LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — In 2018, Kentuckian Rob Beatty founded the Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild. The group aims to recognize the contributions of minorities to the bourbon industry and inspire a new age of bourbon connoisseurs.
According to Beatty, the vision for the group all began when he was pursuing a different goal.
After developing a love for bourbon years ago, Beatty planned to become a tour guide for Kentucky. On a trial tour with friends and family, he took the group to the Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon History, a must-see for bourbon enthusiasts.
The visit, however, changed the course of Beatty’s career goals.
“When we walked in, we were greeted, but rudely awakened to see there were speckles of African American fixtures on the wall that had no content tag,” explained Beatty.
Photos on the walls told a story of the African American contribution to the bourbon industry, but the story stopped there. No names or recognition gave context to the people of color seen in the photos.
“I went to the curator and said, ‘What's the story?’ She said, 'Sir, you're gonna have to do your own research.'”
Beatty accepted the challenge and began researching, learning stories like that of Freddie Johnson, a third-generation employee at Buffalo Trace.
One story led to another.
“Uncle Nearest is another untold story that America has come to know, the story of Jack Daniel being taught by Nearest Green,” said Beatty.
Nearest Green is the first known African American master distiller who is believed to have taught distilling to Jack Daniel.
“When we unearth these stories, more and more every day we're seeing that this industry was developed and designed on the backs of African Americans.”
Many African Americans played a thankless role in Kentucky’s bourbon history, but if Beatty has anything to do with it, that won’t be the case for the future of bourbon.
Since its inception in 2018, the Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild has grown to 350 members.
“We're an organization that educates on the past, honors the present, and we're going to continue being a part of the future,” said Beatty.
The KBBG hosts tours and monthly tastings, awards scholarships, archives stories, educates, and more.
“We have a historian come in and actually do a workshop that teaches the history of bourbon, an elevated training, then we end the class with a cocktail.”
350 members strong, the KBBG is creating a community for everyone, a community that’s built on bourbon and the people who were there from the start.
“They're no longer untold stories, we're telling the story.”
