Important figures in the drinks world often leave massive legacies behind their names — think Veuve Clicquot and Jack Daniel’s. But significant parts of their stories can easily go unnoticed, and reviving those lost details is largely the ethos behind Castle & Key.
Castle & Key is a distillery located in Frankfort, Ky., that honors forgotten parts of Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr.’s story. Taylor is the famed politician and distiller known as the father of the modern bourbon industry: He founded what would become Buffalo Trace and the eponymous E.H. Taylor, Jr. Though some of Taylor’s famous distilleries are still functioning today, one was neglected.
That was until 2014 when Castle & Key took over the abandoned space and started crafting whiskeys, vodkas, and gins there. From its historic origins to its modern-day innovations, here are seven things to know about Castle & Key.
Castle & Key operates out of a former distillery.
Taylor designed and founded the Old Taylor Distillery in 1887. It operated until the onset of Prohibition led to its closure in 1920. From there, a series of proprietors took over the space, but the property was officially abandoned in 1972. For the remainder of the century, overgrown vegetation consumed the grounds, and much of its infrastructure crumbled
Yes, the grounds include an actual castle.
In the late 1860s, Taylor traveled across Europe, where he was inspired by the architecture of the U.K., Italy, and Greece. With a vision to mimic what he saw on his trip, he designed the distillery to include a castle and an intricate garden. The castle, with its medieval-looking watch towers and battlements along its roof, is still at the center of the property today.
A distillery in ruins became one man’s treasure.
In 2012, then-attorney Will Arvin encountered photos of the once-functioning distillery. The historic plant’s past intrigued him, so he decided to visit the property. There, he was met with fallen walls, sunken roofs, and boarded windows. But it was during the visit that Arvin’s goal to restore the fallen distillery was cemented. Together with co-founder Wesley Murry, Arvin purchased the Old Taylor Distillery and spent four years restoring and preparing it before debuting Castle & Key products and opening the distillery to the public.
The ‘Key’ refers to the shape of the water source.
“Castle” is an evident nod to the castle built for the original distillery, but what “Key” signals is less obvious. When designing the Old Taylor Distillery, Taylor created a 40,000-gallon spring whose shape resembles a keyhole. The spring, made of limestone, receives its water naturally from a nearby source. The limestone imparts the water with minerality, which is said to be a crucial element in making high-quality spirits.
Its tools incorporate elements from the 19th-century distillery.
Much of Castle & Key’s current equipment contains components from the old distillery’s machinery. Arvin and Murry restored still vessels, fermenters, and silos, then hooked them up to advanced, updated distilling technology. Now, the original tools function in tandem with modern appliances.
The distillery debuted with gin and vodka before offering a whiskey.
Castle & Key released its first products, Sacred Spring Vodka and Roots of Ruin Gin, in April 2018. Production for the vodka, which is known for its citrus and nutty flavors, starts off with a bourbon mash bill. Similarly, the gin begins with a whiskey mash bill, which is then joined by a number of botanicals including juniper and ginger. Castle & Key released these spirits first because they are unaged and therefore ready to hit the market faster.
Whiskey only joined the portfolio within the past five years.
The distillery expanded its products beyond clear spirits with the launch of Restoration Rye in December 2020. Castle & Key lets its rye — made of yellow corn, rye, and malted barley — age for at least three years before bottling. Two years later, the distillery released its first bourbon to commemorate Taylor’s legacy as a pioneer in Kentucky bourbon. Castle & Key’s iteration is a small-batch, white-corn-forward expression that ages in barrel for at least four years.
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