Fresh Bourbon Prevails on Appeal in Legal Dispute with Brough Brothers Over “First Black-Owned” Claim
Fresh Bourbon wins the appeal to have the right to say that they distilled the first Black-produced bourbon in Kentucky, at least for now, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.
Black-owned Louisville-based Brough Brothers sued Fresh Bourbon’s marketing, alleging that the claim from Fresh Bourbon “to be the first Black-owned distillery in Kentucky” was false advertising because they didn’t have their own distillery at the time.
The appeal
Sean and Tia Edwards released a bourbon in 2017, distilled at Hartfield Distillery in 2018. The Kentucky General Assembly recognized the brand as the state’s first Black-owned bourbon distillery. However, Brough Brothers claimed to be the “first Black-owned distiller” and sued Fresh Bourbon in the U.S. District Court in Lexington for false advertising.
Fresh Bourbon has since opened a small distillery and tasting room on Main Street in downtown Lexington, with plans to eventually expand into a larger operation.
But Fresh Bourbon was granted summary judgment. Brough Brothers appealed to the US Sixth Circuit, which also ruled in favor of Fresh Bourbon in an opinion filed March 26.
“We’ve always been transparent about who we are and what we’re building. Our focus has never changed — creating award-winning bourbon with our own recipe and honoring our journey. We stand firmly in our truth: We are recognized by the Kentucky State Senate as the first African Americans to make bourbon in Kentucky since slavery, and we’re proud to carry that legacy forward,” Sean and Tia Edwards said in a statement.
About Fresh Bourbon
The brand launched by Sean and Tia Edwards is the first African American-owned company to produce Kentucky bourbon since the end of slavery. “While traveling, we realized the number of Bourbon aficionados who were telling you ‘how to drink their spirits, ‘ forcing people to a ‘neat only’ experience, when the market was screaming for a new bourbon experience,” it says on their website.
It offers an approachable, 95-proof, four-grain bourbon (corn, honey malt, malted wheat, malted rye) designed to be enjoyed neat or in cocktails.
Image: Sean and Tia Edwards
