This article is a list of historic whisky distilleries and distillery companies. It includes some that are still operating and some that are not, and includes those claiming to be the oldest or to have other historically important characteristics.
This article is a list of historic whisky distilleries and distillery companies. It includes some that are still operating and some that are not, and includes those claiming to be the oldest or to have other historically important characteristics.
Irish whiskey is whiskey made on the island of Ireland. The word 'whiskey' comes from the Irish uisce beatha, meaning water of life. Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world, though a long period of decline from the late 19th century onwards greatly damaged the industry, so much so that although Ireland boasted at least 28 distilleries in the 1890s, by 1966 this number had fallen to just two, and by 1972 the remaining distilleries, Bushmills Distillery and Old Midleton Distillery, were owned by just one company, Irish Distillers.
Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey:
George Dickel is a brand of Tennessee whisky produced in Tullahoma, in Coffee County, Tennessee. Today owned by Diageo, the modern brand was introduced in 1964, though the distillery has a longer history. Whisky production and aging takes place at the Cascade Hollow Distillery, which offers tours to the public and is part of the American Whiskey Trail. George Dickel operates the second largest distillery in Tennessee, selling 130,000 cases in 2013, while the largest is Jack Daniel's, which sold 11,500,000 cases the same year.
Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. is a private, American family-owned and operated distillery founded in 1935 and headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky, that produces and markets the Heaven Hill brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and a variety of other distilled spirits. Its current distillery facility, called the Heaven Hill Bernheim distillery, is in Louisville, Kentucky. It is the seventh-largest alcohol supplier in the United States, the second-largest holder of bourbon whiskey inventory in the world, the largest, independent, family-owned and operated producer and marketer of distilled spirits in the United States, and the only large family-owned distillery company headquartered in Kentucky.
The Old Bushmills Distillery is an alcohol distillery in Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, owned by Casa Cuervo. Bushmills Distillery uses water drawn from Saint Columb's Rill, which is a tributary of the River Bush. The distillery is a popular tourist attraction, with around 120,000 visitors per year.
Bomberger's Distillery, more recently Michter's Distillery, is a non-operating distillery facility that was, at the end of the twentieth century, believed to be the oldest remaining such building in the United States. The distillery closed in 1989. Although there are whiskey products currently on the market using the Bomberger's and Michter's brand names, they are more recently introduced products that have no direct connection to the old distillery.
Four Roses is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Its Spanish Mission-style distillery was built in 1910 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Old Prentice Distillery. The company's warehouse for aging and bottling operations is in Cox's Creek, Kentucky. The brand and its products have evolved and transformed since the company's founding in the late 19th century, and especially since the firm's acquisition by the Kirin Brewery Company of Japan at the beginning of the 21st century.
Bulleit Bourbon is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced at the Bulleit Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky and the Bulleit Distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky, for the Diageo beverage conglomerate. It is characterized by a high rye content for a bourbon and being aged at least six years. It is bottled at 45% abv for the US, Canadian, British, Dutch and Mexican markets. For Australian and Danish markets, it is bottled at 40% abv. It is also sold in Germany, Norway and Sweden.
Buffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, owned by the Sazerac Company. It has historically been known by several names, including the George T. Stagg Distillery and the Old Fashioned Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. Its namesake bourbon brand, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey, was introduced in August 1999. The company claims the distillery is the oldest continuously-operating distillery in the United States. The company says the name "Buffalo Trace" refers to an ancient buffalo crossing on the banks of the Kentucky River in Franklin County, Kentucky. The Sazerac Company purchased the distillery in 1992.
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is the name of a program sponsored by the Kentucky Distillers' Association (KDA) to promote the Bourbon whiskey industry in Kentucky. The KDA has registered the phrase "Kentucky Bourbon Trail" as a protected trademark.
Willett Distillery, also known as Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD), Ltd., is a private family-owned and -operated company that produces bourbon and rye whiskey. Over the years the company has bottled whiskeys that range from 2 years of aging maturity up to 28 years.
C. L. Appelgate and Company was a bourbon whiskey distillery established and located in Yelvington, Kentucky. It was owned, built and operated by Colonel C.L. Applegate and his brother Edward Applegate sometime between 1875 and 1880 on the west of the road between Maceo and Yelvington, Kentucky, today known as KY Hwy 405, on land purchased from Sam Taylor Hawes of Yelvington. The company made only bourbon whiskey using the brand names Rosebud and Beechwood.
Glenmore Distillery Company was a large distillery company based in Owensboro, Kentucky best known as a producer of bourbon whiskey. In 2009, the company was acquired by the Sazerac Company, and is still operated under the name "The Glenmore Distillery".
Willett Pot Still Reserve Bourbon is brand of a bourbon whiskey produced in Bardstown, Kentucky by the Willett Distillery. It is a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey brand introduced in 2008 and bottled at 47% abv, with 8–10 year aging. It is sold in glass 750 ml and 1.75 liter bottles. The company is identified on the product label as the Willett Distilling Company, which was the original name of the company until its name was changed in 1984 to Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd. (KBD). In October 2012, the company announced that it would return to using the Willett name as its primary business name. Recent bottlings are identified on the labels as a small batch bourbon, whereas it was originally released as a single barrel bourbon.
Old Pogue is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. Located in Maysville, Kentucky, the Old Prague Distillery carries strong family ties dating back to the 1870s, and is privately owned by members of the Pogue family.
James E. Pepper is an American whiskey brand. The brand is named after a historic American whiskey maker with that name who built and operated a distillery in Lexington, Kentucky, and marketed his whiskey under his family's brand name "Old Pepper" and under his own name. The brand's distillery, known as the Henry Clay distillery and later as the Old Pepper distillery and James E. Pepper distillery, was shut down in 1958 and was left abandoned for more than 50 years until Amir Peay purchased the historic distillery site and relaunched the brand name in 2008. Distilling resumed at the site in 2017.
Stitzel–Weller Distillery is a former distillery located in Shively, a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1935, sold in 1972, and closed in 1992. It produced a number of notable brands, and since 2014 it has served as a public tourism site for Bulleit Bourbon, as part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Atherton Whiskey was a pre-prohibition brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey first produced by J M Atherton & Co, a chemical and distilling business.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky:
