![Woodford Reserve Distillery - Elijah and Oscar Pepper Home, Before and After Renovation 2024](https://www.distillerytrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Woodford-Reserve-Distillery-Elijah-and-Oscar-Pepper-Home-Before-and-After-Renovation-2024-Cover-Wide-1.jpg)
When it comes to bourbon history there are plenty of stories out there, some are marketing hype, some are folklore, and some are in fact true. When it comes to the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky the brand may be just over a quarter century old but distilling history on this site can be traced back for more than two centuries.
In 1994, Brown-Forman purchased the historic Labrot & Graham Distillery site in Versailles. Two years later in 1996 the company introduced Woodford Reserve Bourbon to the world. Though the brand was new, distilling on this historic site goes to some of the earliest days of commercial distilling in Kentucky. The first documented distilling here traces its history back to 1812 when a farmer-distiller named Oscar Pepper built a distillery on the banks of Glenn’s Creek. As a farmer-distiller his homestead, made of hand-hewn logs and limestone rock sat on a hilltop overlooking the distillery and surrounding farm.
What Will the Renovated Pepper House be used for?
Library Named for Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris
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.
Woodford Reserve Distillery Site Declared National Historic Landmark
During the construction and renovation project, Brown-Forman applied for and eventually got approval to include this property known as ‘Labrot & Graham’s Old Oscar Pepper Distillery’ on the National Register of Historic Places. The application says that “In 1812, Elijah Pepper (Oscar’s father) selected his farm alongside Glenn’s Creek as an excellent place to support both diversified agriculture and a distilling operation. The protective valley and stream banks created by the Grassy Springs Branch with its limestone filtered springs provided both the necessary waterpower for running a grain mill plus clean water for fermenting and distilling. The higher, flat hillside on both sides of the creek served for a residence and agricultural and grazing land… The earliest building that remains on this property is the log house Elijah and Sarah Pepper built upon settling the land.” Take a close look at the 1936 Labrot & Graham Distillery photo and you can see the Pepper home sitting atop the hill. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2000.
According to Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris the Pepper House is, “The oldest continuously inhabited log cabin in the history of Kentucky. Someone lived in this house from 1812 until 2003.”
Elijah Pepper started his farm distilling operation in 1812. A few years later in 1838 his son, Oscar Pepper made the transition from farm to commercial distillery when he built the Oscar Pepper Distillery along Glenn’s Creek. During that time Oscar Pepper hired Dr. James Crow to act as master distiller from 1833 to 1855. James Crow, a Scottish-born chemist “first employed the scientific techniques that came to be regarded as essential to bourbon production. Crow perfected the sour mash method of making bourbon—today a cornerstone of the national industry—and he employed instruments to gauge the temperature, acidity, and sugar-content of the bourbon and its chemical antecedents. He was an innovator in the maturing of whisky in charred oak barrels, giving his product the amber hue that is now accepted as a defining characteristic of bourbon.”
In 1878 the Pepper family sold the distillery to Leopold Labrot and James Graham. If you look close at the photos of the stacks rising above the distillery, you’ll see the initials L & G. Those historic letters are still visible today. Ironically, in 1941 Brown-Forman purchased the Labrot & Graham Distillery and ran it until 1968 when brown spirits sales declined in favor of clear spirits like vodka. In 1971 the distillery was sold to a neighboring farmer and returned to a farm property.
In 1994 when brown spirits started to make a resurgence, Brown-Forman bought the 42+ acre property back to start a new premium bourbon. After a two-year $7.4 million renovation and construction project the company introduced Woodford Reserve Bourbon on October 17, 1996, and soon began offering public tours of the Labrot & Graham Distillery. This was one of the original seven distilleries included on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail when it was launched in 1999. In 2003 the distillery was renamed as the Woodford Reserve Distillery that world knows today.
In 1997 soon after the distillery began operations Brown-Forman purchased an additional 30+ surrounding acres that included the original Elijah Pepper farmstead with the springs and house. The house was lived in until 2003. After that, the house was vacant and fell into disrepair for nearly two decades until this most recent renovation and transformation brought it back to life.
The Pepper House is Now Home to Woodford Reserve’s Private Barrel Program
“This home, with its rich heritage and deep-rooted connections to the birth of bourbon in the Commonwealth, stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of the Pepper family in shaping the bourbon industry as we know it today,” said Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall. “I believe it’s a fitting tribute to reuse this house in modern ways. If these walls could talk, I can imagine the stories they could tell about early distilling life in Kentucky.”
The Pepper House will serve as a tasting house where individuals can select their own barrel picks. The Woodford Reserve Personal Selection program is for restaurants, bars, liquor stores, and individuals from across the world to come to the distillery to create their own unique combination of Woodford Reserve bourbon. Customers participate in a blending experience with a certified taster that results in a two-barrel batch that is then bottled and completed with personalized labels.
Brown-Forman President and CEO Lawson Whiting called the restoration a milestone day. He announced that the house’s library is being named in honor of Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris, who helped grow Woodford Reserve from a tiny startup into a global brand.
“On behalf of Brown-Forman and our 153-year legacy, we sincerely thank Chris for his exceptional leadership and unwavering dedication to the artistry of Kentucky bourbon,” Whiting expressed. “Over his five decades with Brown-Forman, he has consistently demonstrated that there is simply ‘nothing better in the market’.”
Whiting also announced a $25,000 donation from Brown-Forman to the Woodford County History Room at the Woodford County Library. The donation will support the library’s efforts by establishing a “Digitization Station” for historic documents.
Woodford Reserve bourbon is crafted at the historic Woodford Reserve Distillery, tucked in the heart of thoroughbred country in Versailles, Kentucky. A National Historic Landmark, the Woodford Reserve Distillery represents craftsmanship with a balance of historic heritage and modern practices.
Learn more about Woodford Reserve Distillery.
View all Kentucky Distilleries.
View all U.S. Distilleries.
Source: Labrot & Graham’s Old Oscar Pepper Distillery application for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places
Please help to support Distillery Trail. Sign up for our Newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
Most Popular
- The 2024 ‘Bardstown Collection’ is Out –…
- Federal Judge Rules Ban on Home-Distilling is…
- Jackson Purchase Distillery Expansion Continues with…
- Introducing the 2024 ‘Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame’…
- Woodford Reserve Revives Historic 1812 Elijah Pepper…
- Maker’s Mark Distillery Announces ‘The Heart…
- 2 Centuries Later, Great-Great-Great Grandson of…
- Woodford Reserve Distillery Introduces the 2024…
- RD1 Spirits Hires University of Kentucky Scientist…
- Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of…
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.
Please help to support Distillery Trail. Sign up for our Newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.