distillery search  |  pre-pro.com home


The Ashbrook Distillery
RD #9, 6 th District
Harrison County, KY

(Est. 1840)


The Ashbrook Distillery was built in 1840 by Abraham Keller and operated as Keller & Shawhan.
1861: Keller sold out to J A Cook, who partnered with T V Ashbrook in 1863 and it ran as Cook & Ashbrook.
1874: Cook had died the previous year and his shares were acquired by F G and S J Ashbrook. The company name was changed to Ashbrook Bros. T V Ashbrook died in 1874 and T J Ashbrook in 1884, but operations were continued by remaining brother S J Ashbrook.
1882: Perrin relates the history of the distillery and notes that Askbrook Bros are still in control. The distillery by now had a daily capacity of 300 bushels and produced 2,500 barrels annually. Perrin notes that the "size of the distillery is 40 x 60 feet — three floors, with three stone warehouses — capacity, 9,000 barrels; employ ten hands, at average of $1.50 per day. Brand, “A. Keller, Bourbon,” and stands very high in New York market. The brand was bought with the distillery — sweet mash — and has the name of being the best sweet mash in this part of the State. The distillery has made more or less whisky every year since 1840; its shipping is done from Keller’s Station, on Kentucky Central, one and a half miles from Cynthiana. The water supply is received from an excellent well, 160 feet deep. There is a mill adjoining the distillery, one of the oldest in the county. It was built by Mr. Lamb, who also kept a store and carding factory. Lamb used to grind flour, haul it to Claysville, and ship it thence to New Orleans by flat-boat. The mill is now used for the distillery alone, and both are run exclusively by water-power."

1896: Insurance underwriter records note that the distillery was of frame construction with a shingle roof. The property included frame cattle pens 15 ft east of the still, and three warehouses:
New warehouse -- iron-clad, 150 ft north of the still.
Old warehouse -- stone with a metal or slate roof, 125 ft north of the still.
Free warehouse -- iron -clad, 170 ft north of the still

The owners were shown to be A Kellar Co., late Ashbrook Bros.

1902: the distillery was acquired by the Trust, later operating as G G White & Co.
1920: distillery was closed and the stocks moved to Wathen concentration houses in Louisville (Cecil, 1999)

Review bonded warehouse transactions for this distillery

Internal Revenue recorded warehouse transactions for The Ashbrook Distillery as follows:
( explain: origin of these records, letter codes )

<top of page

Copyright © 2006-2024 www.pre-pro.com.  All rights reserved.