Lebanon, Ky. – A new landmark and photo op stop is being created in Lebanon, KY – one visitors to Maker’s Mark and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail will not want to miss.
The City of Lebanon’s water tower is being transformed into a piece of art, one that features a bottle of Maker’s Mark with its signature red wax label offering a long pour of the amber-colored liquid. Rising more than 135 feet above Lebanon, the water tower is visible for miles.
The artist creating the painting is internationally recognized muralist Eric Henn, who has been creating large-scale murals for more than 25 years.
The Lebanon Tourist and Convention Commission contracted with Henn to paint the mural on the water tower to signify that Marion County is the home of Maker’s Mark Distillery, a national icon and the county’s No. 1 tourist attraction.
“The water tower will be so unique that visitors will go home and remember ‘that water tower’ in Lebanon, Kentucky,” said Nena Olivier, executive director of the tourism commission. “ One thing that I always think of when I think of Versailles and Florence in Kentucky is their water towers. They are iconic images associated with those cities, and our goal is to promote a similar type of thinking with Lebanon.”
Maker’s Mark is located just eight miles from downtown Lebanon and the water tower, a perfect photo op stop for bourbon fans. There is nowhere else on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail or in Kentucky’s Bourbon Country where visitors will be able to see such an unforgettable sight, a mural looming above the horizon that celebrates one of the world’s premier bourbons and Kentucky’s pre-eminent role in bourbon’s history and heritage. An only-here photo and/or selfie of this water tower will be a souvenir that comes with bragging rights.
“The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is absolutely booming and we want to do everything we can to capitalize on that,” said Olivier. “Our hope is that the water tower will draw more visitors to Lebanon and, once here, we can promote all the other wonderful things that Lebanon has to offer.”
These include Limestone Branch Distillery, a member of Kentucky Bourbon Craft Tour Trail; the Kentucky Cooperage, where visitors can see how the barrels that hold Kentucky bourbon are made; WhiteMoon Winery, located among the rolling hills that link Limestone Branch and Maker’s Mark distilleries; and the scenic and challenging Gorley Naturalist Trail which encircles Fagan Branch Reservoir, a no-fuel lake for canoeing, sailing and fishing.
Attractions in downtown Lebanon include the Marion County Heritage Center, featuring the world’s only Turtleman exhibit and the Don Johnson Musical Instrument Collection (the largest collection of horns in the U.S. made by the J.W. Pepper Co.); the Centre Square/Angelic Hall performing arts venue; and lots of locally-owned restaurants and shops. Lebanon lodging includes the circa 1833 Myrtledene bed and breakfast inn and the Hampton Inn of Lebanon.
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