Steve Nally

“The Humble Legend”

 Steve Nally was born in Loretto, Kentucky, in 1950 on a family farm, which joined property owned by the Samuels, and which would become Maker’s Mark in 1953. After graduating from Loretto High School in 1968, Steve bought a small farm. Times were hard in central Kentucky, and Steve found it necessary to get a steady job to support his young family.

At that time, Sam Cecil was a chemist, as well as plant and general manager at Maker’s Mark, and Steve had known Sam since childhood. So, after Steve’s hiring in at Maker’s, it was Sam who taught Steve the importance of a good yeast culture in making whiskey. Steve was trained in the processes associated with maintaining a viable yeast culture, propagating the yeast for consistency, and ensuring that it was performing in the best way that it could in every step of the process.

In those early days, almost everything was done manually. On the exceedingly hot days of July and August, the plant would have to shut down because the engineers could not get the product down to the temperature necessary to ferment, since there were no computers to control the temperature. To ferment properly, the temperature needed to be around 95°F. Eventually, technology improved, and the distillery industry became more and more automated, and it became easier to control temperatures. One of the early advancements was a thermostat that controlled the water temperature between the cooker and the fermenter. For many years, Nally also worked on the wheat recipe before more refined tools became available to help monitor the mash.  Wheat, unlike corn and rye, can easily be scorched and routinely ruined if the temperature is not meticulously monitored.

Then, in 1988, Steve was asked to become master distiller. At that time, he had worked at Maker’s Mark for thirty-two years and had a significant role in keeping the standards of identity of the flagship Maker’s Mark brand consistent.  While at Maker’s Mark, Steve was instrumental in growing the company from a producer of 32 barrels of bourbon a week to being one of the most prolific bourbon manufacturers in the world, producing millions of bottles of the amber-colored liquid. Steve recalls fondly that as he was growing in the industry, it was like a big family. He looked up to the leaders in the industry. He admired men such as Booker Noe, Parker Beam, Jimmy Russell, and Elmer T. Lee. These guys were legends, and Steve never imagined he would be part of that group, nor that he would ever leave Maker’s Mark. Nevertheless, by 2003, Steve saw that exciting changes were afoot in the industry, and so he decided to depart Maker’s after 35 years and see what other offer might appear.

In 2007, Steve was recruited to build Wyoming Whiskey, which produced the first legal bourbon west of the Mississippi River since Prohibition.  While at Wyoming Whiskey, Steve oversaw the construction of the company’s distillery and served as Master Distiller. After four years in Wyoming, Steve built Wyoming Whiskey from the ground up and did virtually every job in the distillery from cleaning tubs to sorting grains. Soon, though, his native state of Kentucky again came calling. So, Steve and his family returned to Kentucky in 2013 to partner in the Bardstown Bourbon Company.   Bardstown Bourbon Company was founded on 100 acres of beautiful Kentucky farmland by Steve Nally and his associate, Peter Loftin.  It began as one concept, making bourbon, and quickly grew to an entire craft of making whiskey and bourbon. It is the first of its kind to combine distilling, tasting, a culinary experience, and visitor tours all in one location, and it has the ability to combine over 100 mash bills.

Bardstown Bourbon Company broke ground on its $25 million “destination experience” in mid-2015. It has grown beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. From just a distillery, it has transitioned into a multi-faceted bourbon experience. According to David Mandell, former CEO, this facility evolved into a unique Napa Valley experience, centered around a collaborative distilling program of great brands of bourbon and whiskey. To complete the concept, a “Bottle and Bond Kitchen and Bar” was added. This unique addition is the first full-service ultra-modern Kentucky Bourbon Trail restaurant and bar in a distillery.

To Nally, transparency is an important concept. It is evident in the architecture, the way the product is presented, and the overall philosophy of the company. Transparency to Bardstown Bourbon is showing the bourbon public exactly what is taking place. “Here is how it is done. Here is how it is made. We want to show it all to you.”

According to Peter Loften, “When this company set out in 2014, the original plan was to grow into it in 15 or 20 years; we accomplished this goal in 6 years. Nobody could imagine the velocity the bourbon industry would grow. And Steve Nally was the right man to carry out this philosophy.”

Steve Nally, “The Humble Legend,” is currently heading the Development and Production Department of the Bardstown Bourbon Company’s distillery. In addition, he has served as Master Distiller since the opening of the distillery and continues in this position at present. While he loves what he has built at Bardstown Bourbon Company, Nally still considers himself part of the Marker’s Mark “family”, and it was as a member of this “family” that, in 2007, Steve was inducted into the prestigious Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. At that time, he was the third member of Maker’s Mark to be bestowed such an honor, behind Bill Samuels, Jr. and Sr. In 2015, Steve’s wife Donna was also inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame for her contribution to the bourbon industry, because she was instrumental in developing tourism for the bourbon industry. She helped implement the tour program at Marker’s Mark. Her program at Maker’s was a major influence in the development of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Steve and Donna are the only living husband-and-wife couple in the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.

Contributed by: Jim Silliman, Bardstown, KY