Alltech, a $700 million Lexington-based company founded in 1980 to produce high-quality animal feeds, took a giant step in its slow, but steady expansion into the beverage alcohol business by opening Town Branch Distillery yesterday. It is the city’s first distillery opening in more than a century.
Alltech’s Town Branch Distillery in Lexington.
The $9.2 million, 20,000-square-foot facility will produce Town Branch Bourbon, Pearse Lyons Reserve malt whiskey and a bourbon-infused coffee drink dubbed Bluegrass Sundown.
I wasn’t able to attend the ribbon cutting, but judging by the photo and everything else Alltech does, it’s first rate. Built with Kentucky limestone and featuring glass walls on three sides to showcase its centerpiece cooper stills, the joint’s a looker.
The distillery is located next to the company’s brewery—maker of the Kentucky Ale lineup of beers—at the corner of Maxwell and Cross Streets. It’s not only one of only a few sites in the world with both a distillery and brewery, it’s Kentucky’s only urban distillery for now.
“I’ve been on board for nine years, I’ve been fortunate to watch it grow slowly over the years,” said Matt Cordle, Alltech’s sales and marketing manager. Alltech founder and president, Dr. Pearce Lyons, is a native of Ireland who’d done a bit of brewing and distilling before coming to America. “I don’t think he could have been smiling any harder to have had (master distiller) Jimmy Russell from Wild Turkey standing next to him at the opening. And to become part of the Bourbon Trail is phenomenal.”
According to a news release, the banks along Lexington’s Town Branch, the stream that led to the city’s settlement, once housed numerous distilleries. The Old Pepper Distillery was the lone survivor of the Prohibition but ended distilling operations in the late ‘60s, leaving Lexington without an operational distillery for more than 40 years.
“We already take great pride in how our brewery has contributed to revitalization in downtown Lexington,” Lyons said in the release. “Our new distillery will now draw tourists directly into the heart of the Bluegrass, and we have high expectations for how this may economically impact our city, particularly given our location just a few blocks from Rupp Arena.”
Cordle said the company expects a few hundred thousand visitors will come to the facility each year. About 1 million tourists visited Bourbon Trail facilities last year, and according to distillers I’ve spoken with, 2012 will be even better once the final tally is reported.
The distillery officially opens to the public on October 1. Public tours will be available seven days a week. For details, visit kentuckyale.com.
Steve Coomes is a Louisville restaurant industry veteran turned food writer. In his 22-year career, he has edited and written for dozens of national trade and consumer publications including Nation's Restaurant News and Southern Living. A past restaurant critic and food feature writer for Louisville magazine, he pens features for ...
