The Copper & Kings Distillery Officially Opens in Louisville

American craft brandy company Copper & Kings is now officially open in Louisville.

Owned by beverage entrepreneurs Lesley and Joe Heron, Copper & Kings 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.”

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.

For more information or to book tickets, visit www.CopperandKings.com.