A national whiskey brand has a new location.
After years of restoration work, the new Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery will host opening celebrations on Thursday, Jan. 31
Public tours begin Feb. 2 and can be booked at Michters.com. across the street from the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery is the newest member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. It’s down the block from the trail’s official starting point, The Frazier History Museum.
The Fort Nelson Building is an example of cast iron and stone construction with Romanesque windows and a corner turret rising above its neighbors. First built in 1890, the building was in such disrepair when purchased by Michter’s in 2012 that it featured a partially collapsed staircase and no floors. Saving the historic building required extensive work including the installation of 400,000 pounds of structural steel.
Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery will operate with tours, tastings and a gift shop. Onsite whiskey production will take place on the pot still and cypress wood fermenter system from Michter’s Pennsylvania Distillery, which traces its history back to 1753.
The second floor of the building will feature The Bar at Fort Nelson. Cocktail historian and author David Wondrich consulted on the spot’s classic cocktail list. In addition to the cocktails designed by Wondrich, the bar program will incorporate modern creations by Head Bartender Sevan Araneda, former general manager of San Francisco’s Bourbon & Branch, and Bar Manager Dante Wheat, former bar manager at Louisville’s Butchertown Social. The Bar will feature custom glassware from U.K. producer John Jenkins and a highly advanced ice program with machines from top global equipment purveyors, the company says, including Clinebell, Hoshizaki, and Scotsman.
In addition to Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery, the company operates Michter’s Shively Distillery in Louisville, as well as its 145-acre farm and operations in Springfield, Kentucky.
