The last place you might expect to discover a monument to American whiskey is in an overgrown field in the idyllic countryside of Speyside, Scotland. But if you follow a path up a woody hill, overlooking the Glenrothes distillery, in a clearing you’ll find great pyramids of used American oak barrels. The newest ones look like they could still hold whiskey, while the oldest, weather-beaten ones are losing their rusty hoops and the staves are turning into dust. Full story
Kentucky Distillers’ Association
Kentucky Bourbon Trail Offers History We Can Touch, Taste, Smell
Bourbon whiskey continues to trend upward, as more and more drinkers eschew clear and imported spirits for a taste of the iconic brown liquor.
Production, says the Kentucky Distillers Association, has increased more than 170 percent since 1999. At 1.3 million barrels, production in 2014 reached its highest mark since 1970.
That’s one big Kentucky hug. Full story
New bill could bring big changes to bourbon tourism
In 2015, nearly one million people came to Kentucky for its bourbon tourism industry, according to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. It says each tourists spends an average of $1,000 during their visit.
“The Kentucky bourbon trail has a significant impact,” Kentucky Distillers’ Association President Eric Gregory said. Full story
Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Visits Skyrocket With 900,000 Guests in 2015
With more distilleries participating than ever before, the world-famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® adventures set an all-time attendance record in 2015 with nearly 900,000 guests touring the best of the Bluegrass.
That means the popular tourism attraction has more than doubled its attendance in just five short years, said Eric Gregory, President of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association that created the landmark journey in 1999. View full press release
Bill to allow some distilleries to serve cocktails advances
Bourbon tourists taking in the sights and smells of Kentucky distilleries could start sipping cocktails as part of the experience if a bill that cleared a legislative panel on Tuesday becomes state law. The measure would allow distilleries in wet territories to offer by-the-drink sales to visitors. It also would let the distilleries sell more of their whiskey and offer slightly larger amounts of free samples. Full story
Brown-Forman’s Morris named new chairman for Kentucky Distillers’ Association for 2016
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association announced Tuesday that Master Distiller Chris Morris of Brown-Forman has been named chairman of the 136-year-old group that unites, promotes and protects the state’s signature Bourbon and distilled spirits industry.
Morris, an acknowledged authority on Bourbon and Kentucky history who is celebrating his 40th year in the industry, will serve through December 2016. The KDA Board of Directors selected officers during its annual meeting recently at the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville. Full story
Willett Distillery Advances Membership Rank in Kentucky Distillers’ Association
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association announced today that the historic Willett Distillery has advanced in its ranks, becoming a “Proof” level member in the non-profit trade group that unites and leads the state’s signature Bourbon and distilled spirits industry. Read the full press release
Kentucky’s Spirits Producers Pushing For Drink Sales at Distilleries
Kentucky’s distillers want to be able to sell drinks by the glass, just like wineries and breweries. State law prohibits distilleries from selling full servings of spirits to visitors, which bourbon producers say costs them money. Distillers can offer guests a tasting as part of a tour, but each person is limited to a total of one ounce of liquor. Full story
Bourbon tax break is introduced
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul say the legislation they introduced Monday would level the playing field for American distillers of bourbon and whiskey with foreign competitors and makers of spirits that don’t need to age. Full story
Bourbon, Tennessee whiskey sales up in US
Producers of Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey scored another round of US sales growth in 2014, while exports topped $1 billion for the second straight year, a distilled spirits trade group said Tuesday. Mixed together, US revenues for bourbon and Tennessee whiskey rose by 9.6 percent to $2.7 billion last year, the Distilled Spirits Council said. Domestic volume shot up 7.4 percent to 19.4 million cases, it said. Full story
Kentucky Distillers Appoint Diageo Chairwoman
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association has appointed Diageo North America’s Pauline Rooney as its new chairwoman for 2015. Rooney, who is vice president of distillation, maturation and engineering at Diageo’s US arm, will serve in the role until the end of December this year, taking over from Heaven Hill’s vice president of operations, Joe Fraser. Full story
Kentucky Bourbon Inventory Tops 5 Million Barrels
More than 5 million Bourbon barrels are gently resting in Kentucky warehouses for the first time since 1977, as production of the signature spirit continued its remarkable resurgence in 2013.
Kentucky’s legendary Bourbon distilleries filled 1.2 million barrels last year, the most since 1970. Production has skyrocketed more than 150 percent in the last 15 years, resulting in 5,294,988 aging barrels at the end of 2013. Read the full release
Kentucky Distillers’ Association Opens Louisville Office
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association today announced that it has opened a satellite office in downtown Louisville as a result of the city’s booming Bourbon scene. Read press release
Bourbon distilleries to get income tax credit for property taxes paid on aging barrels
There are more barrels of bourbon aging in Kentucky right now than there are people living in the Bluegrass state – and every one of those barrels has long been taxed as property. Full story
Bourbon PR 