While it wasn't what they expected,
t h a t is exactly what happened soon
after A n d r e w B i s h o p a n d B ra n d o n
F l o a n p u r c h a s e d a n d r e n o v a t e d t h e
o l d P e p per Distilling building. Part of
the James E. Pepper Distillery campus,
which was built on Manchester Street
shortly after the end of the Civil War and
was one of the largest whiskey distrib-
utors in the country in the late 1800s,
the area had long been vacant, and the
buildings were in disrepair.
"I was born and raised in Lexington, so
I knew that the only two reasons someone
went down Manchester Street past that
area was either if you were on your way
to jail or were going to get your car out
of the tow lot," said Bishop. "So, when
we were looking for a location to open
[Ethereal Brewing], we kept brushing
the Manchester option off. Eventually,
though, we looked at it and we're glad
we did, because it took us about two sec-
onds to see what the space and that area
could truly become."
Today, the area that was once a place
people went out of their way not to visit
now draws visitors from near and far. In
addition to Ethereal Brewing's taproom
and brew house, which offers ample
