James E. Pepper Distillery

The James E. Pepper distillery is one of the oldest whiskey brands in America. The original Old Pepper distillery was founded in 1776, the same year as the Declaration of Independence was written. A century later, Colonel James E. Pepper (the grandson of the original founder) built a new distillery in Lexington, Kentucky. The distillery was very successful before prohibition, but fell into decline in the 1950s and was closed in 1958. Fifty years later, entrepreneur Amir Peay bought the distillery site and relaunched the historic James E. Pepper brand.