Oxmoor Farm is Louisville, Kentucky’s oldest continuously working farm. Oxmoor Farm began as a 1000+ acre farm in 1787 and has been home to five generations of the Bullitt family. In addition to the historic farm, it is also now home to Oxmoor Bourbon Company, a new brand of Kentucky bourbon sourced from various Kentucky distilleries and then blended and bottled under the palette of General Manager Rosser Lomax.
Today, Oxmoor Farm sits on 79.32 acres on a preservation easement with Kentucky Heritage Council which is the part of the property that the historic structures are located. In addition, there are 260 undeveloped acres around the preservation easement, most of which is still farmland where corn, soybean and wheat are cultivated.
Beginning in June 2024 the 227-year-old property will open its doors to a new chapter in bourbon history. Oxmoor Bourbon Co. will begin offering a first-of-its-kind Bourbon-focused historical tour and tasting experience that honors the Bullitt family’s incomparable influence on America’s only native spirit, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
Subscribe to DistilleryTrail’s YouTube channel.
Stay Informed: Sign up here for the Distillery Trail free email newsletter and be the first to get all the latest news, trends, job listings and events in your inbox.
Oxmoor Bourbon Co. tastings will take place in the 60’ by 28’ library that is home to some 10,000 books. One of the largest private collections in the U.S. When touring, you’ll soon discover this is a truly magical room. As Stacey Yates CMO of Louisville Tourism put it in the video below, “I can’t imagine a more beautiful place… this is gorgeous… I feel like Belle in Beauty and the Beast when visiting here.”
Oxmoor Farm was approved for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. When visiting the estate, guests are greeted with a driveway lined with ancient locust trees. The property includes an 18th century log cabin that dates back to the earliest Bullitt ancestors who are also buried on the property. The entire mansion is covered by a slate roof.
5 Generations of Bullitt Family Legacy
“The family and team behind Oxmoor is passionate about sharing the legacy of Oxmoor Farm with visitors from across the globe,” said Nora “Tooey” Leake Cameron, a descendent of the Bullitt family. “I’m thrilled to see the continuation of my family’s legacy and excited to honor the rich history of Bourbon and the Bullitt passion for welcoming guests to our home to enjoy our native spirit.”
Oxmoor Farm has long been renowned for its historical estate tours and is now proud to offer a unique new experience that explores the Bullitt family’s significant role in Bourbon history. Tours of Oxmoor Farm are paired with a unique Bourbon tasting experience unlike any other in Kentucky. Guests will see the original section of the family home, built in 1791, and then journey through the various additions made over the years, concluding in the final section, completed in 1928, which features the family’s incredible 10,000 book library.
Along the way, guests will enjoy a multitude of sensory experiences, including a sampling of a historically specific specialty cocktails that the family would’ve served their honored guests throughout the years.
“It has been an honor to cultivate and preserve the history of Oxmoor Farm and I’m so excited to share what we’ve learned with our guests,” said Shirley Harmon, Curator and Historian at Oxmoor Farm.
“For years, we’ve taken pride in our historical tours, demonstrating the significance of the history that sits quietly in Louisville’s own backyard. This unique new experience is not a brand-focused Bourbon or distillery tour like you’ll find elsewhere in Kentucky, this is a walk through the history of Bourbon and the events that made the spirit what it is today.”
The fourth generation of the Bullitt family famously produced Oxmoor Kentucky Whiskey, one of the last Kentucky Bourbons made legally in the United States before Prohibition took effect in 1920. It was crafted from a select batch of fine-aged stock barrels for the family’s private collection. This spirit is meant to be shared, as the family had traditionally done with their Private Stock releases for so many years, offering a rare opportunity to take a sip of history and honor the legacy of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Oxmoor Farm.
“Bourbon is a pillar of Kentucky culture, and we owe much of it to the work of one family of legal scholars over nearly three centuries of history.” said Tim Knittel, Adjunct Professor of Bourbon Studies at Midway University.
“We’ve dedicated so much thoughtful time and energy to reviving this amazing product and to honoring Oxmoor Farm’s unique place in the history of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. With it, we’re confident that Bourbon lovers, history buffs, and tourists alike can step into the past, enjoy a fine Kentucky Bourbon, and get a sense for what life was like at the birth of Kentucky’s signature industry.”
Defining and Defending Bourbon
The U.S. has been fine tuning the definition for bourbon and whiskey nearly as long as the country has existing. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, Bullitt family legal scholars helped craft many of the foundational pieces that define Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. This includes their work in the formation of the Kentucky Distillers Association (1880), the Distillers & Cattle Feeders (1887) which would later become the Kentucky Distilleries & Warehousing Co. (1895) and finally the Kentucky Whiskey Interest (1899) plus the adoption of the Bottled-in-Bond Act (1897), the Pure Food & Drug Act (1906), and the Taft Decision (1909).
Related Stories
What is Whisky? The Taft Decision of 1909
What is Bottled in Bond?
Bottled in Bond Act Signed Into Law March 3, 1897 – The Law Explained by Fred & Bernie [Video]
How Whiskey Labels Earn Their Eagle Scout Badges [Infographic]
Bourbon: More American Than Apple Pie, Tobacco Spit & Rattlesnake Heads [Infographic]
Bourbon Release, Tastings and Tours Begin June 2024
Oxmoor Bourbon Company invites guests to enjoy a piece of that history at Oxmoor Farm with tours beginning in June 2024. This is not a traditional “how we make our bourbon tour” like many other distilleries. The Oxmoor Bourbon Co. tour takes guests on a journey through Kentucky’s Bourbon history and provides an opportunity to learn about the parallel tracks that helped deliver both the famous product and the state we know today. After the tour and tasting guests may purchase bottles of Oxmoor Bourbon Company’s Private Stock Whiskey releases.
This latest Oxmoor Bourbon Release was sourced from two different distilleries. Lomax didn’t share the distillery names but did say it was a blend of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskies from Owensboro, Kentucky and Frankfort, Kentucky. This Vol. 3, First Edition, non-chill filtered, small batch barrel strength bourbon is bottled at 119 proof (59.5% ABV). It is only available at Oxmoor Farms after tours with a suggested retail price of $55.00. Additional purchase options are expected to be added at a later date.
Bullitt v. Bulleit – If you are a bourbon fan you may be wondering about this somewhat familiar name in American whiskey. Is the Oxmoor Farm Bullitt family related to Bulleit Frontier Whiskey? No. The Bullitt family and Bullet Frontier Whiskey are spelled different and are two completely different families.
Learn more about Oxmoor Bourbon Company.
View all Louisville Distilleries.
View all Kentucky Distilleries.
View all U.S. Distilleries.
How and When Did ‘Oxmoor Farm’ Get its Name?
The Bullitt family named the estate back in 1787 about the time the property was purchased. According to Samuel W. Thomas’ 1989 paper, Oxmoor: The Bullitt House in Jefferson County, Kentucky, “When Alexander Scott Bullitt made his initial purchase of 1,200 acres adjoining A’Sturgus Station in 1787, according to the deed, it was already “commonly called and known by the name of Oxmoor.” In literary history, Oxmoor is the “fine, large, whinny, undrained, unimproved common, belonging to the Shandy-estate,” described by Laurence Sterne in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759-1767).”
Please help to support Distillery Trail. Sign up for our Newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
