The Home of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Do you love history almost as much as you love bourbon? Your next trip to Kentucky bourbon country should include a visit to Oxmoor Farm in Louisville. Here you can step back in time like no other stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Oxmoor Farm was the family home of five generations of legal scholars in the Bullitt family, spanning three centuries of involvement with the creation of the modern bourbon industry.
Bourbon is not distilled here, but this historic property is the home of Oxmoor Bourbon. And it’s the only place you can sample and purchase it.
Oxmoor considers itself “The Home of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey” because the family of lawyers was involved in creating and protecting many of the rules and regulations that make bourbon what it is today.
“This is the family that helped to define and defend bourbon with law and lawsuits, and even in consultation with the President of the United States. This is the story of the “Why” behind the “Rules of Bourbon” that you hear at every distillery tour in Kentucky and the almost-forgotten figures who codified those rules into law to protect the good name of America’s only native spirit. This is a walk through bourbon history and an opportunity to learn about the work that both defined and defended the famous beverage we know today.”
“We put a little bit of history on our bottle. This is the only place you can get it, here at Oxmoor Farm. We did that on purpose. We want people to come here and learn the legal history behind “Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey” and learn the history of Oxmoor Farm. We’re truly this hidden gem, right in the heart of the city of Louisville.”
Disappear Into the Past
Hidden gem is right. What was once 2,000 acres, is now less than 200. But most people don’t even know this historical oasis is still here. Just a minute after passing Oxmoor Mall and Top Golf, you are driving down a tree-covered lane and completely disappear into the past.
You pull up to a rambling house that was added onto several times each of the last three centuries. It’s surrounded by 13 original outbuildings (including a smokehouse, springhouse, ice house, hemp barn, and former slave cabins), and beautiful gardens.
Want to spend a captivating couple of hours traveling back in time at Oxmoor Farm? The two-hour Origins Tour and Tasting experience comes to life with three different knowledgeable and passionate tour guides. They pass the baton off every time you enter a new century as you traverse the family home.
The tour begins in the original section of the house built in 1791, then moves into the first addition built in 1829, and works it way through two more sections added in the early 1900s.
Because the home was owned by the same family for more than 230 years, it is remarkably unchanged. You see period pieces of furniture, household items, historic artwork. and family photos as you move from one generation and new addition to the next. As you go, you learn about the women of the Bullitt family, who truly made this house a home for generations of family members, their friends, and even visiting travelers.
Bricks for the chimney were purchased from “prominent stonemason” Evan Williams, who went on to some acclaim in the bourbon business.
You learn that, in 1806, Alexander Bullitt sold his corn crop for 500 gallons of whiskey, the beginning of many barrels of whiskey that would be stored, blended, and enjoyed on the farm.
Once you move into the first addition, dating from 1829, you sit in the dining room and enjoy a Pumpkin Spice Punch, a “special whiskey bourbon punch cocktail the family may have served visitors at the time.”
While you feel like you’re visiting an authentic historic site on par with Colonial Williamsburg, there are no stanchions blocking your way, you’re encouraged to get up close to the items in the room, and you can even sit on the furniture. You are treated throughout the tour as a guest might have been during the house’s historic heyday.
Pumpkin Spice Punch
24 oz. of Oxmoor Bourbon.
12 oz. Black tea.
The juice of four oranges.
12 oz. Pumpkin spice simple syrup (mix cinnamon, sugar, and pumpkin spice to equal part hot water.)
Fresh grated nutmeg.
Garnish with mint spring and dehydrated pear.
The Bullitt’s left their home for the relative safety of downtown Louisville prior to the Civil War. The family wouldn’t return for nearly two decades, even though Oxmoor remained a working farm. Tour guide and chief cocktail creator Katie Higdon shares this eye-opening historical fact: the eight-mile journey on horseback from Oxmoor Farm to downtown Louisville took about four hours.
Time to Talk Bourbon Again
The house gets more modern as the tour progresses.
You end the tour in the showplace of the entire house that was finished in 1928: the Bullitt family library. The library is home to more than 10,000 books on towering shelves that wrap around the spectacular room.
