Barton 1792 Distillery master distiller to retire

Barton 1792 Distillery master distiller Ken Pierce will retire next week after more than 30 years working in the drinks industry.

Barton 1972 Distillery master distiller Ken Pierce has announced his retirement

Pierce first started working in the distilled spirits sector with Barton Brands of Georgia (which no longer exists) as plant chemist before progressing to quality control manager.

Six years later, Pierce was transferred to Bardstown in Kentucky where he began working as senior chemist at the Barton 1792 Distillery as it is now called.

Shortly after, Pierce moved into the role of chief chemist, then director of distillation before becoming master distiller.

As well as training under the guidance of three former master distillers, Pierce played a part in numerous industry-wide projects, including the George Washington Distillery project, as part of the team that used historically accurate equipment to distil rye whiskey at Mount Vernon Plantation in Virginia.

This distillate was then matured and sold at auctions to raise money that went towards rebuilding the distillery.

He has been described as “instrumental” in the creation of 1792 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and involved in all areas of Bourbon making, from evaluating grains to selecting whiskeys for bottling.