A Bourbon Capital Homecoming:
Heaven Hill Springs Distillery underway in Bardstown; identify honors distillery misplaced in 1996 fireplace
Household-owned spirits firm increasing manufacturing with $135 million state-of-the-art distillery
BARDSTOWN, Kentucky (June 6, 2022) – The Bourbon {industry} marked a particular homecoming at the moment as Heaven Hill broke floor on a $135 million distillery in Bardstown – with a reputation paying tribute to the family-owned firm’s authentic distillery that burned in a devastating fireplace in 1996.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear joined Heaven Hill President Max Shapira and Grasp Distiller Conor O’Driscoll to commemorate the beginning of building and reveal the brand new distillery’s identify: Heaven Hill Springs Distillery.
“We’re honored to have fun this homecoming with a return to distilling in Bardstown to reinforce our total bourbon-making capability, in addition to proceed to make an affect within the Bardstown neighborhood,” Shapira mentioned. “I’m proud to salute our historical past and the various Bardstown women and men who helped construct our manufacturers through the years 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 many years in the past.”
The brand new, state-of-the-art Heaven Hill Springs Distillery is being constructed within the coronary heart of the “Bourbon Capital of the World” at 1015 Previous Bloomfield Pike, off KY 245, and is anticipated to be operational by the tip of 2024. Preliminary manufacturing is slated for 150,000 barrels a yr, and over time can have capability to ramp as much as producing 450,000 barrels yearly. This might be along with the corporate’s distilling that happens on the historic Bernheim Distillery in Louisville, which is able to proceed to function at full capability of 450,000 barrels yearly.
As a part of Heaven Hill’s 2030 Environmental Sustainability Technique, the brand new distillery has been designed to create a extra environmentally acutely aware distilled spirits {industry} and guarantee a thriving surroundings for generations to come back. Heaven Hill Springs Distillery has been engineered to attenuate water use to under {industry} benchmarks and reuse sure water streams. The positioning will use native vegetation and pure techniques to handle stormwater runoff and enhance habitat on the property. The distillery will embody a wastewater pretreatment system to make sure discharged water exceeds environmental requirements and enormously reduces the load on town’s remedy plant. Heaven Hill additionally will plan to make the most of vitality creation and restoration, lessening the distillery’s demand on town’s electrical grid.
The brand new distillery provides at minimal 38 jobs to the corporate’s 381 individuals already working in Bardstown at Heaven Hill’s Loretto Highway bottling, getting old and tourism amenities.
“This can be a vital day for Heaven Hill and Kentucky. The return of distilling operations to Nelson County is a return to the corporate’s roots, and the funding highlights the continued development of bourbon and spirits within the commonwealth,” Gov. Andy Beshear mentioned. “I’m extremely completely happy for the residents of Bardstown and the encircling space, and I wish to thank the leaders at Heaven Hill for this dedication to create new job alternatives and construct the corporate’s presence in our state.”
Heaven Hill and Bardstown: ‘a shared and storied historical past’
Max Shapira’s father and 4 uncles, together with a bunch of Bardstown-area traders, based “Previous Heaven Hill Springs” distillery in 1935, and crammed its first barrel on December 13 of that yr.
The corporate grew through the years and added a number of acclaimed manufacturers, together with Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Larceny, Henry McKenna and extra, which have earned quite a few spirits-industry accolades. Grasp distillers of the Previous Heaven Hill Springs Distillery through the years included Joe Beam, Harry Beam, Earl Beam, Parker Beam and Craig Beam.
In 1996, a fireplace resulted within the lack of the distillery, seven rickhouses and virtually 100,000 barrels of whiskey. After the fireplace, Heaven Hill moved distilling to the historic Bernheim Distillery in Louisville. Nonetheless the bottling and getting old of whiskey together with different features proudly continued within the Bardstown space the place they continue to be at the moment. As well as, in 2004, the corporate devoted the Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Middle—most just lately expanded and renamed to the Heaven Hill Bourbon Expertise—that has turn out to be an award-winning point of interest for the area’s bourbon tourism and has greeted tens of millions of holiday makers through the years.
ABOUT HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERY: Based in Kentucky by the Shapira household in 1935, Heaven Hill Distillery continues its legacy as one of many foremost American Whiskey producers. Heaven Hill has cultivated the traditions and historical past of America’s Native Spirit with its fierce independence, passionate household possession, dedication to high quality, and considerate innovation. As we speak, Heaven Hill Distillery maintains over 1.9 million barrels getting old in additional than 60 warehouses all through Nelson and Jefferson Counties. It’s residence to an award-winning assortment of American Whiskeys together with Elijah Craig Bourbon, Larceny Bourbon, Evan Williams Bourbon, Pikesville Rye Whiskey, Rittenhouse Rye Whisky, Parker’s Heritage Assortment, and Previous Fitzgerald together with its intensive Bottled-in-Bond label assortment. Heaven Hill Distillery was named 2020 Whisky Advocate Whisky of the Yr, the second Whisky of the Yr for Heaven Hill Distillery prior to now 4 years. In 2019 Heaven Hill Distillery was named San Francisco World Spirits Competitors Distillery of the Yr, Finest in Present Whisky, and beforehand held the titles of 2018 San Francisco Spirits Phrase Spirits Competitors Finest Bourbon, 2016 Whisky Journal Distillery of the Yr. For extra data, please go to www.heavenhilldistillery.com.
