Considered by some to be among Kentucky “Whiskey Barons” and honored recently with a legacy bourbon named for him, William Butler Saffell largely has escaped the attention given to other historic Kentucky distillers. Shown here, Saffell of Lawrenceburg spent twenty years working as the yeast-maker for another distilling giant before setting his own course to making what he called “my own small product.”
Saffell, born in August, 1843, was part of a pioneer family that settled in Anderson County in the late 1700s, roughly halfway between Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky. His grandfather, Joshua, is said to have owned and farmed, likely with enslaved help, 1,000 acres. His father, Samuel Saffell, was a farmer, and his mother, Sarah Belle Woods, Pennsylvania born.
Educated in the one-room school houses of rural Kentucky, William is reputed as early as the age of sixteen to have been involved in distilling on his father’s farm.Although of sufficient age to have been seen military service during the Civil War, he seems to have avoided it. Although Kentucky did not secede, Lawrenceburg in general had Southern sympathies. The Staffells may have harbored other views. Only three years after the end of hostilities, at the age of 25, William received federal employment as “United States revenue storekeeper” for Anderson County. Also known as “gaugers” such agents were responsible for assessing liquor taxes owed by local distillers. A political appointment, Saffell would not have been selected with suspect loyalties.
This occupation brought the young man in regular contact with distillers. During his six years on the job Saffell made close inspections of the equipment and processes of each of the distilleries in his district and came to know well their proprietors. Likely aware of growing corruption in the federal revenue service, Saffell resigned his commission in 1874, just months in advance of the major “Whiskey Ring” scandal in which many of his colleagues went to jail.
Almost immediately Saffell went to work for W. H. McBrayer. William Harrison McBrayer, called Judge McBrayer for much of his life, is credited with being among the handful of Kentucky distillers who raised the quality and image of the state’s whiskey to international renown. One contemporary account says of his Cedar Creek brand: “It was the whiskey that made the crowned heads of Europe turn from Scotch to bourbon.” [See post on McBrayer, Oct. 2, 2011.]
Saffell played a major role in that success. He became McBrayer’s yeast-maker. As whiskey guru Michael Veach has pointed out: “Yeast is a very important flavor component to whiskey. There are people who say it only makes up about 5% of the flavor of the whiskey. I personally think this is a low figure and yeast makes a larger contribution than most people think. However even if this 5% figure is correct it is a vital component to the whiskey. Think of it this way – adding salt to a dish is a small part of the overall flavor, but if there is too little or too much it is noticed in the taste. The same can be said for yeast in whiskey — the wrong yeast will be noticed.”
Saffell’s yeast was an important ingredient in the success of McBrayer’s bourbon. The two men grew very close. Saffell's first son bore the middle name of McBrayer. The Judge in time made the young Kentuckian master distiller and manager of his distillery. A year after the older man died, Saffell left the company and struck out on his own. In 1889 he constructed a distillery on Fox Creek near Alton, Kentucky, a hamlet northwest of Lawrenceburg. His plant was capable of producing 385 barrels of bourbon annually. According to a 1903 account, its two ironclad bonded warehouses had the capacity to hold 21,000 barrels,
Saffell gave his whiskey his own name and bottled it ceramic jugs and in clear quart glass containers. The bottles carried an elaborate label that depicted a warehouse full of aging liquor barrels. From a revenue stamp it appears that his “W. B. Saffell Kentucky Bourbon was 100 proof (50% alcohol) that had been aged four years in federal bond. Saffell’s whiskey appears to have been very popular, acquiring a customer base for a bourbon of which the distiller boasted: “My own small product is not excelled by any.” About Saffell the Wine & Spirits Bulletin commented: “By his carefulness and knowledge of the business he has built up a high reputation and a successful business.”
Throughout this period William was conducting a personal life. In October 1883, at the age of 40, he married Frances E. “Frankie” Bond, the daughter of a local political figure. She was 12 years younger than he. Over the next 17 years the couple would have seven children, six daughters and one son. The latter, Franklin McBrayer Saffell, died in infancy, a great family sorrow.
At the time other Anderson County distillers were building mansions in Lawrenceburg, the most imposing being one constructed by the Ripy family [See my post on the Ripys, Sept. 15, 2016.] Purchasing a lot not far from the Ripy home, Saffell built an imposing two and one-half story house for wife Frankie and his growing brood of children. Shown here, it was done in “Richardsonian Romanesque,” employing such elements of the style as towers, an asymmetrical facade, masonry walls, a projecting central entrance bay, and other expensive elements of the style. While not as large as the Ripy residence, it provided plenty of room for the Saffells. Today it is a funeral home.
With the wealth from his distilling, Saffell also was extending his business interests. For many years he was a vice president and director of the Lawrenceburg National Bank. Shown here is ten dollar bill issued by that institution. Saffell also was farming 500 acres in Anderson County. My guess is that this land was part of the 1,000 acres that his grandfather had claimed. He likely was growing some wheat for use in mashing for his bourbon.
Saffell continued to meet with distilling success into the 20th Century as the word spread about the quality of his whiskey. It was considered a worthy rival of premium Kentucky whiskeys, including Cedar Brook, the bourbon he had helped make famous for Judge McBrayer. At the same time, however, Saffell’s health was declining. He died in August 1910, at the age of 67. His youngest daughter was just nine years old.
Honored by the population as one of the city’s most prominent citizens, Saffell was buried in the Lawrenceburg Cemetery at the base of a large granite plinth. Soon after, the city named a street for him. When a school was built on that thoroughfare, it became Saffell Street School. Despite the loss of its founder, Saffell’s distillery, under other management, continued to produce a high quality product until shut down by National Prohibition. The brand was not revived after Repeal. The distillery itself was left abandoned and in time disappeared.
William Saffell’s contribution to bourbon history, however, has been revived. The folks who make “Wild Turkey” have created a “Whiskey Baron Collection” that honors major distillers of yore. Among them is Saffell. Shown here is are the bottle and the label of “W.B. Saffell Bourbon.” Pictured on the label is the bearded distiller in front of his mansion. The yeast man has risen again.
Note: This post was constructed from a number of sources. Among them the most important was the Saffell family biography in “Kentucky: A History of the State,” by Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 5th ed., 1887.
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