A rendering of the brand new Heaven Hill Springs Distillery, which is slated to open in 2024.
Previous Heaven Hill Springs Distillery was nestled on the base of a hill that slopes all the way down to peaceable Gilkey Run Street in Bardstown, Kentucky, not removed from proprietor Heaven Hill’s important places of work. The distillery was in-built 1935, the 12 months of the corporate’s founding. The previous warhorse was the nerve heart of the operation—till the afternoon of November 7, 1996, when catastrophe struck.
A hearth broke out in a rackhouse on the prime of the hill, and inside minutes it was burning to the bottom. Its flaming bourbon barrels had been was rivers of fireside, flowing forth to ignite six extra warehouses. Fueled by stormy climate and excessive winds, the fires raged all through the evening. Witnesses noticed barrels explode into the evening sky, and the flames reached tons of of ft into the air. The streams of flaming bourbon finally made their means down the hill to the distillery, which was additionally consumed by the flames. Miraculously, nobody was killed or critically injured, and 37 warehouses managed to outlive. However the hearth destroyed some 90,000 barrels, equal to 2% of the world’s bourbon provide on the time.
A view of Previous Heaven Hill Springs Distillery within the Seventies.
The distillery was by no means rebuilt. As an alternative, Heaven Hill entered into talks with United Distillers (UD), a Diageo predecessor firm, which was seeking to exit the bourbon enterprise on the time. In 1999 an settlement was struck for Heaven Hill to accumulate UD’s big Bernheim Distillery in Louisville, in what proved to be one of many nice bourbon offers of all time. Bernheim has been Heaven Hill’s distilling residence ever since, although the warehouses and bottling operations stay in Bardstown. The footprint of the Previous Heaven Hill Springs Distillery grew to become a grain-receiving and storage space and remains to be used for that objective at present—that means that no less than a part of the manufacturing course of stays at that website in any case these years.
In a symbolic closing of the circle, this week Heaven Hill broke floor on a brand new $135-million distillery in Bardstown, to be named Heaven Hill Springs Distillery in honor of the unique place. Of even perhaps higher symbolism, the challenge will mark Heaven Hill’s return to distilling in Bardstown after a spot of practically 30 years.
The brand new distillery’s location might be at 1015 Previous Bloomfield Pike, a few miles away from the previous facility, and is slated to change into operational by 2024. The preliminary annual manufacturing capability might be 150,000 barrels, however over time will broaden to 450,000 barrels, the identical measurement as Bernheim.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Heaven Hill president Max Shapira, and grasp distiller Conor O’Dricoll break floor on the brand new Heaven Hill Springs Distillery.
Heaven Hill Springs Distillery might be used to enhance the corporate’s American whiskey manufacturing. It’ll additionally home some innovation tasks, although nobody is but certain what type these will take. Some elements of the brand new facility may be opened to the general public sooner or later, however the tourism part might be minimal. The main target might be working with the six conventional Heaven Hill mashbills—for bourbon (78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley), wheated bourbon (68% corn, 20% wheat, 12% malted barley), rye (51% rye, 35% corn, 14% malted barley), corn whiskey (80% corn, 8% rye, 12% malted barley), wheat (51% wheat, 37% corn, 12% malted barley), and malt whiskey (65% malted barley, 35% corn).
With Bernheim expanded to the total limits of its Louisville footprint and bourbon gross sales booming, it was solely a matter of time earlier than Heaven Hill started working on constructing one other distillery. The one query was the place it will be. Ultimately, Bardstown was the logical—and nostalgic—selection.
“We’re honored to have a good time this homecoming,” mentioned Heaven Hill president Max Shapira in his remarks on the groundbreaking ceremony. “I’m proud to salute our historical past, and the numerous Bardstown women and men who helped construct our manufacturers over time, by naming our new facility in honor of the unique Previous Heaven Hill Springs Distillery that my father and uncles based on this neighborhood 9 a long time in the past.”
