball career, Burton and Estelle decided to make Adairville home, and they purchased Estelle’s family farm. McCormick wanted to honor his great-grandfather’s legacy with his company. He’s currently producing Burton James Whiskey; Kentucky Grit, a corn whiskey, and a line of flavored vodkas under the name James Lake Spirits.
Back when McCormick decided to dip his toe into the bourbon pool — after visiting a few distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 2012 — he had the foresight to start buying barrels of bourbon so he would have a supply when the time came to open his own place. So his flagship whiskey, Burton James, is 6-7 years old and packs quite a punch. He’s also distilling his own whiskey on a 25-gallon pot still, and he plans to release his first bourbon on B.H. James’ third anniversary in November of 2025.
“What is ironic is when we bottled the first Burton James Whiskey, it was 10 years to the very week I was on the Bourbon Trail,” says McCormick, who spent most of his career in product development in the food industry. His goal was to have his own business, and locating it in Adairville is the cherry on top. Every other week, McCormick hosts “Slushie Saturdays” at the distillery, and residents gather to sip some cocktails, play cornhole and enjoy being social.
“My focus now is on community building and making it a place where people can come hang out, meet their neighbors, and have a fun time,” he says. “Last year when we were doing cornhole for the first time, I had someone say, ‘I’ve lived here for X-number of years and I never met my neighbor, but I finally met him here.’ There’s really no socialization in town other than at churches. So if you’re not a churchgoer, you’re not really meeting your neighbors. There are no bars or restaurants in town, so it’s a little tricky meeting people.”
McCormick identifies as gay, but it’s not something he broadcasts in his new endeavor.
“Since I’m in small-town Kentucky, I’m not overly involved in the queer life here. But I like to joke, I’m not the only gay in the village,” he says. “I’d love to have more of a connection with the Kentucky LGBTQ community. I’m a member, but I guess I’m not out and proud at the moment. All my employees know and most of my family. At the end of the day, I’m just me. No matter what situation I’m in, I’m always just me.”
Looking ahead, McCormick would like to expand his operation with a larger pot he still has in storage, and also add a 25-seat bar and lounge area. He wants to offer fun distillery tours and experiences and also join the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. But for now, he wants his whiskey to do the talking, so his focus is to get Burton James on bar shelves throughout Kentucky, putting Adairville on the bourbon map, and hopefully garnering fans near and far.
