Where Was the Frankfort Distillery?

The Frankfort Distillery, when it was in Frankfort.

It's a trick question.

If you guessed Frankfort, Kentucky, you are only half right. After Prohibition, the Frankfort Distillery relocated to Shively (a suburb of Louisville), but it kept the Frankfort name.

Confusing? Welcome to the world of American whiskey history. The story of the Frankfort Distillery is a perfect metaphor for the complications that arise when you try to understand the origins of America's whiskey industry.

For the whole story, check out the new, September issue (Volume 19, Number 1) of The Bourbon Country Reader, available now.

In this issue, we also look into the distilling history of Kentucky's Henry County, northeast of Louisville, where Angel's Envy has plans to build warehouses and, eventually, a second distillery.

And we review two beautiful books and one beautiful whiskey. (We're all about the beauty.)

The illustration, by the way, is of the pre-Prohibition Frankfort Distillery at Forks of Elkhorn, about three miles east of Frankfort. That site today looks completely different. It hosts a bottling and distribution facility for Beam Suntory.

Current Reader subscribers should receive their copies of the new issue in the next few days. New subscribers can get on the bandwagon by clicking here.

Founded in 1994, The Bourbon Country Reader is the oldest publication devoted entirely to American whiskey. It is a charming mix of news, history, analysis, and product reviews. Do you worry that advertising spending influences coverage in other publications? No chance of that here since The Bourbon Country Reader is 100 percent reader-supported. It accepts no advertising.

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Click here to subscribe with PayPal or any major credit card, or for more information. Click here for a free sample issue (in PDF format). Click here to open or download the free PDF document, "The Bourbon Country Reader Issue Contents in Chronological Order." (It's like an index.)

If you want to catch up on what you've missed, bound back issue volumes are available for $20 each, or three for $50. Each volume contains six issues. That's here too. Volume 18 is now available.

If you prefer to pay by check, make it payable to Made and Bottled in Kentucky, and mail it to Made and Bottled in Kentucky, 3712 N. Broadway, PMB 298, Chicago, IL 60613-4198. Checks drawn on U.S. banks only, please.

NOTE: Turns out, the picture above is not the pre-pro Frankfort Distillery. It is the Kenner Taylor Distillery built after Prohibition at the same site. The photo below is of the real pre-pro Frankfort.