The distilling happened accidentally. “About 10 years ago, a friend asked if I would build him a still. I didn’t know a darned thing about a still, so I investigated and learned that basic distillation is a fairly simple process and a still is a fairly simple device. I built him a still and he never used it.” After a couple of years, Meier convinced his friend to give the still back to him. “And I thought, what am I going to do with the damned thing? I don’t know how to use it.” Being in Kentucky, Meier decided to make bourbon. “At that time, I had tasted about six bourbons in my life. I knew nothing about distilling, fermenting, cooking, aging, none of it.” About that time, Meier was alerted that the former Old Crow Distillery was for sale.
OLD FASHION CRAFTMANSHIP IN A BOTTLE by Anita Flowers GLEN S CREEK DISTILLERY
D r. James Crow established the Old Crow brand in 1835 however the Old Crow Distillery itself was not built until 1878 in Frankfort, Kentucky. After its glory days, the distillery was neglected for over 30 years, and was in disrepair and covered in black whiskey mold. However, thanks to David Meier’s efforts and passion for traditional craftmanship, the old distillery is again producing award-winning Kentucky bourbon using traditional old school stills. Spotlight on Business recently sat down with David Meier, owner of Glenns Creek Distilling in Frankfort, Kentucky, to talk about his love of historic buildings and old school bourbonmaking.
Meier began work as a welder and then moved to manufacturing in 1984. He didn’t expect to end up in the distilling business.
“I have a fascination with old things and how people made things long ago without the aid of technology. I appreciate the craftmanship of hundreds of years ago.”
“To be honest, I didn’t have a strong interest in alcoholic beverag- es when I was younger. I didn’t drink much, and you would be hard pressed to find someone who knew less about alcohol than I did 10 years ago.”
The old distillery was historic, needed repairs and would be an endless opportunity to practice all those things I enjoy – fixing things. It’s an iconic legendary distillery. The Old Crow brand was a top brand for about 150 years. So, one thing led to another and I stepped into it.” Meier can’t use the Old Crow name because the Jim Beam company now owns that brand. “There’s no current distillery named Old Crow, but Jim Beam produces a product called Old Crow. It’s their recipe and their product,” explained Meier. Meier opted to name his distill- ery ‘Glenns Creek Distillery’ after the creek that runs beside the property. The Old Crow brand was established in 1835 by
Dr. James Crow. “The legend is that everyone from presidents to generals to Mark Twain thought Old Crow was the best whiskey. Then, it was probably more rye than corn. Crow didn’t leave any documentation or information about his process,” said Meier. Dr. Crow is credited with standardizing the sour mashing process used in bourbon production today. Crow, who died in 1856, didn’t invent the process but brought sci- entific process and standardization to it. Contrary to popular legend, Crow probably did not live and distill bourbon on Meier’s current property. “The current distillery here was built in 1878, after he died. There was a historic shift in the distilling industry about that time.
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JUNE 2020 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JUNE 2020
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