LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bryson Yarbrough is a gifted organic chemist. As he hosted a tour of his renovated work space in southwest Louisville, he lifted the lid off of a plastic drum and pointed to bubbling mash inside.
“You can start to smell that smell, right,” he beckoned. “I think that’s still fermenting, so that’s got about two more days to it.”
What You Need To Know
- Brough Brothers was founded as the first Black-owned distillery in Kentucky
- The trio decided to make whiskey after running a distribution business
- Their bourbon is already sold in multiple states
- Their Louisville distillery is open for tours and tastings
Wearing a fitted suit and tie, Bryson was celebrating the official beginning of a new business venture.
“Coming out of the army, [I was] looking for somewhere I can grow and develop, and you really want to go back home, just for a little while,” he said.
He brought his talents as close to home as possible and started a bourbon business with his brothers, Victor and Chris. Under the name Brough Brothers Distillery, the trio officially opened their distillery on Dixie Highway.
“I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a while,” Chris smiled. As chief marketing officer for the business, he explained how he had spent “a couple years” building the brand in Arizona. While the grand opening was celebrated Friday, bottles of Brough Brothers Bourbon Whiskey adorn shelves from Florida to Nevada, Michigan to Louisiana.
That kind of early reach can be at least partially attributed to the brothers’ intro to the spirits industry when they ran a distribution company as far back as 2012.
“It’s been quite a long journey; a lot of sweat, blood, and tears; a lot of resilience to get to this point,” Victor said at Friday’s ribbon cutting. “We’ve put in quite a bit of work to get here. In particular, I want to thank Bryson and Chris for really pushing this over the finish line for us.”
While Brough Brothers were the first in Kentucky, they are far from the only Black whiskey distillers in the U.S. Other achievements in the industry by Black Americans throughout history were often reduced and likely dismissed.
Most famously, Nathan “Nearest” Green taught Jack Daniel how to distill whiskey in Tennessee when Green was enslaved by a man for whom Daniel worked as a boy.
Bryson agreed with the significance of establishing his business in a home town and home state that proudly proclaims itself the best whiskey makers in the world. But he hesitated when asked if he was a trailblazer.
Before he could think about that, he had to make sure Brough Brothers got off to a smooth start.
“Trailblazer? I don’t see it in that perspective,” he said. “Because, right now, man, it is one step at a time.”
But, after pondering further, he seemed excited about the opportunity to be an example in the neighborhood.
“I do believe when people come in, they may get a sense that it’s attainable for them as well.”
