30 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 2.15
downtown
debuts
B
OUR
-
BON
TOWN
Charlie Downs
Artisan distiller at Heaven Hill's
Evan Williams Bourbon Experi-
ence (opened on West Main in
2013)
"At our main facility in Bardstown,
Kentucky, they're producing 975
barrels of bourbon a day. Here, I'm
producing one. So you could say
I'm 975 times smaller than they
are," says Downs, who has worked
for Heaven Hill for 38 years.
Whiskey Row, on Main Street
between First and Second
streets, used to be home to
bourbon ofces and warehouses,
not distilling operations as is
popularly believed. That will
change in the near future, as
several distilleries plan to
open downtown (including
Brown-Forman's Old Forester
on Whiskey Row in fall 2016).
Here are some of the new scene's
major players.
CORKY TAYLOR WES HENDERSON CHARLIE DOWNS
PAM HEILMANN AND WILLIE PRATT