Five years ago, Lexington entrepreneur Rob Beatty was leading a tour through a small bourbon museum in Bardstown, when he saw a display of archival photographs of early Kentucky distilleries that included Black workers. The pictures didn’t include any accompanying information, so he asked a museum curator for details on these long-forgotten African Americans.
“She said, ‘Sir, you have to do your own homework,’” recalls Beatty.
That terse answer inspired Beatty to found the Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild to honor the contributions of Blacks to the industry throughout history and to promote inclusivity and diversity in bourbon going forward. In addition to hosting tours, tastings, and classes to help people learn about bourbon, the organization also raises scholarship funds for minority students to train in the industry. It is also collaborating with Castle & Key Distillery on a series of bourbon releases that tell the stories of African Americans who worked in the early days of bourbon in the commonwealth.
“This is the first bottle that’s ever been done that’s honoring the African American contributions, so it’s a very special project for us,” says Beatty. “This is where we’re going to honor the African American contribution from the past and the present and even the future.”
The idea for the Untold Story in Kentucky Whiskey bourbon collection came in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. Beatty says Castle & Key contacted him about doing annual releases or “chapters” to commemorate those Blacks who have played key roles in the industry. The bottles would be some of the first bourbons released by the distillery that Will Arvin and Wes Murray founded in 2014 on the grounds of the abandoned Old Taylor Distillery south of Frankfort.
Beatty enlisted Kentucky State University journalism student Kayla Bush to help research the stories printed on the bottles that comprise each annual chapter. Bush says she developed an interest in bourbon after taking a fermentation and distillation course at KSU. Her professor in that class encouraged Bush to check out the Black Bourbon Guild to continue her exploration of the spirit.
“I wanted to become part of that society just to see what is it about, how can I fit into this industry that’s been around for so long,” Bush says. “In what ways can I insert myself and be a change in the industry to kind of push it forward in my community.”
Now a graduate student at the University of Kentucky, Bush researched and wrote the text that appears on the bottles of the latest Untold Story bourbon that debuts this month. Bush says chapter three features Brack Beverly, who worked in local distilleries while still enslaved. During the Civil War, Beverly joined the Union Army at Camp Nelson in Jessamine County and later fought with a heavy artillery regiment. Once the war was over, he returned to distillery work where he served as a mash hand until his death in 1913.
Brett Connors, master blender at Castle & Key, says this year’s Untold Story release was made with an heirloom variety of corn called Hickory King that dates back to the early 1800s and was grown by enslaved Blacks. Connors says the grains in the Untold Story bourbons and the stories the bottles tell are an important reflection of the early days of distilling in Kentucky.
“Historically we’ve had a very diverse industry, and now the question mark is how do we get back to that diversity in both the quality of grains, diversity of grains we’re using along with what our staffs represent,” says Connors. “We want to make sure that we’re not only sharing a story that’s both impactful, but also sharing a product that we’re very proud of.”
Plans are already underway for the fourth Untold Story chapter, which will come out next year. Bush says it’s important to tell the stories of specific Blacks who contributed to the industry so that those individuals can get the recognition they deserve.
“It would be lovely to have maybe a little picture of someone,” she says, “because I think that really brings more life to the story.”
Proceeds from the sales of the small-batch Untold Story bourbons go to a Black Bourbon Guild scholarship fund named for Freddie Johnson, a popular Buffalo Trace tour guide and third-generation distillery employee. Beyond the text on the Untold Story bottles, Beatty says he hopes to publish a book that compiles all the stories and expands on them.
“If there’s anything that I’ve ever wanted to achieve form this organization it’s to continue to honor the African American contribution, educate the community, and also rewrite the history books because we need to write in the... gentlemen who actually were the original workers in the industry,” says Beatty.
