T. B. Ripy
“The First Whiskey Baron”
James Ripy, an immigrant from Northern Ireland, settled in the small Kentucky town of Lawrenceburg around 1830. In his twenties, James became a clerk in a dry goods store. Ripy later became a successful merchant and distributor of household goods, including whiskey. He started buying up several small distilleries in and around Bourbon County (which later became Anderson County). James had two sons: James P. “Junior” Ripy (born in 1844) and Thomas Beebe (“TB”) Ripy (born in 1847). At a young age, T. B. was sent away for a good education at a prestigious prep school in Louisville and then on to college in Frankfort.
In 1853, James Sr., now in his 50s, along with two partners, bought a large distillery a few miles east of Lawrenceburg. Within a year, he had the plant churning out over 120 barrels of mash a day. One year later, at the peak of their production, James’ partners secretly financed the sale of the distillery to a prominent local magistrate named Judge McBrayer and his partner, who was none other than James’ son, T.B. The following year, McBrayer left, and T.B. became a sole proprietor of what was then renamed “TB Ripy Cliff Springs Distilling Company.”
In 1869, James and his two sons built their own larger distillery on the Kentucky River in the tiny town of Steamville, which James later renamed Tyrone after the County in Ireland where he was born. The distillery was called the Ripy Brothers Distillery, after the two sons who ran the plant. Over a decade later, his son T. B. paid homage to his father James by putting the slogan on every bottle of bourbon, “From Father to Son Since 1831." Thomas Ripy would go on to become the largest distiller in the world over two decades between 1880 and 1905.
Thomas Ripy's bourbon, called “Old Ripy”, was chosen from over 400 to represent the State of Kentucky at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. The brand name changed later to reflect their owner’s success and was simply called “T. B. Ripy.” Their slogan used throughout their marketing efforts was “From Father to Son Since 1831.” Thomas Beebe Ripy passed away in 1902 and is buried in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, in an ornate mausoleum. The T.B. Ripy Home, completed in 1888, is the mansion where T.B. and his family lived when he was a distiller. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is open to visitors. The home is located on Main Street in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.
Following Prohibition in 1935, Earnest W. Ripy, the son of TB, rebuilt the distillery from scratch; that facility would one day produce twenty-plus brands of whiskey, including Wild Turkey. Earnest Ripy was also considered Wild Turkey's very first Master Distiller. Continuing the Ripy tradition, Earnest’s sons, T. B. Ripy III and E. W. Ripy Jr., ran the distillery, expanding the production fourfold during their time.
In 1949, the Ripy brothers sold their distillery to Robert and Alvin Gould, who renamed the facility the J.T.S. Brown Distillery. T. B. Ripy III and E. W. Ripy Jr. continued on at the JTS Brown Distillery and E. W. Ripy, Jr. worked there as Plant General Manager until 1972.
Contributed by Colonel Craig Duncan, Columbia, Tennessee
Photographs courtesy of the T.B. Ripy Home, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
When Campari America (Wild Turkey’s parent Company) introduced the Whiskey Baron’s Collection, its first brand was named after T. B. Ripy’s famous World’s Fair Gold Medal Winning Bourbon: “Old Ripy Bourbon.”
The second: Bond & Lillard”, was named after the bourbon distilled by T.B.’s brother, James P. (“Junior”) Ripy