If you seek to make bourbon, the journey very quickly will bring you to Louisville. Kentucky is the undisputed birthplace of bourbon, and where 95% of all bourbon is still made to this day (despite common misconception, bourbon can be made in all 50 states). This is as true today as it was 129 years ago, when my great-great-grandfather, John Kennedy Lynch, made that same journey. At 41 years of age, in July of 1892, John launched his “distillery, rectifying and distribution” business in Oswego, New York. He began, departing by way of livery wagon and a team of horses, with a journey to Cincinnati and ultimately Louisville, to secure distribution agreements for “only the first-class brands of liquors”, as well as beer and wine.

*July 26, 1892, Oswego Daily Palladium, Oswego, New York*

Bourbon brands are not built overnight. Bourbon, by rule, must be aged at least two years, and if you really want a quality product, four years or longer. So for any new bourbon venture, you have a choice - either wait 2-4 years for your ‘new make’ whiskey to age, or “source” aged bourbon from another distiller, so you have something to offer while your own distilled spirits are maturing. This was JK Lynch’s strategy, and it has been for hundreds of other bourbon brands since, including contemporary top sellers like Bulleit, Angel’s Envy, WhistlePig, Smooth Ambler, Bell Meade, Redemption, High West, and Jefferson’s Ocean, to name a few.

Over 24 years, from 1892 until his death in 1916, John grew his business as a dominant distiller and distributor throughout upstate New York and beyond. He eventually launched his own brands of whiskey, “J.K.L. & Sons Bourbon” and “Lynch’s Golden Wedding Whisky”, which were quite popular and successful, amongst fierce competition from prominent national brands.

His son, John Kennedy Lynch, Jr., took over the business when he died, having already worked alongside his father for many years. However, the Volstead Act, more commonly known as Prohibition, went into effect in January, 1920. John Jr. fought hard to keep the family business afloat, primarily by filling pharmaceutical prescriptions for ‘medicinal purposes’, but ultimately closed down the business in 1921.

Now, 100 years later, give or take a few days, Gia and I are retracing these same steps of my great-great grandfather, travelling to Louisville to begin our own Bourbon journey. We seek to reclaim my family’s legacy, that was so abruptly extinguished back in 1921, and to start our own new family business, in our hometown of Sandusky, Ohio.

*Bardstown Distillery, Bardstown, KY, November, 2020*

*Jeptha Creed Distillery, Shelbyville, KY, November 2020*

*Barrel House Distillery, Lexington, KY, November, 2020*

*Woodford Reserve Distillery, Shively, KY, November 2020*

*Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY, November 2020*

Retracing The Path to Louisville

Bourbon: An Origin Story

The Barrel Matters