Lexington, KY - What do a neurologist, an architect and the owner of a construction company have in common?
In general, maybe not much. But Pete Wright, Frank Marino and Jeff Wiseman - native Lexingtonians who respectively hold the above career titles - are tied by their connection to the city's latest effort to reunite with its history as a distillery hub. Cashing in on a long-shared vision to work together in a business venture, the childhood friends decided to start Barrel House Distilling Company in 2006. Pure Blue Vodka, the company's first product, hit the shelves a few months back, and is now available in more than 75 bars, restaurants and liquor stores across the state.
As kids, Wiseman, Marino and Wright talked about starting an amusement park together. The idea to start a distillery came later in life, emerging from a sailing trip (that emerged from a poker group) - and given the looks and laughter that the trio share when recalling the memory, one might assume that the initial conversation to make their own spirits came while under the influence of said spirits themselves. Three years later, they've transformed their pipe dream into a reality.
The distillers are clear that while the vodka was a byproduct of their original intention - to produce bourbon - it's an endeavor of which they are quite proud. The time it takes for most light liquors to be shelf-ready is much shorter than that for dark liquors - bourbons typically age for a minimum of four years; once the vodka process and ingredients are established, the spirit can be ready in 10 days. Barrel House estimates seven or eight years before their bourbon will be shelf-ready; a Barrel House "honey rum" (made from an original concoction of honey-infused sugar cane mash and aged in bourbon barrels) is also in the works, estimated to be ready around this time next year.
Wright admits that the venture in vodka is broadening the palates of at least two nearly puritanical bourbon drinkers - Wiseman and himself (he claims Marino, whose father owns Thoroughbred Liquors, came in to the venture with a broader palate for spirits than the other two partners). So far, Wright added, Pure Blue Vodka has been greeted with acclaim by many tasters who insist that vodka is not typically their drink of choice.
"Not everyone in Lexington only drinks bourbon," Marino said. "Now they have the choice of a local vodka."
Historical accounts suggest that Barrel House, located at 1200 Manchester Street in the heart of the proposed Distillery District, may be the first company in Lexington to produce vodka.
While vodka can be created from virtually any ingredient with fermentable starch - from potatoes to beets to grapes - it is usually produced from grains, such as corn, barley or rye. (Pure Blue vodka is made from corn.)
Any distiller will tell you not to underestimate the effect a particular water will have on the taste and character of distilled liquors. "We tried a variety of different waters," Marino said. "Tap water was awful." The Barrel House distillers ended up going with Climax Spring Water, which comes directly from the source of Kentucky's Rockcastle Spring. They attribute the crisp, slightly sweet finish of their vodka to this specific water.
Barrel House Distilling Company, a member of Local First Lexington, has been in conversation with Kentucky farmers about the possibility of using Kentucky corn in the future; while it's not feasible at the time, Wright said the ultimate goal is to "have everything local." Right now, the entire process - from fermenting the mash with yeast to bottling and labeling the final product - is conducted by the trio in the Barrel House Distillery, whose name derives from its former use as the barrel house for the 18-acre James Pepper Distillery, which was at one time one of the largest and most well-known distilleries in the country.
As for the proposed renaissance on Manchester Street, driven by developer Barry McNees and centering on the concept of a destination Distillery District: "We're really excited to see it blossom," Marino said. "We're kind of betting on it."
At the same time, the Barrel House distillers are confident that their business - which is helped by tourism, but isn't really driven by tourism - will be able to succeed no matter what ends up happening in the surrounding district. Wright said they really admire the "energy and innovation" of McNees, as well as fellow Manchester area development pioneer Van Meter Petit, who is spearheading the proposed Town Branch shared-use greenway trail through the district (www.townbranch.org). A portion of the proceeds from each bottle benefit the Town Branch Trail.
Barrel House Distillers will be making appearances at as many local events as possible (including May's A Taste of the Bluegrass). For more information, to schedule a tasting, or to inquire about having Barrel House represented at your event, call (859) 259-0159.
A History of James E. Pepper Distillery
First introduced in 1776, Pepper whiskey was distilled under the same formula for well over a century, and was undoubtedly one of the most internationally well-known whiskey brands during much of its 184-year tenure. Third generation distiller James Pepper (son of Oscar Pepper; grandson of Elijah Culpepper) took over managing the family company at the age of 16, and in 1879 built a new distillery on the site of the current Pepper Distillery property on Manchester Street (the former site of the Henry Clay Distillery, which burned down in 1873). Pepper's new distillery cost approximately $125,000, with 40,400 sq. ft. of floor space and 22,500 sq. ft. of warehouse space, and was at one point the largest distilling operation in the country.
Pepper, a well-known Lexington horseman and socialite, died in 1906, and Chicago's Joseph Wolf purchased the company from Pepper's wife the next year, resuming operations under the name James E. Pepper Distillery Co. Wolf must have been unable to foresee that prohibition would soon take a huge toll on his business - from 1920 - 1933, liquor production was halted in the United States. According to a Jan. 4, 1920 Lexington Leader article, the distillery shipped off 10,500 cases and 6,000 barrels of whiskey (at $47 a case) that year to Hamburg, Germany - each shipment carefully guarded by four armed guards. In 1929, Pepper Distillery was granted permission to manufacture a share of whiskey to be furnished to pharmacists for medicinal use, though the company engaged an Owensboro plant to manufacture the allotment, with the Pepper property primarily being used as a concentration house.
In 1934, a devastating fire consumed the property, which was then owned by New York's Schenley Corporation, who had purchased it for $1 million the previous year. Damages from the fire - reportedly caused by a night watchman who accidentally put gasoline instead of kerosene into a stove - tallied up to over $5 million, damaging or destroying over 15,000 barrels of whiskey along with seven buildings on the property. The owners began rebuilding immediately, although a newly constructed 12,000-barrel warehouse collapsed in December 1934, "sending 250,000 gallons of whiskey into the streets, gutters and on into Town Branch," according to the account on Town Branch Trail's history page (www.townbranch.org).
The production of Pepper Whiskey never fully regained its original glory, even after prohibition was lifted, and the brand was discontinued in 1960. The distillery property was leased to the state in the '70s, and housed various uses before developer Barry McNees purchased the land - including warehouses and a motor pool for state vehicles. Coming full circle (and shooting for the success for which the land was initially known), with the inception of Barrel House Distillery in 2007, the building originally used for barreling Pepper whiskey has reconnected the property to its original roots - in seven to eight years, if all goes as planned, neighbors can expect the sweet aroma of bourbon to waft from the site once again.
Information taken from Lexington Leader and Lexington Herald articles, with a special nod to the Town Branch Trail Web site (more in-depth history of the Distillery District is available at www.townbranch.org).