James E. Pepper Distillery sits in Lexington’s historic Distillery District, bringing back a name that disappeared from Kentucky bourbon for nearly 50 years. The original James E. Pepper Distillery operated from 1879 to 1967 before shutting down, but Georgetown Trading Co. revived the brand in 2008 and opened this new facility in 2017. You’ll find them in a restored industrial building that captures the gritty authenticity of bourbon’s working past while housing modern equipment designed to recreate pre-Prohibition recipes. The revival story centers on Amir Peay, who discovered the original James E. Pepper formulas and was determined to bring them back exactly as they were made over a century ago. The distillery uses the original 1887 mash bill for their Old Pepper whiskey and sources from the same Kentucky farms that supplied the original operation. Master Distiller Kyle Henderson oversees production using a combination of traditional methods and modern precision to recreate these historic recipes. What you’ll experience here isn’t just another bourbon tour—it’s a resurrection story told through whiskey. The facility produces both sourced and house-distilled spirits while slowly building inventory for their own aged products. The atmosphere feels more like a working distillery than a polished tourist destination, with the smell of fermenting grain and the sound of bubbling mash tuns creating an authentic production environment.