Michter’s Brings Whiskey Row Full Circle With Distillery Opening

By Elizabeth Emmons, Kurt Maitland and Richard Thomas

The first day of February saw Michter’s open their second distillery in Louisville, this one a tourist destination and working micro-distillery located on the west end of the city’s famed Whiskey Row. The company has entered well-trod territory, with Evan Williams, Jim Beam and Old Forester preceding them in that particular niche, to say nothing of Peerless, Angel’s Envy and Rabbit Hole having opened their primary distilleries in the downtown area.

Yet in one sense, Michter’s was the first to stake out some turf on what has become known as the “Urban Bourbon Trail.” The company announced their purchase of the Fort Nelson Building in the middle of 2011, and although they didn’t close the deal until March 2012, by either date Michter’s would be the first to plant their flag on Whiskey Row. If Heaven Hill had plans to develop their Evan Williams Experience at the time, they weren’t discussing them in public. Angel’s Envy would enter the market at that time, but were a couple of years from buying the old paint factory across the street from Slugger’s Field; Peerless wouldn’t announce their creation until 2013.

So Michter’s was poised to become the first to bring making whiskey back to Whiskey Row. At the time, their production targets were modest enough that the Fort Nelson Building could have accommodated them, so if they had begun work immediately after buying the building, they would have opened their first distillery right across the street from the Kentucky Science Center. Unfortunately, that historic and picturesque piece of downtown Louisville real estate came with structural defects that took years to rectify.

In the meantime, Whiskey Row and the larger Urban Bourbon distilling scene grew up around the Fort Nelson Building. Also, Michter’s saw its sales grow by leaps and bounds as the Bourbon Boom accelerated, and soon their needs outgrew the confines of their downtown property. In 2015, they opened a medium-sized distillery in Shively, all the while continuing work on shoring up the Fort Nelson Building.

The Fort Nelson building will do double duty now as both a downtown outpost for the Michter’s brand as well as further proof of the renewal of downtown Louisville.

Rehabilitating this building was a daunting job that few would dare to attempt. Fort Nelson is a beautiful building that needed attention and care to be returned to all of its former glory. The final result remained both true to the building’s history while being a symbol of the growth of the Michter’s brand.

The location was already perfect with its close proximity to places such as the Frazier History Museum, the Muhammad Ali Center, and the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, which are all within walking distance. Fort Nelson Distillery is also only a block away from one of the best hotels in the city, the museum hotel 21c, and one can foresee this location on West Main Street becoming a visitor’s “must-see”.

The setup, with a shop and a working distillery on the ground level and a spacious bar above, makes it an ideal location for private events while still giving visitors ample ways to enjoy the space. One can get up close and personal with fermenters full of bubbling yeast, view the working original Vendome still from original Michter’s distillery, Bomberger’s in Pennsylvania, and take advantage of the tasting room decorated with floor to ceiling Michter’s barrels, and hopefully enjoy a Michter’s cocktail at the bar.

Speaking of the bar at Fort Nelson, if this beautifully refurbished space wasn’t enough, Michter’s brought in James Beard award-winning writer and cocktail historian extraordinaire David Wondrich to curate the Classic portion of the cocktail menu which features historically based cocktails. He picked the cocktails on the menu with the intent of showcasing takes on popular cocktails from around the time in which Fort Nelson was built in 1890. From standards like Manhattans and Boulevardiers to inventions like the Fort Nelson Crusta (a visually stunning bourbon and Yellow Chartreuse-based concoction with Creole bitters and a sugar-crusted rim) and the Springfield Punch (Michter’s US*1 American Whiskey with sherry, orange curacao, lemon and orange), all hit the spot. To top it off, literally and figuratively, there is a roof deck is the works so soon enough, visitors will be able to enjoy the view over Louisville with one of the aforementioned cocktails in their hands once warmer weather comes around.