Lexington, KY – When Alltech opens its new distillery at the end of September, not only will it be the first new distillery built in Lexington in more than a century, it will also join the "trail" of one of Kentucky’s signature industries.
Opening September 28th with tours starting October 1st, Alltech’s Downtown Distillery will be the home of Town Branch Bourbon and Lyons Reserve, a single malt whiskey. It will also mark the first time a new city has been added to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail since it was formed in 1999 by the Kentucky Distillers Association. With the distinction Lexington joins Lawrenceburg (Four Roses and Wild Turkey), Bardstown (Heaven Hill), Clermont (Jim Beam), Loretto (Maker’s Mark) and Versailles (Woodford Reserve) as cities along the popular tourist draw.
In the past five years, more than 2 million visitors have toured the trail, and last year nearly 12,000 visited each of the six member distilleries. The addition of Town Branch’s home makes Lexington the first urban area to join the tour.
“Any time the second city in the state can pull one on the major city, I guess that’s always good for competition,” Alltech’s Founder and CEO Dr. Pearse Lyons said in a nod to Louisville, which has made a push in recent years for “urban bourbon.”
“It’s the only distillery in the middle of a city and I think that’s going to speak volumes. That means people can walk from the Hyatt or the downtown Hilton, they can walk over here and see the distillery and get a feel for what whiskey is all about,” Lyons said.
Visitors along the Bourbon Trail are given a passport for each of the soon-to-be seven distilleries to stamp upon competition of a tour. Once all distilleries have been visited, the passport is redeemable for a Bourbon Trail t-shirt featuring silhouettes of each distillery’s bourbon bottle.
“When you broke ground, I remember a comment you made,” Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau President Jim Browder said to Lyons during a press conference, “you hoped tourists would come. All I have to say is: ‘hold on.’”