Isaac Wolfe Bernheim: Immigrant, Distiller, Philanthropist

Buzzard's Roost Director of Whiskey Education and author Susan Reigler has developed a series of talks exploring the people and the stories behind history of Whiskey Row. Each topic was inspired by the historic markers on Whiskey Row.

On April 8th, 1857 a Jewish teenager seeking to escape oppression in his native Germany arrived by ship in New York with little money but great ambition. Isaac Bernheim started out as a peddler in Pennsylvania. When his horse died, he traveled downriver to Kentucky, became a whiskey salesman, and in a mere four years opened his own whiskey business. He would go on to build his own distilleries and use his wealth to fund schools, hospitals, and the Bernheim Forest and Arboretum. Enjoy a curated cocktail and hear his American success story.