Old Taylor distillery in Woodford County renamed Castle & Key

The new name of the former Old Taylor Distillery in Millville will be Castle & Key, partners Marianne Barnes, Wes Murry and Will Arvin announced on Monday.

The name plays off the distillery’s historic stone castle-like building, which houses the fermenting tanks that will produce Castle & Key bourbon, rye whiskey and gin. The distillery was built by Col. E.H. Taylor in 1887 and the partners have been restoring it for almost two years after decades of neglect.

A new still from Vendome Copper and Brass Works in Louisville was installed at the distillery last October and can produce 12,000 barrels a year.

Production of Castle & Key’s bottled-in-bond bourbon is to begin this summer. And the distillery will be open to the public in late summer, according to the news release.

“The core of Colonel Taylor’s vision with bottled-in-bond was building a relationship of trust with his consumer, providing a literal guarantee of bourbon’s authenticity and, by extension, quality,” Barnes said in a statement. “Our goal is to embrace and enhance that vision, creating products and sharing the story from the plow to the bottling line.”

Master distiller Barnes also plans to introduce a botanical gin, flavored with Kentucky native plants, this year and a rye whiskey by 2018. She plans to use grains from a Kentucky farmer who is helping to resurrect a strain similar to the grains that would have been used during Taylor’s era.

The partners also have added Brook Smith as an investment partner; Smith created the iconic Louisville restaurant 610 Magnolia.

“We’re very excited to be part of the revitalization of something important in the history of Kentucky bourbon whiskey, and integral in the momentum of the bourbon trail,” Smith said in a statement.

The distillery’s formal sunken garden, built to showcase the grounds to visitors who would arrive by train, has been restored by Kentucky gardener Jon Carloftis who also is helping to turn other buildings on site into event spaces.

And the distillery’s red brick train station will be transformed into a full-service restaurant, according to the news release.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 1:05 PM with the headline "Old Taylor distillery in Woodford County renamed Castle & Key."