Craft spirits makers to offer tours, host community events and produce untraditional brandy for the modern palate
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 20, 2014) – – – American craft brandy company Copper & Kings is now officially open in Louisville. The forward-thinking spirits distillery, owned by beverage entrepreneurs Lesley and Joe Heron, began producing modern brandy in a state-of-the-art facility earlier this year and celebrated with a grand opening ceremony today. Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) president Eric Gregory welcomed the untraditional brandy makers to the state and Mayor Greg Fischer deemed it “Copper & Kings American Brandy Co. Day” at the lively ribbon cutting event. Joe Heron announced the start of public tours and gave an overview of community events planned for the next six months before engaging the crowd in a brandy toast.
“We want to thank the Butchertown community, the city of Louisville, and the commonwealth of Kentucky for their warm embrace,” said Heron. “Without you Copper & Kings would be a shallow, mechanical shadow of a distillery. We deeply want to add to Kentucky’s unsurpassed distilling heritage, and to make Kentucky not only the Bourbon capital of the world, but the distilling capital of the world.”
Copper & Kings, located in Butchertown at 1121 E. Washington St., utilized more than 40 local and regional vendors to construct and commence distillation at the brandy-exclusive distillery including custom-made pot stills from nearby Vendome Copper & Brass Works, Inc. Joe and Lesley Heron recruited seasoned wine makers to manage distillation, maturation, blending and bottling, local consulting engineers to tailor all needs big and small for construction, and renowned local graphic artist, Ron Jasin, to craft all marketing materials.
The sophisticated and modern distillery features repurposed shipping containers serving as a gift shop and tasting room, outdoor courtyard with fire pit, grill and full prep kitchen, art gallery space for events, and stunning skydeck with a view of the Louisville skyline. Playing on the brand’s black and orange theme, a garden of sustainable flowers and grasses known to attract monarch butterflies was planted and certified a “Monarch Waystation” by conservation organization MonarchWatch.
“Copper & Kings is a community asset,” said Lesley Heron. “It’s something more than just a tourist attraction, but a place for the Butchertown and Louisville community to congregate regularly and enjoy each other’s company.”
Public tours will begin Saturday, Nov. 1 and take place on the hour each Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost for an hour-long distillery tour is $10 per person and includes a brandy tasting and souvenir glass. Mini-tours will also be available for $5 with a video presentation and sampling. There is no charge for military members with valid ID. Private tours for 10 or more are available upon request. Reservations are highly recommended but not required. Tours will continue year-round except major holidays. For more information or to book tickets, visit www.copperandkings.com.
Copper & Kings currently distributes three distilled craft spirits (Immature Brandy, Craft Distilled Brandy and Absinthe Blanche) in eight states in the South and Midwest. Limited release grape varietal brandies and a variety of experimental brandy-based spirits are available at select locations. Their slogan “Brandy Rocks!” reflects a rock n’ roll attitude that runs through all facets of the brand from barrels sonically agitated during aging by rock music to posters and t-shirts reminiscent of band art. Copper & Kings is a member of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.
About Copper & Kings American Brandy Co.:
Copper & Kings uses traditional copper pot-distillation to forge untraditional, non-derivative craft-distilled, pure pot-distilled apple and grape brandies that are non-chill filtered with no added sugar, colors, flavors or synthetic chemicals. The state-of-the-art distillery exclusively focuses on the distillation of brandy. Copper & Kings, located at 1121 E. Washington St. in Butchertown, is owned by beverage entrepreneurs Joe and Lesley Heron. For more information, visit www.copperandkings.com or follow @CopperAndKings on Facebook and Twitter.