Elijah Craig

Elijah Craig (1738 (?) – May 18, 1808) was a Baptist minister from Kentucky, who is remembered chiefly for being an important figure in the invention of bourbon whiskey. He is also the founder of Georgetown College, in Georgetown, Kentucky.

Related Topics:
1738 - May 18 - 1808 - Baptist - Minister - Kentucky - Invention - Bourbon whiskey - Georgetown College - Georgetown, Kentucky

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Craig was born in Orange County, Virginia in approximately 1738. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1771, and was imprisoned briefly in South Carolina, apparently for disturbing the peace with his sermons. He then moved to what was then Bourbon County, Kentucky and settled in the area of Frankfort, Kentucky in 1785. In 1777, he became pastor of Blue Run Church.

Related Topics:
Orange County, Virginia - 1738 - 1771 - South Carolina - Sermon - Bourbon County, Kentucky - Frankfort, Kentucky - 1785 - 1777 - Pastor

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Craig was a shrewd businessman and a local magnate; he built the first fulling-mill and the first paper mill in Kentucky, as well as the distillery he founded in approximately 1789 in Georgetown, Kentucky. A recurring, if probably unverifiable, legend credits Craig's distillery with being the first to age corn whiskey in new charred oak barrels, which is the decisive step in turning "white lightning" into Bourbon whiskey.

Related Topics:
Businessman - Magnate - Paper mill - Distillery - 1789 - Georgetown, Kentucky - Legend - Corn - Whiskey - Oak - Barrels - White lightning - Bourbon whiskey

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Craig died in Georgetown in 1808.

Related Topics:
Georgetown - 1808

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Heaven Hill distilleries now produces a bourbon named after him which is considered to be one of the firm's premium products.

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