LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

See bourbon being made on Whiskey Row

Old Forester gives visitors a close look at bourbon production in the heart of downtown Louisville. Its working distillery on Whiskey Row brings together the brand’s long history and the sights of modern whiskey-making. Guests can learn how the bourbon is made, explore the role of Louisville in the American whiskey trade, and see how a historic name continues to evolve. For anyone planning a bourbon visit in the city, Old Forester offers an engaging connection between the past and present of Whiskey Row, with production taking place in a setting that has been part of the brand’s story for generations.

The history behind the distillery

George Garvin Brown founded Old Forester in 1870 and built the brand around a new idea for the time: selling bourbon in sealed glass bottles to protect quality and consistency. Whiskey was commonly sold by the barrel, so the approach helped establish a more dependable product for customers. Old Forester also endured Prohibition; it was among the small number of brands permitted to sell medicinal whiskey during that period. The brand’s modern distillery returned to Louisville’s Whiskey Row in 2018, in a building connected to its pre-Prohibition history. Today, the site combines active production with the preservation of the brand’s place in Louisville’s whiskey trade and bourbon-making tradition.

What visitors can take away

Old Forester’s history offers a practical lesson in how packaging can change a business. At a time when whiskey was often purchased from a barrel, George Garvin Brown’s decision to sell sealed bottles gave customers a way to recognize the product and trust that its quality had been protected. The brand’s survival during Prohibition adds another chapter, showing how whiskey production and distribution adapted to a difficult period in American history. Today, visitors can see production on Whiskey Row and connect that modern activity to the street’s historic role in Louisville’s whiskey trade. The experience makes the past tangible: the brand’s early emphasis on consistency, its survival through change, and its return to the city all remain part of the current distillery story.