As we filled the first barrel at the new Heaven Hill Springs Distillery on April 7, 2025, we were proud to have someone very special by our side. Retired distiller Charlie Downs served as honorary master distiller for the day, helping us mark this important moment in a way that connects our past with our future.
Charlie is the only employee in our history to have worked in operations at all three of our previous distilleries. He began his career in the 1970s at the original Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery in Bardstown, the very site that inspired the name of our new facility. He went on to help bring the Bernheim facility in Louisville online following the 1996 fire, and he closed out his four-decade career at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, producing one barrel a day and welcoming visitors from around the world.
Few people have experienced our story the way Charlie has. From climbing dozens of steps each day in the old distillery to learning high-tech systems at Bernheim, he has seen firsthand how our operations have evolved while our values have remained the same. When we invited him to join us for the first barrel fill, he brought that perspective with him, along with the pride of someone who helped shape what Heaven Hill is today.
Charlie’s presence reminds us that progress is built on people. We are proud to carry his spirit of dedication into this next chapter at Heaven Hill Springs Distillery and grateful that he was here to help us celebrate where we’ve been and where we’re going.
