Kentucky Distillers Scientifically Emulate A Century-Old Bottle Of Bourbon

Several years ago, while Marianne Eaves was in the midst of renovating Castle & Key Distillery outside of Versailles, Ky., she came across an antique bottle of Old Taylor bourbon.

The distillery grounds had originally belonged to Col. Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. (known in the whiskey world simply as E.H.). Taylor was a leader in industrializing bourbon production during the early 20th century.

After Taylor died in 1923, the distillery passed through several owners, but eventually fell into neglect for 40 years. The grounds became a tangle of foliage and the exterior of buildings began to crumble.

Then in 2015, Eaves — who is the first female Master Distiller of Kentucky bourbon since Prohibition — along with her business partners, Will Arvin and Wesley Murry, began to bring the distillery into the modern age of bourbon production.