Becker & Bird Distillery

The story of Becker & Bird Distillery is rooted in the earliest era of Kentucky settlement and whiskey-making. The site’s distilling legacy is tied to John Baker, a Revolutionary War veteran who is associated with distilling on the property beginning in 1798, shortly after his move to Augusta in the late 1790s. Over time, the property developed into a cornerstone of Augusta’s nineteenth-century wine industry, with Abraham Baker, Jr. credited locally with building what became Baker-Bird Winery and establishing an enduring commercial estate winery presence in the community. One of the estate’s defining milestones arrived in the mid-1800s with the construction of the large stone wine cellar, an ambitious underground space that has since become central to the visitor experience and a tangible link to the region’s agribusiness past. The site also carries the imprint of Civil War history, with local accounts noting that the cellar survived a battle, reinforcing how long the property has stood at the intersection of Kentucky commerce, transportation, and culture along the river corridor. Today, Becker & Bird continues that long arc by pairing modern production and tastings with an environment shaped by more than two centuries of local history.