James E. Pepper Distillery is one of the names behind Lexington's Distillery District revival. The old Pepper campus once helped make the city a serious bourbon town; its restored distillery now gives visitors a concrete place to connect Lexington's horse-country polish with its whiskey-making past.
Tours and tastings are the obvious draw, but the setting matters too. Around the distillery, former industrial buildings have filled with food, drink, and entertainment, making this one of the easiest places in Lexington to turn bourbon history into an evening out.