It all started with a piece of wood and a smile.
Chuck Edwards still remembers the moment. While working as a tour guide at Buffalo Trace Distillery, he watched as bourbon archaeologist Nick Laracuente unearthed a dusty, timeworn board with an old copper fitting attached.
“He had this big grin on his face and was just beaming,” Chuck recalled. “It turned out to be one of E.H. Taylor’s long-lost fermenters. I’d say that’s when I got hooked.”
For Chuck, that discovery wasn’t just about the past, it was a doorway into history. Today, as owner of Neat Kentucky Tours, Chuck does more than escort visitors to distilleries — he offers the complete interconnected story of bourbon.
A former music educator who taught in Frankfort Independent Schools for nearly 30 years, Chuck brings a teacher’s eye and a historian’s heart to his work. He tells the richly woven history of bourbon, connecting the people, places and waterways that shaped bourbon whiskey.
“Most people think of bourbon as something that just comes from a bottle,” Chuck said. “But it’s more than a drink — it’s a big part of the story of Kentucky.”
Tracing the roots of bourbon
Three years ago, Chuck decided to take a leap of faith and start his own business, Neat Kentucky Tours — the name is a nod to the purest way to enjoy bourbon.
“My goal was to create a tour company that wasn’t just about tastings,” Chuck explained. “I wanted to offer something historical, as well as the enjoyment of experiencing the taste of bourbon.”
Based in Frankfort, Neat Kentucky Tours offers private, custom bourbon tour experiences. Chuck tailors each itinerary to fit his guests, guiding them to iconic distilleries such as Woodford Reserve, Castle & Key and Buffalo Trace; and to experiences such as Glenns Creek Distillery which is home to OCD #5, a pot-distilled bourbon that was named the best micro distilled whiskey for three years in a row by “The Whiskey Bible.”
“I cater to what my clients want,” Chuck remarked. “If they want to visit distilleries outside of Frankfort and Versailles, I’m happy to take them. There is so much to explore when it comes to bourbon.”
Chuck is working to launch a signature tour that traces the roots of Kentucky whiskey through Frankfort, Woodford County and along Glenns Creek. The tour would spotlight several key Central Kentucky distilleries and the important bourbon connections between men such as James Crow, Oscar Pepper and E.H. Taylor.
With Chuck behind the wheel, tours go deeper than tastings. Visitors might learn about the copper stills that E.H. Taylor used, or walk the same ground where Scottish immigrant James C. Crow revolutionized the distilling process. They may even visit Big Spring Park in Versailles, the birthplace of Elijah Pepper’s first distillery centuries ago.
“This area isn’t just part of bourbon history — it’s the heart of it,” Chuck said.
Building a bourbon focus in Frankfort
While the world’s interest in bourbon has skyrocketed in recent years, Chuck is focused on something closer to home — helping Frankfort and Versailles grow together as a bourbon destination.
“There’s so much potential in this region,” he said. “We’ve got new hotels opening in Frankfort and Versailles. There’s no reason we can’t work together to market the area as the place to explore bourbon history.”
Most of Chuck’s tours are small, which allows for flexibility and personal attention.
“And, sometimes, the craft distilleries are people’s favorite stops,” he said. “They’re smaller, more intimate and people feel like they’ve discovered something.”
He also likes to take guests to places off the traditional trail, like Kismet Thoroughbred Farm, owned by Matthew Pineda who is the son of legendary jockey Alvaro Pineda.
“Frank James, brother of the infamous Jesse James, was born on the farm. People love stopping here because they can interact with horses and listen to all of the stories from the owner,” Chuck said.
The birthplace of Bourbon
“Frontier whiskey was crude and unpretentious, produced by thousands of farmers as a practical remedy to the rigors and travails of frontier life,” Chuck explained in a 2024 FRANK.magazine article about the history of bourbon. “James Crow transformed this primitive spirit at Oscar Pepper’s farm along the banks of Glenn’s Creek into what we know today as bourbon. Crow, more than anyone else, could be credited as the inventor of bourbon. Taylor combined Crow’s methods of copper stilled sour mash whiskey and scientific methods with modern manufacturing techniques, and brilliant marketing strategies, to create the modern bourbon industry we know today.”
“They didn’t even call it bourbon at the time,” Chuck noted. “It was just good Kentucky whiskey. The name ‘bourbon’ came later — and for a while, bourbon was actually considered the cheap stuff.”
But not for long. As Crow’s techniques spread and distillers like E.H. Taylor helped to build what would become Buffalo Trace and transformed Old Fire Copper (OFC) into a modern operation, bourbon matured into a premium product. Copper became the distilling standard and Kentucky whiskey became the gold standard.
More than a tour guide
Chuck’s tours are full of bourbon facts and folklore. If asked about his favorite bourbon, he may smile and tell you, “The one in my right hand or the one my buddy’s about to buy me.”
But beneath the wit and wisdom is a deep sense of civic pride.
“I don’t just want to drive people around,” he said. “I’d like to help the local economy and I want to tell the real story of bourbon and why it matters.”
Chuck hopes his tours, and his upcoming book, “As the Crow Flies: How Kentucky Whiskey Went Straight,” will encourage more people to see Central Kentucky as more than a dot on a distillery map. “This is where it started,” he explained.
With approximately 100 tours a year in his growing business, Chuck can often be found in one of his favorite places — somewhere between a bourbon warehouse, a copper still and a fascinating Kentucky story waiting to be told.
For more information or to book a tour, visit www.neatkytours.com.
