FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted continued growth in Kentucky’s bourbon and spirits industry as Pennyroyal Barrel Co. (PBC), a bourbon incubator for third-party brands, plans to locate a bourbon-related project in Adair County with an $8.52 million facility creating 10 full-time positions.
“This project from Pennyroyal Barrel Co. adds even more momentum to our signature bourbon and spirits industry,” said Gov. Beshear. “Expanding the bourbon sector into counties that have not previously seen growth in this area is a huge accomplishment for the commonwealth, and I want to thank PBC’s leaders for their commitment to Adair County. I want to congratulate the company on this great project and look forward to seeing their success here in Kentucky.”
PBC’s entire 40-acre campus in Columbia will be built with its independent brands’ growth in mind. Brand partners will have facilities for warehousing, blending and bottling, meeting and public event space, as well as private event space. The campus will include a state-of-the-art blending and bottling facility, single-story rickhouses for consistent aging, a storefront to purchase each brand’s products and apparel, a tasting room in a repurposed grain silo, a single barrel selection room and a wooded amphitheater with walking paths.
“Adair County is where I grew up and getting to be a part of bringing such an exciting and unique concept to the area has me so excited,” said PBC co-founder Ross Hutchison. “I can’t wait until some of our partner incubators are calling Adair County – and particularly the Pennyroyal, home, just as I have.”
“The opportunity to be a part of and contribute to something so steeped in Kentucky history, while with our own unique spin, is such an honor,” said PBC co-founder Daniel Griffith. “I am excited to be part of something I care so deeply about and to work with the community we are joining. Columbia, Kentucky, and Adair County have been so welcoming, and we are excited to see what the future holds.”
Beyond the traditional warehousing, sourcing and bottling services that have been offered by others, PBC’s model makes each independent brand partner its focal point. At the campus, each brand will have the opportunity to curate its own consumer experiences. This creates an avenue to make the brand-to-consumer interaction more attainable without the risk associated with scaling up to a brick-and-mortar location. The model also creates a central hub for collaboration between brands and opportunities for brands to coordinate their consumer experiences with one another.
By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.
In addition, PBC can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.
The Kentucky Tourism Development Act (TDA), the first of its kind in the nation, provides a state sales tax incentive for tourism development projects. This performance-based incentive allows developers of approved tourism projects to recover up to 25 percent of eligible project costs over a ten-year term through the state sales tax generated on the site. This program is in place to assist small tourism attractions to obtain financing necessary for their development or expansion.
This project also received preliminary approval from the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority in June. The tourism components of the project include retail space, a single barrel select room, walking trails, an amphitheater, remodeling of a silo for a tasting room and a remodel of a feeding silo for an outdoor pavilion type area. The tourism development agreement can potentially provide up to $717,500 in tax incentives based on the company’s tourism-specific investment of $2.87 million and targets of:
Creation and maintenance of six Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs and;
Out-of-state visitation expectations of 25% of visitors from outside of Kentucky by the first year and 38% of visitors from outside of Kentucky by year five following completion of the project.
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For more information on Pennyroyal Barrel Co., visit PennyroyalBarrel.com.
