Lexington, KY - After a Wednesday night launch party, an initial release of 200 cases of Alltech's Town Branch Bourbon saw nearly all the bottles of the first bourbon produced Lexington since the 1960s fly off the shelves.
Alltech's Allie Hembree said a rush order of 150 cases was filled to Kentucky Eagle Distributing Monday morning as stock was dwindling or gone from local retailers. The bottles - six to a case - retail for $22 to $29 a bottle at local liquor stores that also carry Alltech's beer line, Kentucky Ale.
Largely a bio-science company, Alltech entered the adult beverage industry in 2000 with Kentucky Ale. Since then, the company has started producing Kentucky Light, a Kˆlsch style beer, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, the regular Kentucky Ale aged in a spent bourbon barrel, which began being sold in China last month (for more on that see the Friday Oct. 28th edition of Business Lexington), Bluegrass Sundown, a alcohol infused coffee concoction and Pearse Lyons Reserve, a malt whiskey that went on the market in 2010.
The bourbon gets its name from the stream that runs through and under downtown Lexington. "The name Town Branch commemorates the body of water that currently runs under Lexington, upon which Lexington was founded. Town Branch was once the lifeblood of Lexington, now again it is bringing joy to Lexingtonians and Bourbon lovers alike," Lyons said in a statement.
Town Branch is the first bourbon produced in Lexington since the James E. Pepper distillery shuttered on Manchester. Another bourbon is currently aging at Barrel House Distillery on the grounds of the old Pepper facility. Barrel House also makes Pure Blue Vodka and Devil John Moonshine.