PIKE COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) – A company is investing nearly $38 million and creating 28 jobs in Pike County to establish a new distillery.
According to Gov. Andy Beshear’s office, Brothers Wright Distilling Co. will use a rehabilitated underground coal mine to age the company’s products.
The company plans to construct a 12,000-square-foot distillery, rickhouse, welcome center, museum and restaurant on a 20-acre tract.
It’s part of a larger 1,200-acre property along state Highway 292 in Pike County.
The governor’s office says the company has future plans for lodging and an underground visitor experience.
The company will age its Kentucky-made bourbon in a rehabilitated coal mine, encompassing 1,400 acres underground.
“From 1913 to 1946, more than 23 million tons of coal were mined out of this property,” said Kendall Wright, co-owner and COO of Brothers Wright Distilling Co.
More than 100 years after construction, the mine’s internal dry-stacked rock walls remain intact, and the site already serves as home to the first barrels of the company’s product, which was distilled in Pike County.
Besides the 28 full-time jobs, ranging from production an maintenance to sales and tours, they’re projecting 50 construction and mine rehabilitation jobs.
Construction of the new facility in Eastern Kentucky is expected to begin later this year with completion scheduled by the end of 2024.
