Woodford Reserve Revitalizes Abandoned Home That’s a Key Piece of Bourbon History

On Friday, Kentucky bourbon brand Woodford Reserve announced it is revitalizing a historic home — which sat abandoned on a hill overlooking Woodford Reserve's distillery — to support Woodford's personal selection and barrel program. The house is called The Pepper House, and the brand shared that it hosts a lengthy and significant history in the bourbon world.

The house’s library is being named after of Woodford Reserve 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 154-year legacy, we sincerely thank Chris for his exceptional leadership and unwavering dedication to the artistry of Kentucky bourbon," Brown-Forman President and CEO Lawson Whiting said in a news release. "Over his five decades with Brown-Forman, he has consistently demonstrated that there is simply 'nothing better in the market.'"

The Pepper House dates to 1812 and belonged to Elijah Pepper, a Kentucky distiller and the ancestor of James E. Pepper , another successful bourbon distiller.

"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 industry as we know it today," Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall said. "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."

Part of the home is a log cabin, and Woodford Reserve said it intends to turn that portion into a tasting house used for picking Personal Selection batches. In June, Elizabeth McCall and her father released a bourbon that they made together just in time for Father's Day. McCall put her dad to work at Woodford, and they batched seven two-barrel blends to achieve the flavors they wanted. [botmc-promo]