Gary Gayheart

Gary worked at the Fleishmann plant for a little over a year and a half and then took a transfer to a newly built plant in Plainfield, Illinois, where he was promoted to a Supervisor’s role and became the plant’s Quality Control manager. In 1969, he joined Schenley Distillers’ Frankfort, Kentucky plant called the George T. Stagg Distillery. He was hired as a distiller and in line as a replacement for the Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee. Gary worked in distilling, quality control, and barrel warehousing to gain the necessary experience and expertise to ensure continuity and quality of the plant's products. Upon Albert G. Geiser’s retirement in 1972, Gary became the Plant Manager, and in early 1980, he assumed Master Distiller’s responsibility for Schenley’s Bernheim plant in Louisville.

In 1983, Schenley sold the George T. Stagg Distillery, its whiskey, and a number of brands to a group of private investors. This new company retained Gary as distiller, and he participated with Elmer T. Lee in the introduction of Blanton’s, the world’s first single-barrel Bourbon. In 1992, the distillery and all of its whiskey inventory in storage were sold to the Sazerac Company, Inc. of New Orleans. All of the employees were retained, and the distillery began a program of brand expansion and new product introductions. In August 1999, the distillery was renamed Buffalo Trace Distillery, and Gary Gayheart was named the Master Distiller.

During Gayheart’s tenure, Buffalo Trace received many industry awards, including “Distillery of the Year” in 2000 and “Whiskey of the Year” in 2001 and 2002.

Gary R. Gayheart was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in September 2007. Gayheart became only the 6th of 9 Buffalo Trace Distillery members to be inducted into the Bourbon Hall of Fame, behind only Elmer T. Lee, George T. Stagg, Colonel Albert Blanton, Julian Pappy Van Winkle, and Orville Schupp.

Contributed by Colonel Craig Duncan, Columbia, Tennessee