A prominent Kentucky bourbon maker is showing off its new tourism attraction in downtown Louisville.
Called the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, the venue developed by Heaven Hill Distilleries features a small distillery and exhibits that take visitors through Kentucky's bourbon-making history. Heaven Hill showed off its $10.5 million venture Thursday, the day before the center opens to the public.
Evan Williams bourbon is Heaven Hill's flagship brand and is named for a pioneer distiller and civic leader in Louisville. The visitors' center is mere steps from where Evan Williams set up his commercial distillery in the 1780s.
The attraction's signature feature is a five-story-high replica of an Evan Williams bottle. The center is part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
The center is at the forefront of efforts to bring small-batch bourbon production to downtown Louisville.