LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Bourbon giant Sazerac Co. will spend $600 million in coming years to expand barrel-making and aging capacity in southeast Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear’s office said Wednesday.
Sazerac will build 20 rickhouses to store aging whiskey on 198 acres in Laurel County. The company plans to buy the Rowland Acres Industrial Park from the London-Laurel County Economic Development Authority, according to Beshear’s office.
Sazerac will also add 72,000 square feet to its Robinson Stave and Cumberland Cooperage to increase production of white oak barrels. The company acquired the Laurel County stave mill and cooperage in 2014.
The new warehouses will cost $503 million and create 50 jobs within four years, with the jobs paying an average hourly wage of $23, according to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority, which approved a $3 million incentive package for Sazerac in October.
Family-owned Sazerac, whose bourbon brands include Buffalo Trace and 1792, has executive offices in Louisville and in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana.
“This is a significant investment in Kentucky by Sazerac as our signature bourbon industry continues to grow at an incredible rate,” Beshear said in a news release. “I am so glad to see this job creation in Southeastern Kentucky, as well as the growth of a company that has invested so much in the commonwealth over the past 25 years.”
