Old Taylor Distillery
Old Taylor Distillery is a defunct distillery located along Glenn’s Creek south of Frankfort, Kentucky. Constructed by E.H. Taylor, Jr. in 1887, Old Taylor was known for a fine, quality product that was the first to produce one million cases of straight bourbon whiskey.
History
Old Taylor Distillery is a defunct distillery located along Glenn’s Creek south of Frankfort, Kentucky. Constructed by E.H. Taylor, Jr. in 1887,(1)(4) Old Taylor was known for a fine, quality product that was the first to produce one million cases of straight bourbon whiskey.
Taylor was known as a leader in the whiskey industry in the commonwealth, although he had pursued banking and political interests early-on. He was a descendant of two U.S. presidents, James Madison and Zachary Taylor, and because of this, Taylor had connections to Frankfort that benefited his self-interests. He later served as a longtime, 16-year mayor for Frankfort and as a state representative and senator.(2)
Taylor was responsible for revitalizing an industry that had little to no confidence from consumers due to product quality. Taylor passed laws that would ensure quality, such as the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, which was a federal subsidy via a tax abatement for products produced under particular government standards.(6)
When the Old Taylor Distillery was constructed, it was considered a showcase of bourbon making in the entire state.(1)(2) A peristyle springhouse, sunken gardens, stone bridges, gazebos and castle-like buildings adorned with turrets surrounded the 82-acre property,(6) giving it a charming and imposing feeling. The main offices and plant were constructed entirely of Tyrone, Kentucky limestone,(4) giving the structure a castle-like appearance.
Inside the buildings were gardens and rooms were Colonel Taylor would entertain guests and important officials from the state capital.(2)(3) In the early 19th-century, Old Taylor was as much as a tourist attraction as the capitol building. Visitors arrived on the “Riney-B,” or the Richmond, Nicholasville, Irvine & Beattyville Railroad, where they would be given a tour of the facility. Each were given miniature bottles of Old Taylor whiskey. The close proximity of the Old Crow Distillery was a boom to both distilleries, as both shared warehouse and some production machinery.
Old Taylor was the first distillery to reach one million U.S. Government certified cases of straight bourbon whiskey.(6)
Closure and rebirth
In 1922, Taylor passed away.(6) National Distilleries purchased Old Taylor Distillery in 1935 and operated the facility until 1972, when it was under the control of the Jim Beam Corporation.(4)(6) Jim Bean stored and aged bourbon whiskey in the warehouses until 1994, when the space was declared surplus.
Soon after, Cecil Withrow, a former employee of National Distilleries, and his business partner, Robert Sims, purchased the property for $400,000 and incorporated it under Stone Castle Properties.(1)(4) The goal was to renovate the buildings into a mixed-business operation. Renovations began on 1.5 million sq. ft. of the facility in late-1996.
On February 1, 1997, an arts and craft mall opened in the former bottling house.(4) Other reuse plans included a natural spring bottling operation that would have sold water from the adjacent Bird’s Eye Limestone Spring, and a whiskey distilling business that would have resumed in the “castle” by 1999. The whiskey, which would have been aged in white oak barrels for four years, was part of a grand vision by Stone Castle, who was trying to cash in on the super-premium bourbon market that was increasing at a high rate.
The initial production was 5,000 cases of whiskey per year under the brand Stone Castle Whiskey.(4) Financing issues, however, forced the abandonment of the latter two plans. Soon after, the arts and craft mall closed.
In May of 2005, the property was sold to Scott Brady.(5) The current reuse plan calls for the selective demolition of several warehouses that are in various stages of collapse or decay, and to renovate existing buildings. Wood and other materials from the warehouses are being marketed under Heart Pine Reserve.
Gallery
Links
- Old Taylor Distillery at American Whiskey
- Heart Pine Reserve
Sources
- Lipman, John F. “The GHOSTS of WHISKIES PAST.” 1999. 14 July 2005 Article.
- Cowdery, Charles K. “Distillery Destruction — Saving Kentucky’s Heritage.” 7 Apr. 2005. The Cultured Traveler. 14 July 2005 Article.
- Hogan, Meghan. “Low Spirits in Kentucky.” 23 June 2005. Preservation Online. 14 July 2005 Article.
- Jones, Amos. “Old Taylor Distillery coming alive with renovation plans.” Herald-Leader (Lexington), Jan. 7, 1997. March 28, 2007.
- Brady, Scott. Interview.
- “History of the Old Taylor Distillery.” Heart Pine Reserve 2006. 8 April 2010 Article.
Stone Castle Properties had two partners – Robert Sims and Cecil Withrow. I don’t know about finance issues stopping their progress, but I do know that Mr. Withrow passed away and project ended there and 30 acres of the property was given to Withrows Son and the rest of the property was put up for sale.
Mr. Sims was the finance and business brains behind this and Mr. Withrow was the vision and driving force. Without withrow who was employed at Old Crow for 10 years and knew the industry of Bourbon, there was nobody else to fill the spot.
I am seeking investors right now to start up the project again.
David, please keep us informed on the progress at Old Taylor. It will be a fantastic project to have the buildings saved from other irreversible damage!
David, would be interested in talking to you. Erik
Erik
Contact me
859-368-2664
Does anyone know if it would be possible for me to take pictures here?
I belong to a photo group that part of deals with urban explorers. They generate publicity about abandon buildings set for demo if you would be interested in setting up a scheduled shoot we would love to help you out. Bob
Has this place been totally refurbished and turned into an arts & crafts venue? Because these photos of it abandoned are AWESOME!