Angel's Envy Distillery
Located at 500 E. Main Street in Louisville, Kentucky is the Angel’s Envy Distillery. The building was constructed in 1902 and was originally occupied by The American Elevator & Machine Co. On July 9, 2013 it began its transformation into the Angel’s Envy Distillery. After three years of hard work and dedication, the distillery opened to the public on November 19, 2016, offering a variety of tours, cocktail classes and special events.
Angel’s Envy began as a family business. The distillery was the brain-child of Wes Henderson and his father, famed Master Distiller Lincoln Henderson. Wes’ sons, are also an integral part of the family business. Kyle, serves as the Production Manager and Andrew, Lead Distillery Operator. Angel’s Envy whiskeys are unique in that they are all cask finished. This means that after aging in a new charred oak container, as is required for bourbon and rye, the spirit then spends additional time in port, rum, or other previously used barrels. This method allows the whiskey to acquire additional unique flavors, and thus sets Angel’s Envy apart from other Kentucky distilleries since all of their spirits are made in this fashion.
Our tour began in the spacious reception area, which also doubles as part of the gift shop. The gift shop houses ample Angel’s Envy goods available for purchase, spirits included. Our guide, Tommy G, began the tour standing in front of the Henderson family portrait wall, and regaled us with the history of the family and the distillery. After the introduction, we proceeded into the distillery, starting first on the upper level, which is accessible by either stairs or elevator. Upon our arrival on the second floor, we were met by the tops of eight enormous fermenters, each having a 13,565 gallon capacity. Through the windows on the second floor we could also see the 4 grain silos, which stand just outside. Two are for corn, one for rye, and one for malted barley. Moving past the fermenters to the opposite end of the distillery, we reached a hands on display consisting of a large round trough containing the corn, rye and malted barley used in Angel’s Envy bourbon. Tommy G discussed the different grains used and the percentages of each which are used (known as the mash bill). For the bourbon, this is 72% corn, 18% rye and 10% malted barley. Coincidentally this is the same mash bill used at Old Forester. Perhaps this is not too surprising since Lincoln Henderson retired after 40 years from Brown-Foreman, the owner of Old Forester. Next learning that all grains are ground on-site with a hammer mill, our attention was then directed to the sole cooker or mash tun. It is here the grains are cooked for around 6 hours at varying temperatures in order to prepare them for fermentation. We then walked back to the fermenters where a more in depth discussion of the fermentation process took place. At Angel’s Envy, fermentation takes approximately 4 days, and then it is off to the still.
The still is a 35 foot tall, 25 inch diameter Vendome column still, which spans the two floors of the distillery. Since we started on the second floor, it was the top of the still which we visited first. A nice touch is a diagram of the distillation process on the wall which allowed Tommy G to explain it in a more easily understandable manner. With the second floor covered, we headed back down to the first floor, walked past the bottom of the still and got an even better view of the bottoms of those enormous fermenters. Our next stop was the spirits tanks. These two 2500 gallon tanks hold the freshly distilled spirit (or “new make” as it is called) prior to barreling. The feet of these tanks are on scales allowing the distillers to know the exact amount contained in them at any time. Barreling takes place on the far side of this room. Around 100 barrels are filled each day with new make proofed down to just under 125. Barrel aging takes place off-site.
Then we were off to the bottling line. The line is automated and can fill 6000 bottles per day. Labelling is done by hand. The dumping room, where the barrels are emptied or “dumped” is just past the bottling line. Since bourbon (or rye) at Angel’s Envy spends time in two different barrels, each spirit will pass through this room twice. First to be dumped from its original new oak container, and then again to be dumped from the finishing barrel. Ultimately, 8-12 barrels are blended for each batch of Angel’s Envy bourbon. Tommy G explained the finishing process, and the tour wrapped up with a look at the several types of barrels Angel’s Envy uses for finishing. The two main types were the 60 gallon ruby port wine barrels from Northern Portugal and 40 gallon rum barrels from Barbados.
The tasting portion of the tour takes place back upstairs in a nicely appointed room with log tables. Here we sampled the Port Finished Bourbon twice. First “neat” and then with ice, so that we could taste the difference between the two. A tasty chocolate is also provided to accompany the bourbon. Immediately adjacent to the tasting area is the Finishing Room, a very cool bar where each guest is allowed to purchase one cocktail and/or tastings of individual products. I sampled the 2019 Cask Strength bourbon as well as “The Henderson”, which is the distillery’s signature cocktail, and their take on an Old Fashioned. After our drinks, our visit ended as we headed back down to the reception area and gift shop, where we of course purchased a bottle of the just released Angel’s Envy Cask Strength bourbon.
A visit to Angel’s Envy Distillery provides an enjoyable opportunity to see a modern urban distillery in action, and to learn about their unique barrel finishing process.
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Please note that due to COVID Distillery Hours and Tour/Tasting Availability may vary. Please contact the distillery or check their web page or social media for details before you go.
| Days of operation | Monday 10am – 5pm Tuesday Noon – 5pm Wednesday 10am – 5pm Thursday 10am – 7pm Friday and Saturday 10am – 8pm Sunday 12:30pm – 5:30pm |
Paved Drive / Lot | City parking |
Motorcycle Parking |
City Parking |
| Motorcycle unfriendly features | N/A |
Number of tours per day | Varies by tour type and day. |
Length of Tour(s) | 45 minutes to 1 hour |
Advanced topic tours? | Not Currently |
Advanced topic tour names | N/A |
Tours by owners /distillers available? | No |
Number of different types of tours | 2 |
On-Line Tour Reservations Available | Yes |
Advanced Reservations Recommended/Required | Yes, especially for weekends |
| Cost for tour(s) in $ | $20-$25 plus tax |
Tasting Included? | Yes |
| Number of samples included in tasting |
2 |
| Tasting Only Option? | No |
| Tasting Only Option Cost | N/A |
High-end tasting option? | No, not currently as The Finishing Room is temporarily unavailable |
High-end tasting option cost? | N/A |
Designated Driver Option | No |
Handicapped Accessible? | Yes |
| Souvenirs included with tour? | No |
Gift shop | Yes |
On-Site bottle sales? | Yes |
| On-site food: Restaurant/Cafe/Snacks | No |
| On-site Cocktail bar | Only accessible with tour ticket and currently unavailable
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On-site event space | Yes |
| Should I visit? (Yes, Perhaps, No) | Yes |
| Unique Features | Family run urban distillery separating itself from the pack by finishing all its bourbons and ryes in second barrels. They offer various classes and a “bottle you own” option (classes & bottling currently suspended) |
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| Date Visited | November 2019 Updated January 2022 |
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