WOODFORD COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — After more than 40 years of abandonment, the Old Taylor Distillery is back open for business with a new name, Castle & Key.
Wednesday marked the beginning of a new era by opening the gates to tours once again for the distillery originally built by Col. Edmond Haynes Taylor in 1887.
Taylor built a cistern at the Old Taylor Distillery in the shape of a key, because he said that the Kentucky limestone water was the key to good bourbon. That, along with the fact that the castle is just a few yards away, the distillery’s new name, Castle & Key, was born.
Founding partner Will Arvin tells LEX 18 that guests can visit the grounds and enjoy the architecture and see where distillers make the bourbon.
The property has centuries of history to it, but Castle & Key is making its own mark in history by hiring Marianne Eaves. Eaves is Kentucky’s first female Master Distiller of bourbon since prohibition.
At the ribbon cutting Wednesday, Gov. Matt Bevin and others were in attendance.
