Kentucky

Bourbon industry brings significant economic impact to Kentucky

Published

7 months ago

May 13, 2024

Press Room

Bourbon industry brings significant economic impact to Kentucky

Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development
| Cincinnati Enquirer

Kentucky’s bourbon industry is rich in tradition but also means a bright future in the commonwealth.

As a signature industry in the state, Kentucky’s bourbon and spirits sector is responsible for over 23,000 jobs, with an annual payroll topping $2.16 billion. The key sector also generates $9 billion in economic impact, providing a significant boost to the state’s soaring economy.

Since the beginning of Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration, Kentucky’s bourbon and spirits industry has announced 102 new location and expansion projects, totaling $4.2 billion in investment and creating over 1,800 jobs.

At no point was this impact felt more than in 2022, when Kentucky recorded its single best year for growth of its signature industry, with private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling over $2.1 billion in investments and approximately 700 new jobs for Kentucky residents.

This record-setting year was highlighted by Louisville-based Sazerac Co., which in November 2022 announced the largest distilled spirits-related investment on record in Kentucky history with a $600 million investment in London. The project is creating up to 50 full-time jobs and supporting the company’s continued growth.

In July of that year, Beam Suntory announced the expansion of its Jim Beam Brands Co. with a $400 million investment that will create more than 50 full-time jobs at the Booker Noe Distillery in Boston.

“The growth of Kentucky’s bourbon industry is one of the most important factors in our state’s recent economic success,” said Gov. Beshear. “We’ve made tremendous strides in not only growing the number of distilleries in the commonwealth but increasing the supporting infrastructure of the industry, adding rickhouses, storage warehouses, bottling centers and manufacturing facilities all over the state. Combined with the emphasis on tourism, our bourbon and spirits sector is creating job opportunities and driving economic momentum in every corner of Kentucky.”

That success has continued, highlighted by major announcements from both Legacy Spirits of Kentucky, LLC and Staghorn. Legacy Spirits announced a more than $250 million investment in a new bourbon distillery and restaurant in Madison County, creating 80 new Kentucky jobs. Meanwhile, Staghorn announced a new distillery in Garrard County, another $250 million project creating 60 quality jobs.

Those are just a few of the recent significant announcements helping move the industry forward in Kentucky.

Kentucky’s continued bourbon boom has played a critical role in the state’s record-surging economy and shows no signs of slowing down. As of the end of 2023, there are 100 licensed distilleries operated by 84 companies in 42 Kentucky counties, five times the number of distilleries since 2009, with a 135% growth in employment and a 160% growth in wages.

This growth has played a significant role in job creation as well. Since 2001, distillery employment has risen 130%, while the rest of Kentucky’s manufacturers have shed 20.5% of their employees. The average annual salary and wages per Kentucky distillery team member is $94,000 compared to the national average of $69,000 – thanks in large part to the number of headquarters and executive positions in Kentucky.

Distillers across the state are setting new marks for production. Distillers produced a record 2.7 million barrels of Bourbon in 2022, the fifth year in a row topping the 2-million-barrel production mark. Production has skyrocketed nearly 500% since the turn of the century – with around 455,000 barrels produced in 1999 – and 240% since 2009. Kentucky boasted more than 12.6 million barrels of Bourbon aging in warehouses across the state as of January 2023, the first time inventory reached the 12 million milestone.

If the industry continues at its current growth rate, by 2025, distilling is anticipated to support 28,000 jobs with a payroll of $3 billion, reaching the $10 billion economic impact mark, and provide more than $436 million in local and state tax revenue from production and consumption.

The continued growth and expansion of distilleries, barrel storage warehouses and bottling and distribution centers continues to play a major role in the commonwealth’s continued economic success.

The momentum of one of the commonwealth’s signature industries is fueling growth in communities across the state, from startups to distilleries rich in history. There’s no question that bourbon is booming in Kentucky.

Members of the editorial and news staff of USA TODAY Network were not involved in the creation of this content.

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Kentucky

Two Former Kentucky Wildcats Transfer to Power Five Programs

Published

8 hours ago

December 23, 2024

Press Room

Two Former Kentucky Wildcats Transfer to Power Five Programs

The recruiting dead period begins at midnight. That means players in the transfer portal cannot visit campuses until Jan. 1. It’s a mad dash to secure a spot and a few former Kentucky Wildcats found a new home in the Power Five ranks.

Former four-star talent Tyreese Fearbry is heading to Camp Randall to Jump Around with the Wisconsin Badgers. The Pittsburgh native has two years of eligibility remaining.

The decorated recruit had plenty of promise, but that never turned into production. In three years and over 350 defensive snaps, he recorded 21 tackles, one tackle for loss, two pass breakups, and 21 pressures. His best performance came against Clemson in the Gator Bowl to end the 2023 season when the edge rusher logged a career-high five pressures.

