The Frazier History Museum recently opened ‘The Spirit of Kentucky’ exhibit, with the help of a grant from the Louisville Water Foundation.
The story of Louisville Water Company is woven throughout this permanent exhibit, starting with a film that illustrates the integral role our water has in the making, and enjoying, of bourbon. Our partnership with the bourbon industry is a long one, starting with providing fire protection for distilleries in 1860.
Spencer Bruce, President and CEO of Louisville Water, noted that “the bourbon industry is an important part of our daily production of 115 million gallons of drinking water. Our water’s great taste supports the flavor, whether it’s a drop of water or a rock in the drink. And water is the only ingredient that can be added to the bourbon once it leaves the barrel and goes into the bottle, so in that way Louisville Water is enjoyed by millions worldwide.”
The museum’s interactive displays also include the history of Louisville Water and highlights our importance to many industries, then and now, including agriculture, transportation, commerce and, of course, bourbon. Penelope Peavler, the museum’s president and CEO, remarked that many donors, including the Foundation’s grant of $60,000, made this exhibit a reality. The 10,000-square-foot exhibit explains why Kentucky is important to the bourbon industry, “including our water, our people, our rich soil and our amazing history,” said Peavler.
The museum also opened the ‘Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center, which will serve as the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. One of the bourbon companies on the trail is Stitzel-Weller, which provides visitors tours of their Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience at Stitzel-Weller. The visitor experience at Stitzel-Weller includes an exhibit on how the bourbon industry benefits from Louisville Water step-by-step — from the crops, the fermenting process and bottling, to how the bourbon is served.