Eric Gregory

Barrel Tax Bill Under Consideration in Kentucky Legislature

/

February 28, 2023 – Kentucky state lawmakers have just 11 legislative days left to consider a bill that would phase out the state’s “barrel tax” on barrels of aging Bourbon. House Bill 5 would start phasing out the tax in 2026 and end it completely in 2039, and is pending in the Kentucky House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. Kentucky is the only state that taxes inventories of maturing spirits, and the tax raised approximately $40 million for local governments in 2021. Distillers have the ability to take a credit for the barrel taxes they pay against their corporate state income Read More »

Kentucky Barrel Inventory Reaches New High

/

September 27, 2022 – Kentucky distillers set a new production record in 2021, according to state revenue department data released today by the Kentucky Distillers Association. Distillers filled more than 2 million barrels for the fourth consecutive year, and had a total of nearly 12 million barrels of Bourbon and other spirits aging in the state’s rickhouses as of January 1, when they’re required to file an inventory report with the state. The inventory generated a total of $40 million in “barrel taxes,” the property tax leveled on every barrel of maturing spirits in a distiller’s inventory. That money goes Read More »

Brother’s Bond: A Bourbon “Bromance”

/

Actors Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder discovered their friendship and a mutual love of Bourbon on the set of “The Vampire Diaries” television series. Once the show ended, they decided to launch their own Bourbon brand, Brother’s Bond, and it’s become one of the fastest-growing new Bourbon brands on the market over the last 18 months. While Wesley’s acting career now has him portraying the iconic character of James T. Kirk on “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” Somerhalder is practically a full-time whiskey blender. The Bourbon “brothers” join us on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the Kentucky Bourbon Read More »

Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2022

/

August 17, 2022 – Six inductees will join the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame next month in the first induction ceremony since 2019. The honorees were announced today, including the late Stephen Thompson of Kentucky Artisan Distillery, this year’s recipient of the Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award. Thompson passed away last year at the age of 79 following an accident. “He’s another one that everyone misses,” said Kentucky Distillers Association president Eric Gregory. “He was such a resource and an advocate for the craft distilleries…he had almost an encyclopedic knowledge of production facilities and what to do, and if you Read More »

Private Barrel Kentucky Bourbons in Legal Jeopardy

/

January 29, 2022 – Sales of “private selection” barrels by distillers in Kentucky have become popular choices for retailers, bars, restaurants, and even whiskey clubs. However, it turns out that those sales actually violate state liquor regulations in Kentucky, and perhaps even at the federal level. It’s not because sales by the barrel are specifically banned, but because the process of selecting those barrels violates a number of state regulations. Kentucky’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board enforces the state’s regulations, and has issued an advisory opinion to that effect, according to Kentucky Distillers Association president Eric Gregory. “Right now, the ABC Read More »

Scroll to Top