The Anderson and Nelson Distilleries Company was located in Louisville at an area later known as Distillery Commons. The company was formed in 1886 by the Newcomb-Buchanan Company, which was started in 1870. Newcomb-Buchanan Company was a major purchaser of whiskey from E.H. Taylor, Jr. and his O.F.C. Distillery in Frankfort and could be the cause of his financial troubles in the late 1879s when Taylor sold the same allotment of barrels to Newcomb-Buchanan as he sold to another customer and the financial troubles led to a lawsuit that bankrupted him, forcing Taylor to sell the O.F.C. Distillery to the firm of Gregory & Stagg out of Missouri. 

The Anderson Distillery made a sour mash whiskey in small tubs which was known for its whiskey that was not heavy-bodied, but light, rich and fragrant and popular as a bar whiskey. The mash was scalded with spent beer in 1 ½ bushel tubs and left in the tubs for 24 hours before being broken up and left to ferment. It was then distilled in a copper pot still and then doubled in another copper pot still. The Nelson Bourbon was a sweet mash Bourbon, mashed in large fermenters and distilled in a copper column still and doubled in a pot still which was heated by fire, not steam. They also made a Nelson Pure Rye Whiskey with a mash bill of 80% rye and 20% malted barley. They also made a Nelson Pure Malt whiskey aged in both charred and un-charred barrels. It was popular with people who drank Scotch whisky and was considerably less expensive than Scotch whisky. The Buchanan Distillery made U.S. Club whiskey made as a sweet mash Bourbon that many claimed was as flavorful at three months of age as many older whiskeys, aged in the heated warehouses.

The Anderson and Nelson Distilleries Company had three distilleries at the site with a capacity of 4,855 bushels per day, making 500 barrels per day. They had brick warehouses heated by steam in the winter. They had a total warehousing capacity of 100,000 barrels. 

The company was closed down during Prohibition and became part of National Distillers. National opened the distillery after Prohibition and made Old Grand Dad there for many years before closing the distillery in the 1960s. National Distillers, under their ownership, built what was then the largest brick warehouse on the site. After the distillery was closed, the site fell into disrepair and eventually was sold. The large warehouse was torn down in the early 2000s, as was the remaining original warehouse. The site now has been developed into an antique mall and other shopping venues.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller