Bourbon company linked to Kentucky Castle facing lawsuits over unpaid debts
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- Two separate lawsuits were filed against TKC Distilling in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
- Luckett & Farley says TKC owes a $936,337 balance including interest.
- Peggy Noe Stevens & Associates says TKC owes more than $510,713.
Another Kentucky spirits brand is facing multiple lawsuits over unpaid debts.
The two lawsuits were filed separately in Jefferson County Circuit Court by architects Luckett & Farley and by consultant Peggy Noe Stevens against TKC Distilling and related companies that produce the True Story whiskey brand.
True Story was founded by Wes Henderson, founder of Angel’s Envy, who launched the new spirits brand in connection with his purchase in 2023 of The Kentucky Castle in Versailles for $19 million.
Henderson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuits.
In August 2024, Henderson announced plans to build a $92.5 million distillery and tourism project in Edgewood, a 150-acre site in Versailles at 328 Crossfield Drive. His new spirits would be sold under the Saga Spirits Group brand name True Story. The new project was to include a visitors center, a tasting room, lodging and a restaurant and retail space, about 4 miles from the Kentucky Castle at U.S. 60 and Pisgah Pike.
Henderson planned to make improvements to the Kentucky Castle as well.
“It has been a huge blessing to be members of the Kentucky bourbon industry for many generations. To begin this next chapter for the Henderson family, we have chosen Versailles and Woodford County. We are humbled and honored by the support we are receiving from government officials, tourism development, businesses and residents,” said Henderson, CEO of Saga Spirits Group, at the time. “We are also looking forward to the groundbreaking this fall. Our team is composed of experts in distilling, distilling finance, supply chain and logistics, marketing, packaging and hospitality, with combined expertise of more than a century of success in the industry.
“Wonderful things are ahead for us and the entire community.”
The project, which was expected to create 89 jobs, also had received approval from the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority for up to $4.19 million in tax incentives; the project also received approval for a separate $1.05 million in tax incentives.
But the groundbreaking apparently never took place.
Lawsuits filed by architects, consultant
Now Henderson’s companies are being sued by are architects Luckett & Farley, who were hired to create a distillery and tourism home for True Story.
Henderson’s companies are also being sued by Stevens, who was hired to consult on the brand.
Both Stevens and Henderson are in the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.
Neither Stevens nor Luckett & Farley immediately responded to a request for comment.
On April 2, Luckett & Farley filed a lawsuit against TKC Distilling, doing business as Saga Spirits Group, and TKC Hospitality Group, doing business as Filmland Spirits and Kentucky Castle, and Bluegrass Holdings, doing business as Bluegrass Holdings Wyoming.
According to the lawsuit, Luckett & Farley was hired in September 2022 to provide architectural and related services to a new distilled spirits project planned by Wes Henderson and his son, Kyle.
According to the lawsuit, they were hired to create a new bourbon brand and a new distillery to be located in Woodford County in Edgewood. The project also included renovation at the Kentucky Castle project, according to court documents
The architects were to be paid nearly $1.15 million for work on the Edgewood Distillery, according to the lawsuit. After work began on the project, the Hendersons stopped paying in a timely fashion, and they entered into a promissory note in April 2025.
But the company stopped payments and has now defaulted, owing a principal balance of $936,337, including interest, and growing, according to the lawsuit.
TKC Distilling has responded with a filing that denies the allegations and requests that the claim be dismissed.
Separately, in a lawsuit filed May 21, Peggy Noe Stevens & Associates sued TKC Distilling alleging that the consultants are owed more than $510,713.
According to the complaint, Stevens was hired in January 2024 as a consultant but has now defaulted on payments.
TKC Distilling has yet to respond to that complaint.
Henderson previously sold the premium whiskey brand Angel’s Envy, which is made in Louisville, to Bacardi for a reported $150 million in 2015. The brand was built by the family of the late Brown-Forman master distiller Lincoln Henderson, popularizing the now-common practice of “finishing” bourbon and rye whiskey in barrels that previously held other spirits for enhanced flavor.
