Elijah Craig Bourbon Spirit Society with Lulu Palacios

"Reverend Elijah Craig was a Baptist preacher, an educator, and an entrepreneur who built the first paper and wool mills in Georgetown, Kentucky. But for all his industries, it was his gift as a distiller and an innovator that brought him his greatest acclaim.

While we draw inspiration from parts of Elijah Craig’s story as a distiller, a critical component of this history are the enslaved people who made major contributions to Bourbon. Elijah Craig was an enslaver, relying upon enslaved people to run his distilling and broader business operations.

Uncovering the identities and roles of these laborers, how they contributed to the birth of the Bourbon industry and the legacy their families left is a critical mission of our brand today. Elijah Craig is actively engaged in academic research with the University of Kentucky's Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies and Central Kentucky Slavery Initiative, as well as other initiatives, to not only share a more transparent and inclusive account of our past, but to also make America today a more just and equitable country.

In 1789, Elijah Craig became the first distiller to age his whiskey in new charred oak barrels. Some claim that an accidental fire charred his barrels and changed the whiskey inside. Others say he stored his whiskey in former sugar barrels and was impressed with how charring improved the flavor.

However it happened, Elijah Craig knew he had discovered something great. He continued to refine the barrel charring process, imparting smooth, rich flavor to the spirit that would become known as Bourbon. 250 years later, he is still known as the Father of Bourbon—and we craft our Bourbon today using the same time-honored methods."

-https://elijahcraig.com/our-history