Woodford Reserve

James E Pepper, was by all accounts a flamboyant character who allegedly claimed his whisky was the oldest and best brand of whiskey produced in Kentucky. He travelled widely in both the United States and Europe promoting his brand and often travelled in an ornate private rail car named ‘The Old Pepper’, which was bedecked with images of the label of his whiskey. Pepper was also an avid horseman and ran one of the  most prestigious stables in Kentucky. His thoroughbreds competed and probably won races across America, most notably at the Kentucky Derby. Indeed, the distillery to this day has an official sponsorship deal with the Derby and releases a limited edition commemorative bottling as part of that.

James E Pepper subsequently sold the distillery in 1878 to Leopold Labrot and James Graham, who renamed the distillery the Labrot & Graham Distillery. Nothing like stating the obvious I suppose! They continued to operate the distillery until 1941, when it was sold to the Brown-Forman Corporation. They continued to operate the distillery until the late 1960’s when the property was sold off to a local farmer and distilling on the site ceased. Brown-Forman bought the distillery back in 1993 and brought the distillery back into production.

Three years later they created the Woodford Reserve brand, using pot still distilled spirit from the still named Labrot & Graham Distillery, blended with column still spirits taken from the eponymously named Brown Forman Distillery in Shively. The company eventually renamed the distillery in 2004, and it became known as the Woodford Reserve Distillery.