As you sit surrounded by more than 230 years of Bullitt-family book collecting, it’s time to talk bourbon again. The first of three Oxmoor bourbons debuted in 1920. Oxmoor Bourbon Private Stock Vol. I (20-year-old, 120 proof) was the result of bottling all the barrels on property to be used for personal use during Prohibition.
Oxmoor Bourbon Private Stock Vol. II came in 1963 (they think) and was a 12-year-old bourbon created by Double Springs Distillery.
You finish your time travel journey back in the present day with a drink of Oxmoor Bourbon Private Stock Vol. III.
Harmon said, ““We did the same thing that Marshall and Tommy (Bullitt) did. We sourced the best bourbon we could find. We got 10 barrels: five each from two different distilleries. Blended it together, and we labeled under the revived Oxmoor Bourbon label.”
The award-winning four-and-a-half-to-five-year-old blend is only available for sale at Oxmoor Farm. In addition to the small batch, Oxmoor also offers an eight-year-old single barrel at a higher proof point.
Sipping a quality bourbon, sitting in a beautiful room surrounded by thousands of books, contemplating the interesting history of this farm and the five generations of Kentuckians who called it home is truly a sublime whiskey experiences. Unlike anything else on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Oxmoor Farm, is a definite “must see” on your next trip to bourbon country. Oxmoor Bourbon is a newcomer to the Kentucky bourbon scene, but it’s been hundreds of years in the making
The Bullitt Family Tree at Oxmoor Farm
Alexander Scott Bullitt, bought the original land for Oxmoor Farm in 1791. He co-authored Kentucky’s first constitution, was the Commonwealth’s first Lt. Governor, and was the namesake of Bullitt County, just to the west of Louisville.
William Christian Bullitt was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1812 and served as a delegate to the Kentucky constitutional convention.
Thomas W. Bullitt helped craft the legal foundation of Kentucky bourbon after 1865. He helped craft the Carlisle Bill (Bottled-in-Bond Act.)
William Marshall Bullitt, who joined the family law firm in 1895, was a key contributor to drafting the Taft Decision (defining what whiskey is, especially that straight bourbon whiskey has to be matured for at least two years, come from one state, and be additive free. In addition, Marshall represented 90% of Kentucky’s distilleries in the (obviously unsuccessful) fight against Prohibition.
Thomas “Tommy W. Bullitt joined the family firm after World War II and represented Kentucky distilleries for five decades.
Source: Oxmoor Bourbon Comp
When You Go to Oxmoor Bourbon Company at Oxmoor Farm
720 Oxmoor Ave.
Louisville, Kentucky
Tours by Reservation Only
For Information Go to
https://oxmoorbourbon.com/visit/#id=oxmoor-house-bourbon-origins-tour-tasting
Other events at Oxmoor Farm include Evenings of Note musical events, the International Chamber Music Festival, holiday events, and lectures.
For more information, go to:
Special thanks to Shirley Harmon, Karen Welch, and Katie Higdon for leading the tour and passionately telling the story of Oxmoor Farm.
About Oxmoor Bourbon Company
(From the company): Step back in time with Oxmoor Bourbon and explore where Kentucky’s bourbon history began. This first-of-its-kind historical tour and tasting experience takes place at Oxmoor, with buildings constructed before the Commonwealth of Kentucky had a constitution. Learn about the five generations of legal scholars who have called Oxmoor home, the “why” and “how” behind the rules of bourbon told on every distillery tour, and the almost-forgotten figures who codified those rules into law to protect the good name of America’s only native spirit. Guests see the home’s three sections, constructed in 1791, 1829 and 1928, with furniture and family belongings as the family left them. Visitors can also explore the beautiful gardens designed in 1911 by one of the country’s first female landscape architects and the largest collection of preserved outbuildings in the region. The tour includes a tasting of the exclusive Oxmoor Bourbon Private Label and the option to enjoy a selection of cocktails in the breathtaking family library and garden. The site interprets the story of a Kentucky farm that has transformed alongside the state and strives to tell the story of all the people who lived and worked on the land through preservation and education. Multiple tour times offered Tuesdays through Saturdays; must be 21+ to participate. Visit oxmoorbourbon.com for information or to book.
