As a new day dawns on Kentucky bourbon, Eastern Light Distilling officially unveils its new brand as co-founders Caleb Kilburn and Cordell Lawrence commit their full focus to creating a new craft bourbon distillery in Eastern Kentucky.
In December, Kilburn and Lawrence departed from Kentucky Peerless Distilling Company, where they had honed their craft for nearly the past decade. Both are eternally grateful for the friendship and mentorship of Corky and Carson Taylor and the entire Peerless family and the incredible knowledge and expertise they established over the past decade at the award-winning distillery.
Now, they are looking east and focusing on a new mission—creating a community of craft bourbon makers and delivering Eastern Kentucky a tangible piece of the state’s signature bourbon industry.
First announced last summer, Eastern Light will be a locally owned and operated distillery located in the foothills of Eastern Kentucky. Far more than another distillery producing a single bourbon brand, Eastern Light will help bring innovation to the spirits industry while supporting craft distillers unlike anything before it, making Kentucky’s bourbon heritage accessible to more makers.
The name Eastern Light is inspired by the rising sun, which illuminates a region of Kentucky full of culture, ingenuity, and talented artisans. It is a region marked by natural beauty and abundant resources. The distillery’s brand evokes newness, innovation, directionality, and hope—all reflected in Eastern Light’s mission to provide craft makers with something new in the bourbon industry, a tailored brand experience and their distillery homeplace.
Caleb and Cordell’s shared goal is to continually push themselves and the industry to expand the legacy of what’s possible in whiskey and Kentucky bourbon. But this is not something they can accomplish alone. Both are immensely grateful to their family, friends, colleagues, investors, craft partners and others who share their strong faith that Eastern Light Distilling will create a new legacy while honoring an age-old tradition.
Join us in looking east as a new day dawns on Kentucky bourbon. Stay tuned to EasternLight.com and our social media channels for more exciting news and updates in the coming months.
