Blue-Eyed Kentucky: Gardens

Monday, March 10, 2025

Paint Lick

Our most recent adventure introduced us to Paint Lick in Garrard County. We strolled along Paint Lick Creek and Main Street taking in the pretty scenery and the pleasing mix of old and new throughout the town. A highlight of our visit was meeting Welsh furniture maker and blacksmith Don Weber, his wife, and their dog, Boy-O.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Back to Old Taylor Distillery: Becoming Castle and Key, Part 2

Castle and Key Distillery
One of the most stunning destinations on the distillery grounds is the keyhole-shaped
springhouse that stores water from adjacent Glenns Creek and surrounding land. This water
is used to make Castle and Key's bourbon, gin, and vodka.

1822 gazebo waiting for repairs

Brick walls and exposed beams highlight the event space.

A peak inside what remains of the original bottling facility. The roof is gone, but
note that some of the old curtains survive.

The damaged roof of another building.

Old Taylor became National Distillers

One wall & many stones remain of another building on the grounds.

Remnants of the fallen building have been fashioned into garden beds that will produce herbs used to flavor some of
Castle and Key's products. At the end of the herb gardens is the entrance to a huge storage building.

Already in use, this storage building is nearly as long as two football fields.

The moat that surrounds the castle where the distilling process takes place.

Buried beneath several feet of mud and brush was Old Taylor's sunken garden. The fountain, walkways, and small
outbuildings are original, and famed Kentucky gardener, Jon Carloftis, restored the garden.