Feary was one of three departures from Brad White’s position room. Kentucky ended the live period by hosting a couple of EDGE players, Chris Murray and Kameron Olds.

Kentucky also lost three tight ends this offseason. Khamari Anderson revealed he will be joining a CFP team next fall. He’s putting his forks up to play for Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State. The former Under Armour All-American also visited Auburn during the process. I can’t blame the Detroit native for moving to the desert instead.

He had six receptions for 40 yards during his two seasons in Lexington. Kentucky received a commitment from Illinois tight end Henry Boyer to add size and depth to Vince Marrow’s tight end position room. For those keeping tally at home, nine of the 21 departing Kentucky football transfers have landed in the Power Conference ranks, and that number will likely grow.

The transfer portal is open for business and so far we know of 21 players who will be seeking out greener pastures this offseason.

DL Keeshawn Silver (Committed to USC on Dec. 19)
DB Avery Stuart
LB Jayvant Brown
TE Tanner Lemaster
TE Khamari Anderson (Committed to Arizona State Dec. 22)
TE Jordan Dingle (Committed to South Carolina on Dec. 18)
OL Courtland Ford (Committed to UCLA on Dec. 17)
OL Ben Christman
OL Dylan Ray (Committed to Minnesota on Dec. 21)
OL Koby Keenum (Committed to Mississippi State on Dec. 22)
DL Tommy Ziesmer (Committed to EKU on Dec. 15)
WR Dane Key
WR Barion Brown (Committed to LSU on Dec. 14)
WR Anthony Brown-Stephens
WR Brandon White
EDGE Tyreese Fearbry (Committed to Wisconsin Dec. 22)
EDGE Noah Matthews
EDGE Caleb Redd (Committed to Kansas on Dec. 20)
RB Chip Trayanum
QB Gavin Wimsatt
LS Walker Himebach (Committed to Colorado State on Dec. 22)

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. Keep closer tabs on the Cats with our staff-only sticky thread on KSBoard, which will have updates on departures and targets throughout the offseason. Not a KSR+ member? Try it out today.

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Kentucky

Mark Pope says Kentucky will fight to get better after loss to Ohio State

Published

16 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Mark Pope says Kentucky will fight to get better after loss to Ohio State

Kentucky suffered an upset loss to Ohio State on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic in Madison Square Garden, losing 85-65. Nothing went their way in the game, as shooting struggles and physicality were major factors. The Buckeyes attacked the basket at will, and Kentucky couldn’t find any answers. Kentucky shot 30% overall and 18% from three-point range.

Mark Pope knows his team is going to work hard to try and respond well to the loss, and after the holiday break, the Wildcats will get back in the gym and strive to get better. The Wildcats seemed to lose focus on making plays for each other, and Pope talked about that after the loss.

“I know exactly how these guys will respond. They’re gonna really, really try as hard as they can to not let this destroy their couple of days off. Their job is to get really fresh right now, and then we get back together on the 26th. I know these guys. They’ll come in and it’s not gonna be just empty emotion, it’s gonna be we’re gonna get better, and these guys will get better. We just gotta keep trusting what we do. We had some defensive struggles tonight, and we just fell to pieces offensively. We just went to our default, and our default is not right yet. Our default is still bad habits. It’s not habits coming from a bad place in the guys’ hearts, it’s coming from a great place. It’s coming from a desperation to help their team, but we don’t do that by ourselves. We do it disciplined, and we do it the way we do it, and we do it by making plays for each other.”
– Pope on Kentucky responding.

With a 10-day break between games, Kentucky has some time to regroup and work to improve in those areas, especially before they begin SEC play on January 4 against Florida. Physicality should be a focal point of improvement with how physical the SEC always is.

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Kentucky

Sunday Headlines: Cats suffer brutal defeat vs. Ohio State

Published

24 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Sunday Headlines: Cats suffer brutal defeat vs. Ohio State

Good morning BBN!

This is the first time we have had to write a headline post following a very disappointing loss, but here we are.

The Kentucky Wildcats tossed their first dud of the Mark Pope Era in Madison Square Garden, as the Cats got blitzed by the Ohio State Buckeyes.

It was not the prettiest performance from the Cats this season on either end of the floor. The Buckeyes cruised on offense shooting close to 60% from the field.

On the flip side, Kentucky really struggled to get rolling on offense as they shot 29.8% from the field.

Despite an impressive resume, there is no way around this loss stinging some, especially after Auburn crushed this same Buckeyes team by 40+ points.

One non-conference game remains as the Cats return to Rupp Arena on New Year’s Eve when they host Brown.

This team clearly has a lot of work to do until then to

Tweet of the Day

I’ve logged a pick for Kent State EDGE Kam Olds to land at Kentucky.
He had 42 tackles, 6 sacks and an interception this season. https://t.co/VxSGJEUisH pic.twitter.com/qKuNk04RMQ
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— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) December 22, 2024