Medium & Craft Distillery Founders
The Bluegrass Region
(NOTE: FOUNDERS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
1
Shane Baker,
Wilderness Trail
Shane has a familial lineage in the distilling industry starting in the 1940s when his future grandparents, Doris and Hubert Ballard, met at the Kentucky River Distillery at the young ages of 14 and 16. Doris later retired from the famed Stitzel-Weller distillery after more than 50 years in the bourbon industry.
2
Catherine S.F. Carpenter
Carpenter’s Station Whiskey
At 16, Catherine and her husband John Frye followed kin and neighbors west into untamed Kentucky, joining a migration led by her brother-in-law and sister. By 1780, the group of families, clustered at what they later called Carpenter’s Fort, a wilderness settlement in modern-day Lincoln County, Kentucky.
3
Mark Coffman
Town Branch
Coffman’s career has read like a master class in building things from the ground up. He hasn’t just kept equipment humming; he designed and launched it. By the time Alltech expanded into beer and then whiskey, he had already built a career as the company’s Director of Engineering.
4
Marianne Eaves
Castle & Key
Although Marianne Eaves was raised in Kentucky, she grew up in a dry county; furthermore, her parents never drank alcohol much, so she wasn’t really exposed to the whiskey culture that is pervasive in that state. A tomboy who enjoyed auto shop, Marianne eventually obtained her dream car - a 1972 Oldsmobile.
5
Jay Erisman
New Riff
New Riff uses the sour mash technique, where a portion of the stillage (or “backset”) from one batch is returned to the mash of the next batch. Jay and the team view this as a flavor anchor, a tradition that many believe simply makes better whiskey, though opinions differ as to exactly why.
6
Dr. Patrick Heist
Wilderness Trail
In February 2013, Dr. Heist once again partnered with Shane Baker, this time to found Wilderness Trail Distillery, which has become one of the fastest-growing bourbon distilleries in the world. Wilderness Trail distillery produces numerous bourbons, including both high rye and wheated bourbons, and rye whiskey using their own proprietary yeast strains.
7
Wes Henderson
True Story
Wes Henderson grew up in the warm light of Kentucky bourbon. His father was already a legend-in-the-making at Brown-Forman, and whiskey talk was as common in their home as weather and ballgames. But the son did not trace a straight line from family lore to a rickhouse, he first chased airplanes
8
Greg Keeley
Larrikin Distillery
Greg Keeley spent his early life half a world away from Kentucky's bourbon country. But destiny often takes unexpected turns, and after serving as a Lieutenant Commander in both the Australian and United States navies, Keeley found himself forging a new path far from military command centers: the rolling hills of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
9
Kenneth Lewis
New Riff
After college, Ken taught high school English for 2 years, after which he became an “accidental entrepreneur” when his father sked him to run a family-owned liquor store in Louisville. After a year, he found that he really enjoyed the work and kept expanding, eventually leading him to grow to 6 stores.
10
Dr. Pearse Lyons
Town Branch
Dr. Pearse Lyons was a visionary who helped shape the modern brewing and distilling industries in Kentucky. Born in 1944 in Dundalk, Ireland, Lyons' story is one of passion, innovation, and relentless pursuit of excellence, from his early days in Ireland to the founding of Town Branch Distillery in Lexington, Kentucky
11
David Meyer
Glenns Creek
David Meier was asked if he could build a still. Meier’s curiosity did the rest. He experimented, taught himself what he didn’t yet know, and, true to lean form, started with small steps and rapid learning cycles. That curiosity soon found a canvas in a historic place: the long-silent Old Crow site.
12
Sherrie Moore
Castle & Key
Sherrie Moore embraced what may be her most ambitious challenge yet: becoming Whiskey Plant Manager at Castle & Key Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, on the historic Old Taylor site. Moore, who has never lived more than 30 miles from Lynchburg, would guide production and operations at Castle & Key.
13
Amir Peay
James E. Pepper
Quoting the Grateful Dead, Amir describes his journey as an entrepreneur to owning and restoring The James E. Pepper Distillery - “What a long, strange trip it’s been.”
Born in Marin County, California, Amir’s family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he was 3 years old and later to the Washington, DC area.
14
Elijah Pepper
Labrot & Graham
Elijah Pepper was born in 1760 in Culpeper, Virginia, and started the generational distilling tradition of the Pepper family around 1780. In 1786, Elijah married 16-year-old Sarah Neville O’Bannon. Around 1790, the Pepper clan along with John, traveled to Kentucky, ultimately settling around the area known today as Versailles
15
James E. Pepper
James E. Pepper
James E. Pepper was flamboyant, confident, and deeply invested in the public image of his whiskey. He frequently claimed that his product was among the oldest and best in the country, reinforcing a narrative that tied quality to lineage and longevity. He traveled in a private railcar named “The Old Pepper.
16
Oscar Pepper
Labrot & Graham
When Elijah died in 1831, his son Oscar took over the business, and soon it became known as the Oscar Pepper Distillery. While working for Oscar, Crow continued his work, and the two refined the sour mash fermentation technique while using Crow’s scientific and medical training to perfect the art of managing temperature for the purification of the final product.
17
Ken Pierce
Barton 1792
At Barton 1792, Ken Pierce’s imprint on product development had become clearly visible. As director of distillation, he was noted for being the architect of the intense flavor profile of 1792 Port Finish expression, and more broadly, Barton’s small-batch releases like 1792 Sweet Wheat.
18
Jacob Spears
Jacob Spears Distillery
Jacob Spears, a name that may not ring as familiar as other early figures in American whiskey history, was a pioneer whose influence on the bourbon industry is undeniable. Born in 1754 in Rockingham County, Virginia, Spears’ story stretches across states, wars, and centuries, leaving a lasting imprint on the distilling world and the legend of Bourbon whiskey.