On the eve of an approaching snowstorm, guests gathered at the bar for a new distillery’s late-January grand opening. The atmosphere was unhurried and convivial, a fitting debut for a space that invites conversation. A build-your-own old-fashioned menu encouraged experimentation, while classic cocktails and a few originals, including the Lion’s Tail (a bright balance of bourbon, maple, and lime served up in a coupe), showcased the bar’s thoughtful, playful approach to flavor.
Inside a three-story building on Jefferson Street, Abstraction Spirits is a new downtown Paducah distillery offering a distinctly creative vision of Kentucky heritage. The historic space features a tasting room and informal gallery displaying the work of several regional artists. The result is a bar designed for conversation, a place where spirits and art are treated as natural companions, each deepening the experience of the other.
“You basically get the artwork for free,” says owner Frank Dietiker. “It’s an added pleasure. It adds a story.”
That philosophy began to take shape in early 2023, when Dietiker participated in a private barrel selection through a bourbon club in Louisville, tasting whiskey straight from the cask. On the drive home with his wife and friends, the conversation shifted from flavor notes to labels, artwork, and what the bottle itself could become.
A few months later, the idea crystallized at an art collectors’ event in Napa Valley. Surrounded by paintings, Dietiker noticed the table conversation drifting away from art toward bourbon. It was a small moment that confirmed there was room for a brand fluent in both worlds.
The result was Abstraction Spirits, a collaborative project in which the spirit and the artwork are given equal importance. By sourcing small batches of aged whiskey early on, the team was able to focus on curation and storytelling from the start, treating each label as a unique artistic statement.
One of Abstraction’s most notable collaborators is Louisville-based artist Keith Anderson, whose equine-focused artwork has appeared as official commissions for the Kentucky Derby and on commemorative bottles for Woodford Reserve. Anderson’s bold, dynamic style brings movement and color to Abstraction’s labels. “Even if you don’t like bourbon,” he says, “you can come here and enjoy the art.”
That same collaborative energy extends closer to home; nowhere is it more evident than in one of Abstraction’s most talked-about releases.
A limited-release light whiskey, finished in a gin barrel, illustrates the playful spirit of the brand. Dietiker conceived the idea after realizing that while many gin producers age gin in used whiskey barrels, he had never seen the process reversed. If it failed, the plan was to lean into the novelty.
Patrick, Abstraction Spirits’ director of sales and a co-owner, remembers being unconvinced. “This is probably the most egg-on-my-face moment I’ve had,” he says, laughing. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and I just didn’t think there was any way it would work.”
Then he tasted it. “I took a sip and suddenly I’m trying to figure out how to walk it back, because it was amazing.”
The unexpected success became part of the story, and so did the label. Featuring artwork by Paducah-based artist Sandi Johnson, the bottle depicts a medieval, armor-clad raccoon wielding a sword: Sir Trash Panda. What began as a tongue-in-cheek experiment became one of Abstraction’s most memorable releases.
Looking ahead, the team is preparing for its first in-house distillation this spring: a gin slated to be the inaugural run on Abstraction’s shiny new still. Tentatively titled Lady Ginny, the release will mark a shift from sourcing toward production. The year ahead includes plans for guided tours, tastings, and small events that open the process to guests.
Behind the bar, tastings unfold at an easy pace, with room for conversation. John, the bar manager, says tasting whiskey is nostalgic. “For me, rye always brings me right back to Christmas. Baking spices, warmth, that feeling of being a kid again.”
Blending classic distilling traditions with contemporary art, collaboration, and a sense of play, Abstraction Spirits is a natural fit for downtown Paducah. “Some people are drawn in by the whiskey,” Dietiker says. “Others by the artwork. We want to meet both of those people.”
Art on the Label: Keith Anderson
Abstraction Spirits features work by Louisville-based artist Keith Anderson, whose equine-focused paintings have earned national recognition through commissions for the Kentucky Derby. Anderson made history as the first African American artist—and the first Brown-Forman employee—to design the Woodford Reserve Kentucky Derby bottle. He was selected for back-to-back commemorative bottle commissions in 2018 and 2019, and later created the Official Art for the 146th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks in 2020. Original works by Anderson are displayed throughout Abstraction Spirits’ tasting room, creating an informal gallery that underscores the distillery’s art-forward approach to Kentucky heritage.
