LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Angel’s Envy, the homegrown small-batch bourbon brand now owned by Bacardi Limited, plans to build a distillery and five warehouses to store up to 225,000 aging bourbon barrels in Henry County, Ky.
The distillery and rackhouses would be built in the phases over five to eight years on about 350 acres of farm land off Campbellsburg Road, roughly halfway between Campbellsburg and New Castle, according to documents obtained from the Henry County planning commission.
The distillery could include a visitor experience and become a stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, according to the documents.
Wes Henderson, Angel’s Envy co-founder & chief innovation officer, said he wasn’t immediately available to talk about the project on Tuesday. Officials with Bacardi and a public relations firm did not respond to requests for comment.
Construction is slated to begin next year with the first rackhouse, followed by two more warehouses over the next two years, according to John Talbot, the lawyer who represented Angel’s Envy parent Louisville Distilling Co. before Henry County planning officials.
“Their first priority was to have places to store their bourbon that they’re already producing in Louisville,” said Henry County Judge Executive John Brent.
The county’s planning commission approved a zoning change for the project last month, said Talbot.
The distillery and remaining two warehouses would come in the project’s second stage, within five to eight years. The distillery would be “similar” to the distillery Angel’s Envy already operates in downtown Louisville, according to a presentation to Henry County neighbors.
The downtown distillery opened in 2016 in a renovated warehouse across from Louisville Slugger Field.
Talbot said his understanding is that the Henry County project would be in addition to, and not a replacement for, the downtown operation.
Angel’s Envy was created in 2011 by the late Lincoln Henderson, who had retired as master distiller of Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp.
Henderson’s twist was to finish the bourbon in port wine casks. Some Angel’s Envy expressions are finished in rum barrels.
Bermuda-based Bacardi Limited, the maker of Bacardi rum, Grey Goose vodka and Bombay gin, acquired Angel’s Share Brands and its subsidiary, Louisville Distilling Co., for an undisclosed sum in 2015. The sale the brand marked Bacardi’s entrance in the bourbon category.
Reach reporter Chris Otts at 502-585-0822, cotts@wdrb.com, on Twitter or on Facebook. Copyright 2018 WDRB News. All rights reserved.
