LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky's Bourbon Trail may soon extend east.
Two veterans of Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. in Louisville are planning to build a $143 million distillery called Eastern Light Distilling in Rowan County.
The business will be a "custom contract distiller" for craft bourbon brands and produce up to 90,000 barrels per year.Â
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail, a tourism-focused list maintained by the Kentucky Distillers Association, currently shows no distilleries east of Maysville. The bourbon industry is concentrated in the central portion of the state around Louisville, Bardstown, Frankfort and Lexington.
Kentucky Peerless Master Distiller Caleb Kilburn and Chief Operating Officer Cordell Lawrence are spearheading the Eastern Light Distilling project.
Kilburn is a native of Salt Lick, Kentucky, just west of Morehead.
A Kentucky board on Thursday approved economic development incentives for Old Bourbon County LLC, doing business as Eastern Light Distilling, worth up to $2 million over 15 years.
The distillery will create about 50 jobs paying total compensation, including the value of employee benefits, of about $33 per hour on average, according to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority, which approved the incentives.
