Bailey Loosemore

Louisville Courier Journal

A 43-foot-tall copper still – temporarily covered in white plastic – will soon be visible through large arched windows to southbound interstate traffic traveling near downtown Louisville.

It's the first view visitors to the city will have of the $27 million Angel's Envy distillery and visitors center, currently under construction at the corner of Jackson and Main streets.

Since breaking ground on the production distillery in 2013, the company has repeatedly changed the facility's designs to match an unexpected demand for its bourbon and rye whiskey brands. Now – with only days left until the company's fifth birthday – Angel's Envy has installed the still and other equipment needed to signal that the years-long construction process is finally near completion.

"Everything we talk about is larger than we imagined because when we started talking about it four years ago, we figured we'd be about half the brand size we are now," said production manager Kyle Henderson. "So we've grown tremendously and significantly more than we ever thought we would."

On Monday, Henderson and his father, Wes Henderson, gave the Courier-Journal a tour of the facility, which is expected to start production this summer and open to visitors this fall.

The father-son duo lead the multi-generational family business that was founded by Wes Henderson and his dad – the late Lincoln Henderson – in 2011. Though the Hendersons sold the company to Bermuda-based Bacardi Limited last year, they will remain integral members of Angel's Envy's management team.

"Bacardi was a minority shareholder at the beginning, so they know our business well," said Wes Henderson, Angel's Envy's chief innovation officer. "... They want us to run the company the way we've been running the company. We've been successful so far, and they're going to help take it to the next level. That's the best scenario you can imagine in a purchase."

Wes Henderson and his dad – who was previously master distiller for Brown-Forman – first started planning to create their own bourbon brand around 2004 after Lincoln Henderson entered retirement.

The family launched its flagship Kentucky straight bourbon – which is aged in wine barrels imported from Portugal – in 2011 and introduced a barrel strength bourbon along with a rye whiskey aged in rum barrels before the eldest Henderson passed away in 2013.

"He was in retirement, and I came to him one Saturday morning and said let's think about doing something as a family," Wes Henderson said. "I have six sons, and I thought it might be a great way to create a legacy for him."

Lincoln Henderson is still acknowledged as Angel's Envy's master distiller, and his son said he has no current plans to replace him.

Standing outside the facility, Wes Henderson said it has taken a lot of work to restore the 90,000-square-foot complex that will encapsulate the distillery and visitors center.

The complex – which runs between Main and Market streets – dates back to the early 1900s and sat abandoned for nearly 30 years before the Henderson family purchased it.

Now, exposed brick and a newly-constructed wood beam ceiling greet visitors as they walk into the distillation room, where there's space to install additional fermenting tanks once the company ups production.

Kyle Henderson said Angel's Envy is expected to produce 65,0000 cases of whiskey through contract distillation this year and will be able to produce up to 1 million cases at full capacity in the downtown distillery.

Whiskey produced at the distillery, of course, will not hit the market until at least 2020, he added.

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Angel's Envy currently blends and bottles its products at a building farther west on Main Street, but the company will move those processes to the new complex once it's finished. The company will also be able to store about 800 port barrels at the facility during the secondary aging process.

Wes Henderson said the company already allows prearranged tours of the current bottling facility, but it will drastically increase its tourism presence with a large tasting room and gift shop at the distillery.

Though the visitors center was always included in the facility's designs, Wes Henderson said the company has increased its budget and plans to include digital exhibits displaying the history of the bourbon industry and the Henderson family.

"We wanted to put more money into the visitors experience because we know it's such an important part of downtown Louisville and such an important part of the bourbon industry," Wes Henderson said. "So we raised the budget to accommodate that as well."

Kyle Henderson said the company expects to introduce new products later down the line, but the family wants to focus on opening the distillery first.

"Dad and I are on the innovation team, and we have a lot on our plate," Kyle Henderson said. "But it depends on what makes it to the market. Some of the things we've tried we've found out we only think are good."

Remember to drink smart, drink safe. Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at 502-582-4646 or bloosemore@courier-journal.com.

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