A Descendant of the ‘Founding Father of Bourbon’ Died. Now His Widow and Children Are Battling Over a $2.5 Million Inheritance

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A Descendant of the ‘Founding Father of Bourbon’ Died. Now His Widow and Children Are Battling Over a .5 Million Inheritance

The dispute over Taylor Hay’s estate centers on Scotland Farm, a 145-acre Kentucky property tied to his family’s bourbon legacy.

A Descendant of the ‘Founding Father of Bourbon’ Died. Now His Widow and Children Are Battling Over a $2.5 Million Inheritanc

The heir of the Buffalo Trace Distillery has died. Now there’s a dynasty dispute emerging over his legacy.

When Taylor Hay, a descendant of the ‘founding father of modern bourbon,’ died in February of 2025 at the age of 94, he left much to be dealt with. A slew of legal filings have created a large dispute between Taylor’s wife and his grown children from previous marriages over his estate.

Taylor Hay’s great-great grandfather was Colonel Edmund Taylor

Taylor Hay’s great-great grandfather was Colonel Edmund Taylor Jr., the man who built and operated many distilleries in Kentucky, including what is now Sazerac’s Buffalo Trace.

According to court documents, at the crux of the dispute is Scotland Farm, a 145-acre estate in Frankfort which Taylor owned with his brother, John, and niece, Lynne McAleve. The property is home to a Grecian-style manor that has long stood as a symbol of the Edmund Taylor bourbon dynasty.

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But upon Taylor’s death last year, his third wife, Joanna Hay, was set to inherit the property because of a trust Taylor established in 2006. The estate is its only asset.

Joanna Hay has since filed a civil complaint

Joanna Hay has since filed a civil complaint in the Franklin Circuit Court alleging that three of her stepchildren—Douglas, Ambie, and Robert—are scheming to interfere with her running of the trust and the $2.5 million inheritance left to her. According to the Daily Mail, the children have denied the allegations.

Joanna Hay is a documentarian. Her company, Joanna Hay Productions, is a full-service production company with a specialization in “cultural heritage tourism,” the LinkedIn reads. The company has produced content for a myriad of cultural institutions, including distilleries like Buffalo Trace Distillery and whiskey-adjacent organizations like the Kentucky Distillers’ Association and Sazerac.

Source: www.inc.com