A new Kentucky-owned distillery broke ground on a new $30 million, state-of-the-art distillery in Beaver Dam, Kentucky.
Western Kentucky Distilling Co. is scheduled to open mid-2023 as the first official distillery in Ohio County, according to a news release. It will bring jobs, and bourbon and rye whiskey to Western Kentucky. The initial investment is $22 million with a phase two expected to bring the total investment to $30 million.
The distillery will launch under the leadership of eighth-generation distiller and Kentuckian Jacob Call who will serve as chief operating officer and master distiller alongside Kentucky native and president of the distillery, JD Edwards.
Call and Edwards have many years of experience in the distilling industry and will deliver whiskey made with the best ingredients and quality craftsmanship using long-standing traditional distilling techniques, the release continued.
“From the best ingredients to an ideal climate for aging, Kentucky is known worldwide as the best place for making whiskey,” Call said in the release. “As someone who’s family goes back eight generations in both Kentucky and distilling, I’m proud to be a partner and to help build the new Western Kentucky Distilling Co. At the distillery, we’re celebrating all things Kentucky from our ingredients and equipment to our 100% Kentucky ownership. We look forward to opening next year.”
Western Kentucky Distilling Co. will be located at 1880 Old Liberty Church Road in Beaver Dam in the Bluegrass Crossings Business Center, on land that used to be a farm.
The 25,000-square-foot distillery is on 80 acres and will feature 15 warehouses, adding an additional 300,000 square feet. It will have the capacity to distill 50,000 barrels per year and store 250,000 barrels. Within the first two years, the distillery is expected to bring approximately 35 jobs to the region.
In addition to being 100% Kentucky owned, Western Kentucky Distilling Co.'s key team members have long-standing family history in the state, the release states. Further, the team is proud to support the Kentucky economy by purchasing all cooking, fermenting, and distilling equipment in the state, including a Vendome 36” copper still, and is planning to use all locally grown Kentucky corn in products.
The distillery will focus on contract distilling to start, and will add signature brands and a visitor’s center down the road.
“The momentum we are seeing in our state’s bourbon and spirits industry is critical to Kentucky's continued economic success,” said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, in a news release. “This investment by Western Kentucky Distilling Co. is going to strengthen our bourbon production and bring quality jobs to Ohio County and Western Kentucky. Anytime a company is committed to sourcing all its materials and production right here in the commonwealth, it is a testament to its belief in this great state. I want to thank the leaders of Western Kentucky Distilling Co., and I look forward to their future success.”
In May, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved a 15-year incentive agreement with Western Kentucky Distilling Co. under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $1 million in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of nearly $17.7 million and annual targets of:
- Creation and maintenance of 35 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 15 years; and
- Paying an average hourly wage of $31.25 including benefits across those jobs.
Additionally, KEDFA in October approved the company for up to $125,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA) based on an additional $4 million investment. KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.
By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.
Earlier this year we took an in-depth look at the seemingly unstoppable surge of the bourbon industry in Kentucky.
BY THE NUMBERS
A breakdown of the thriving Kentucky Bourbon industry.
- $9 billion in economic output every year
- More than 22,500 jobs, up 83% in last 20 years
- $1.23 billion in payroll, up 250% in last 20 years
- Average salary of $101,567 — the first time that amount has exceeded $100,000
- 17 million bushels of corn bought by KDA distilers in 2020, with 75% coming from Kentucky farmers
- 10.3 million aging barrels of Bourbon in the state, the first time over 10 million
- Bourbon production – number of barrels filled each year – is up 435% since 1999
- 2.4 million barrels filled by Kentucky distillers in 2020, a record
- $5.2 billion in capital projects completed or planned by 2025
- 4,565 new jobs, $258 million in payroll and $29 million in tax revenue expected to be created from 2021-25
- Value of distillers’ real and tangible property has quadrupled in last 12 years to $1.49 billion
- Distilling production and consumption generates $286 million in local and state tax revenue annually. That’s $179 million more tax revenue a year versus 12 years ago.
- Kentucky has the fifth-highest Bourbon and spirits tax rate in the country, and the state’s distillers by far pay more in federal alcohol tax — $1.8 billion – than any other state
DID YOU KNOW
Distilling has the highest job spin-off factor among top 20 Kentucky manufacturers by employees; for every distilling job, three more are created.
— Source: Kentucky Distillers' Association report, release January 2022
Attendance: 2021
| Rank | Prior Rank | Name / Prior rank |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Buffalo Trace Distillery |
2 | 2 | Huber's Starlight Distillery |
3 | 3 | Maker's Mark Distillery |
