The Castle & Key grounds were saturated so large muddy pools of water were forming everywhere as I arrived. But the dark sky formed the perfect background to one of the most beautiful distilleries I have ever seen.
Formerly the Castle Distillery, founded by EH Taylor, this facility once produced my favorite bourbons (y'all can keep yer Stitzel-Wellers) under its National Distillers ownership. The distillery closed in 1972 and was left to rust and rot by the landowners for three decades.
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| The limestone aquifer |
In 2012, the property was bought up by developers who had big eyes for the real estate boom. And though they never got around to building anything, they did tear down some of the buildings. They sold the property to a consortium led by Will Arvin and Wesley Murry in 2014. This new group went to work refurbishing what they could, and reviving the production facilities with all new gear, and began distillation in 2016.
The imposing Warehouse E, built by World War II veterans, continues to serve as a home for the distillery's barrels, looming heavily over the inner courtyard, impenetrable, looking more ancient than Kentucky itself.
Castle & Key sources all of its white corn for its 73/10/17 (wheated) mashbill from Kentucky farmers. Their rye (63/20/17) spirit is used for their gin, and bourbon spirit for their vodka. They have no master distiller, and the gentleman who worked at a desk next to column still did not know how tall the still was, nor did he know what I meant by "a thumper".
At the tour's tasting, I didn't care for their rye or bourbon at all, finding the gin cocktail and chocolate bourbon ball much more pleasurable. I'm so grateful for the company's preservation of such a stunning piece of American whiskey history, so I don't mind that their Craft-work can't match the next distillery's products.
Buffalo Trace Distillery has had a rough 2025. Flooding knocked one of their cargo containers and a temporary office into the Kentucky River in February. April brought even heavier floods that closed many of BT's building, and covered some vehicles on the property.
Though they reopened the gift shop, tours were cancelled through at least May. One had to book a reservation to go into the shop to buy their goodies, probably to keep the customer flow under control. The shop had very little of note, unless you get excited about EH Taylor Small Batch and 375mL Blanton's.
Tastings were held on the second floor and, again, the standards were all that were on hand. The lineup: Sazerac Rye, Buffalo Trace, EH Taylor Small Batch, a vodka, and another bourbon ball. Buffalo Trace registered better than the EHTSB as it always does for my face. But the bourbon ball was the highlight again. Downstairs they were selling a 12-pack for $40. I instead chose to visit the chocolatier herself (well, one of her stores), Rebecca Ruth, and filled a bag up with treats. For my kids, of course.
Sorry, I didn't take any pictures while I was there. The grounds were a soggy sight, and I have no need for Gift Shop photos. All the shoppers around me wished the distillery workers well, hoping for a quick recovery. And those same shoppers left muttering to each other about a future "EH Taylor Flood Batch", and how cynical the price would be. My kind of people.
