Alan Bishop is a self-taught distiller and historian of Southern Indiana's deep distilling heritage. He grew up alongside generations of tobacco farmers and both legal and illicit distillers.  Alan began his own education in earnest at the age of 15 on a pot still he built with the help of his father and grandfather.  By his mid-twenties, Alan had pursued home distillation to its pinnacle and the time had come to take the next step.

Alan began distilling professionally at Copper and Kings in Louisville, KY, where he oversaw the cultivation of Chenin Blanc, Colombard, and Muscat grapes. He was responsible for the production of apple brandy and absinthe, and also the blending of products for bottling.  After two years at Copper and Kings, Alan became Head Distiller at Spirits of French Lick in French Lick, Indiana where his focus was on creating spirits with a respect to historical styles of distillation and a grain-forward approach. In April 2024, Alan left Spirits of French Lick to take on the role of Head Alchemist at Old Homestead Distilling Co in Indiana, helping to build the distillery from the ground up. Old Homestead Distilling Co will carry on Alan’s dedication to merging traditional methods with contemporary techniques, incorporating locally-sourced ingredients including wild yeast.  

Alan collaborates with the Mount Vernon Distilling Program and frequently volunteers at the Historic Locust Grove Farm Distillery.  Currently, he is working with the Indiana DNR to re-establish the historic distillery at Spring Mill State Park in Lawrence County, Indiana. He also is an established seed cultivator, focusing on the development of agricultural/horticultural varietals for distilling. In addition, Alan provides professional distillery consultation services through his company, Alchemy in Action.

Alan loves to write about the history of the Southern Indiana Distilling Complex. You can read his research on the lives, individual methods, and stories of several Hoosier Distillers on his blog, alchemistcabinet.wordpress.com.  He is the author of two books on distillation, The Alchemist Cabinet vol 1. Philosophy and The Alchemist Cabinet Vol.2: The Black Forest Method.

Alan hosts the Distillers Talk podcast, One Piece at a Time Distilling Institute on Youtube and If You Have Ghosts You Have Everything podcast.