What do you call a distillery with no brands of its own? A contract (or custom) distiller creates whiskies for its clients, and many of… Read More
What do you call a distillery with no brands of its own? A contract (or custom) distiller creates whiskies for its clients, and many of Kentucky’s largest distillers have often sold excess capacity by distilling for others. Bardstown Bourbon Company pioneered the current wave of contract distillers in Kentucky, and co-founder David Mandell is now one of the partners behind the new Whiskey House distillery. It will focus exclusively on custom distilling for its clients, and David Mandell will explain why on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Midleton Distillery’s brand-new visitors center is closed after this week’s flooding caused extensive damage, while time is running out to avoid a return to tariffs on exports of American whiskies to Europe.
Anyone can blend one whisky, but to blend a whisky with long-term consistency between batches takes a true talent. This week, we’ll share an informal… Read More
Anyone can blend one whisky, but to blend a whisky with long-term consistency between batches takes a true talent. This week, we’ll share an informal blending session with Widow Jane head distiller and blender Sierra Jevremov on WhiskyCast In-Depth, along with tasting notes for Widow Jane’s latest release, The Vaults 15-year-old Bourbon. In the news, Kentucky is getting a massive new distillery project, while we were on hand as The Hearach single malt from Isle of Harris Distillery made its U.S. debut in New York City Thursday night. We’ll have tasting notes for that one, too, along with the new Glenglassaugh 12-year-old and Bruichladdich’s Octomore 14.3 single malts.
ELIZABETHTOWN, KY – Just another day here in Bourbon Country. Exciting news of a NEW DISTILLERY on the horizon…Whiskey House of Kentucky announced its state-of-the art distillery will begin operations July 1, 2024. Located on a 176-acre campus in the T.J. Patterson Elizabethtown Hardin County Industrial Park, Whiskey House reports it will be the most sophisticated, […]
ELIZABETHTOWN, KY – Just another day here in Bourbon Country. Exciting news of a NEW DISTILLERY on the horizon…Whiskey House of Kentucky announced its state-of-the art distillery will begin operations July 1, 2024.
Located on a 176-acre campus in the T.J. Patterson Elizabethtown Hardin County Industrial Park, Whiskey House reports it will be the most sophisticated, technically advanced producer of custom bourbon and American whiskey in the United States. It will invest more than $350 million over the next decade, employing approximately 50 employees in 2024, and expanding to more than 100 employees by 2027. Logistically, Elizabethtown is less than 30 miles southwest of Bardstown connected directly by the Bluegrass Parkway.
Google Maps.
Founded in 2022 by David Mandell, John Hargrove and Daniel Linde, the team that started and built The Bardstown Bourbon Company, Whiskey House is the first distillery designed from the ground up to focus solely on large-scale, flexible, contract whiskey production. With no brands of its own, Whiskey House will provide unparalleled customer service, competitive pricing, and unprecedented visibility into the manufacturing and barrel aging process for its Custom Whiskey Production customers, per the company.
L to R: David Mendell, John Hargrove. Founders of Whiskey House Founder Daniel Linde. Courtesy
“Whiskey House will reshape the contract whiskey market in the United States,” said co-founder and CEO David Mandell. “As the bourbon market continues to grow, we see the need for additional distilling capacity and more customer focused solutions. We will provide the highest-quality production, guaranteed capacity, and exceptional customer service for our brand partners.”
Whiskey House’s property development plan includes 16, 41,500-barrel traditional rickhouses, a 50,000-square-foot palatized warehouse, a spent grain processing facility, a bottling facility, a rail system, as well as access to one of the highest yielding hydro stratigraphic limestone aquifers in the region, which sits 120 feet below the property.
Produced by Vendome Copper & Brass Works, Whiskey House’s distilling and processing equipment is built around a 48-inch custom still and 14, 33,000-gallon closed-top fermenters. The company will begin operations with greater than seven million proof gallons of annual capacity (112,000 barrels), expanding to more than 14 million proof gallons (224,000 barrels) in 2027.
“Whiskey House sets a high bar for advanced manufacturing in the whiskey industry,” said co-founder, president and COO John Hargrove. “We’re making major investments in the technological capabilities of the distillery that will immediately make Whiskey House the most advanced contract whiskey production facility in the United States.”
Whiskey House’s fully integrated operational and information technology infrastructure captures and analyzes data across the entire manufacturing process. With the addition of its artificial intelligence applications, the company can continually improve quality and efficiency, increase production yields, expand sustainability initiatives, and provide critical real-time information to customers about their liquid. As a result of its efforts and vision for the distillery, Whiskey House received a Microsoft for Startups Founder’s Hub Grant to accelerate the implementation of AI in all aspects of its manufacturing and distillation process.
“For the first time, our customers will have access to every data-point about their whiskey from start to finish,” said engineering & technology vice president Roger Henley. “Not only will this information enable brands to create more innovative products and share more compelling stories about their whiskies, but it will also help optimize their businesses with critical financial, inventory, and quality reports.”
Whiskey House Distillery rendering.
New Distilleries in Kentucky
The Bourbon State is red hot and bubbling with new distillery sproutings reported in just the last 12 months alone. Here is a brief snapshot:
