Heaven Hill to Build New Distillery in Bardstown

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

Heaven Hill Distillery said it will build a new, $135 million distillery to open by the end of 2024. The state-of-the-art distillery marks the company’s return to distilling in Bardstown since a 1996 fire when Heaven Hill lost its onsite distillery, seven rickhouses, and almost 100,000 barrels of whiskey.

After the fire, Heaven Hill’s distilling moved to the historic Bernheim Distillery in Louisville, while bottling, aging of whiskey and other functions continued in the Bardstown area where they remain today.

“The people of Bardstown have helped us create and build our brands over all these many years, so it’s a special homecoming to bring distilling back to this community,” said Max Shapira, President of Heaven Hill. “Our new distillery will honor our long-time Bardstown roots while applying state-of-the-art equipment and processes to produce the highest quality American Whiskey and build upon our meaningful partnership with Bardstown and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”

Heaven Hill will build the new distillery on a vacant 61-acre site at 1015 Old Bloomfield Pike, off KY 245. Construction is to begin this spring. Initial production is slated for 10 million proof gallons a year, or 150,000 barrels, and will have capacity to ramp up to 30 million proof gallons, or 450,000 barrels, over time. Heaven Hill will continue to age bourbon at existing locations and the Bernheim distillery in Louisville will continue to operate at full capacity.

“Bourbon making is an old art, but we are applying forward-thinking approaches to ensure we are environmentally conscious and a good neighbor,” said Conor O’Driscoll, Heaven Hill Distillery Master Distiller. “Heaven Hill’s tradition of distilling with attention to detail, quality and craftsmanship will now be even more accessible as we grow our distilling heritage in Bardstown.”

Heaven Hill and Bardstown: ‘a shared and storied history’

The five Shapira brothers and a group of Bardstown-area investors founded “Old Heavenhill Springs” distillery in 1935 and filled its first barrel—labeled Bourbon Falls—on December 13 of that year. Since that time, Heaven Hill has added several acclaimed brands, earned numerous industry accolades including “Whiskey of the Year” and “Distillery of the Year,” and attracted millions of bourbon tourists to its visitor experiences, along its way to filling more than 9.5 million barrels in its history.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved incentives to support the Heaven Hill distillery project at its April meeting.

Posted in Distillery | Tagged | Comments Off on Heaven Hill to Build New Distillery in Bardstown

Wine Consumption on Rise Among 30-Somethings

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

Some wine industry observers have fretted that as the Baby Boomers retire, wine consumption overall will drop.  But a new study by LDA Opinions, a part of John Gillespie‘s Wine Opinions operation, finds wine consumption is on the rise among those in their 30s.  Wine consumption increased 2% the survey of 1,578 frequent bev/al consumers finds, while net spirits consumption declined 1%.  Equally good news for wine marketers:  The 30-somethings frequency of wine consumption rose 8%.

When it comes to spirits, the study finds nearly equal percentages of frequent bev/al consumers in their 20s or 30s purchased or consumed vodka in the prior six months (76% for both groups) and Tequila (70% of those in their 20s, 71% for those in their 30s).

But Bourbon purchase/consumption skews to those in their 30s (60%, vs. 52% of those in their 20s) while purchase/consumption of Gin skews to the younger segment (48% of those in their 20s, vs. 36% of those in their 30s).

As for hard seltzer, 36% of those in their 20s and 34% of those in their 30s say they have tried or purchased hard seltzers, but no longer buy them.

“Every category of the beverage alcohol market – beer, wine, and spirits – is being shaped by the choices of legal drinking age adults under 40,” says John Gillespie, Founder/CEO of Wine Opinions. “LDA Opinions provides insights on the perceptions, motivations, choices, and usage occasions of frequent beverage alcohol consumers in their 20s and 30s, and we have the expertise to gather, interpret, and deliver actionable market intelligence to our clients.”

Posted in beer, Research, Spirits, Wine | Tagged , | Comments Off on Wine Consumption on Rise Among 30-Somethings

Supply Chain, Covid, War, Energy Costs Make 2022 an Uncertain Year

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

The wine sector recovered a bit globally last year, reaching a record high in volume and value, Pau Roca, director-general of the International Organization of Vine & Wine, said.  But supply chain disruptions, Covid variations, the Ukraine War and energy costs make this year much dicier, he added.

Wine production last year fell about 1% to 260 million hectoliters, but consumption increased 2 million hectoliters, a 0.7% increase from 2020.  World wine exports increased 4% to 111.6 million hectoliters, the largest export volume in history and jumped 16% in value to 3.4 billion EUR.

Turning to the outlook for this year, Roca noted that the challenge for 2022 is to see how the wine sector will cope with reconsidering global supply chains and higher energy prices will put inflationary pressure on consumers.

Posted in Wine | Tagged , | Comments Off on Supply Chain, Covid, War, Energy Costs Make 2022 an Uncertain Year

Beer Shipments Rose 2.1% in March

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

Beer Institute estimates domestic tax paid ships rose 2.9% in March to 15.2 million barrels, up from 14,772,000 barrels in March of 2021.  Last year saw a small 0.9% increase from 2020’s 14,642,562 barrels.

For this year, through March 31, beer shipments are down 2.7%.  The March increase failed to overcome the 6.2% decline in January or the 5.8% decline in February.  Nonetheless, the growth in March suggests that with Spring and Summer coming, beer shipments may be looking up a bit.

Posted in beer, Sales | Tagged | Comments Off on Beer Shipments Rose 2.1% in March

Craft Brewers Can Woes May Be Over

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

More than 1,000 beverage companies have experienced aluminum can shortages in the last year, Brewers Association estimates.  Beginning late last year and continuing into this year, many of the larger aluminum can manufacturers notified small and mid-size breweries that they were raising minimum can orders to very high levels or would no longer supply cans to smaller accounts.

Now. G3 Enterprises, a family owned business that is one of the beverage industry’s leading logistics and supply companies, says it has secured a dependable supply of high-quality, line-qualified aluminum cans and lids and has contracted with KJ Can USA, which has committed to supplying millions of both printed and brite cans per year.  KJ is building a new can plant in Nashua, N.H.

“We have secured a stable supply of aluminum cans that we are making available to impacted brewers with lower order minimum quantities, competitive prices, and with shorter lead times,” said Richard Armstrong, senior director, G3 Can Division. He added, “Our company provides creative, integrated solutions for our beverage partners with quality packaging products and supply chain services. We will be able to help meet the needs of the industry so brewers can focus on their craft and their brands.”

“Our new plant is well-positioned, both with its location and timing, to satisfy the aluminum needs of brewers throughout New England and the Northeast region,” said Alvin Widitora, General Manager, KJ Can USA.  He added, “We have seen first-hand the expertise G3 brings in this space, and we are excited to now be partnering with them as our commercial representative in the U.S. and Canadian market.”

G3 Can Division has been selling cans to beverage makers for the past few years.  In addition to can and end supply in multiple sizes, the company can also print pressure-sensitive labels on various film and paper stocks using its innovative Reflection and Thermochromatic ink technologies which help seasonal and innovation brands stand out on the shelf.  The company also has closure options (corks, caps and crowns) as well as robust logistics and warehouse capabilities to meet the needs of its customers and their operations.

“The continued challenge of maintaining a consistent aluminum can supply in the market has made business very difficult for many craft brewery customers.   G3 has a well-earned reputation for delivering on behalf of our beverage customers and now is no different,” said G3’s Armstrong. He added, “We have the expertise and experience to deliver a stable supply of high-quality aluminum cans, and we are thrilled to have this new domestic supply source that we can offer to our customers.”

Posted in Packaging | Tagged , | Comments Off on Craft Brewers Can Woes May Be Over

JL Wood Releases Nouveau Chardonnay

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

Some 15,000 bottles of the nouveau will be available through finer restaurants, specialty wine stores, upscale supermarkets, and online at jlwoodwine.com.

The grapes come from a JL Wood owned vineyard in the “cone” of the Arroyo Seco AVA (Monterey County). The district is known for slow-maturing Chardonnay grapes with intense tropical fruit esters and lively acid resulting from warm summer days and ocean breeze-cooled nights.

“Our mission is to bring new and luxurious experiences to the millennial wine drinker. Our winemaker, Edward Filice, suggested we try to elevate Chardonnay into something with a far greater wow factor. We thought it would be ago od fit for the younger wine lovers we want to reach,” Paul Morrison, JL Wood Managing Director, said.

Posted in New Products | Tagged | Comments Off on JL Wood Releases Nouveau Chardonnay