Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/724527
American Made 28 Beverage Dynamics • September/October 2016 www.beveragedynamics.com barrel of Eagle Rare today, it won't be ready till 2026, so we just keep fi lling barrels and we'll see." Buffalo Trace brands like Sazerac rye and others are also in limited supply compared to the upsurge in demand, and there's no point in even discussing Pappy Van Winkle, as the cult sur- rounding the brand means bottles frequently don't even make it onto store shelves. GROWING AND GROWING A number of new distilleries have been in one stage of construc- tion or another in Kentucky in the last few years, some built by brand owners who once bought their whiskeys from large distilleries but can no longer get enough of what they want. And nearly all the medium-to-large distillers have undergone frequent expansions recently. For example, construction on the Bulleit Distilling Co. in Shelbyville, Kentucky. is on-track to be operational in late 2016, with the still only recently installed (The brand released Bulleit Barrel Strength this spring as a Kentucky-only offering. Similarly, brand owner Diageo also launched George Dickel 17-Year-Old Tennessee Whisky, a limited-time, Tennessee-only offering). Over at Heaven Hill, capacity has been repeatedly tweaked - eight additional fermenters were brought on line over the past few years, bringing daily production from 600 to 900 and shortly 1,300 barrels a day, says Josh Hafer, communications manager at Heaven Hill. Additional warehouses with about 50,000 barrel capacities each also have sprung up, with two new ones about to be dedicated, bringing their aging capacity to about two mil- lion barrels. "It shows how much we're really growing, and we're getting to the point that we're looking at new land," says Susan Wahl, group product manager, whiskey portfolio at Heaven Hill. For Heaven Hill, the current arc aims to satisfy demand and manage growth. Producing a number of different whiskey styles - in addition to Bourbon, rye and fl avored whiskeys, the company produces wheated Bourbon and wheat whiskey - has added to the challenges of fulfi lling supply and getting some brands out of allo- cation. The wheated Bourbon Larceny, the wheated whiskey Ber- Heaven Hill's new warehouse in Coxs Creek, KY (above) and stillhouse expansion in Bardstown, KY (left).