New distillery planting roots in Elizabethtown to make contract whiskey

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new distillery will plant its roots in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, making contract whiskey.

Whiskey House of Kentucky has set a July 2024 opening on a 176-acre campus in the T.J. Patterson Elizabethtown Hardin County Industrial Park.

Whiskey House was founded in 2022 by the same team that created The Bardstown Bourbon Company.

Its founders said it's 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 provides Custom Whiskey Production customers with visibility into the manufacturing and barrel aging process.

"Whiskey House will reshape the contract whiskey market in the United States. As the bourbon market continues to grow, we see the need for additional distilling capacity and more customer-focused solutions," CEO and Co-Founder David Mandell said in a news release. "We will provide the highest-quality production, guaranteed capacity, and exceptional customer service for our brand partners."

The distillery will include 16 traditional rickhouses with the capacity to hold 41,500 barrels, a 50,000-square-foot warehouse, and more.

"For the first time, our customers will have access to every data-point about their whiskey from start to finish," Roger Henley, vice president of engineering and technology, said in a news release. "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."

The company is promising a $350 million investment in the operation and to create 100 jobs by 2027.

The facility is still under construction. According to the distillery's website, the facility is closed to the public.

To read more about Whiskey House of Kentucky, click here.