Willett Distillery is expanding its bourbon and rye production to a second Kentucky location after nearly 90 years at its flagship Bardstown facility. The company announced the new distillery, situated in Springfield, Ky., today.
The Springfield facility, just 18 miles from Bardstown, spans 150 acres and is slated to offer 35 full-time jobs, according to a press release. In addition to the distillery, the new location features barrel-aging warehouses.
Willett inaugurated operations at Springfield by barrelling its first whiskey last Thursday. “Beginning production in Springfield allows us to grow while continuing to honor the people, places and traditions that have made Willett what it is today,” Willett master distiller Drew Kulsveen says in the release.
Though production has begun, construction at the new facility is not yet finished. Willett plans to build amenities for visitors “in the following years” and for the Springfield location to join the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
The expansion comes while other whiskey distilleries are temporarily shuttering production sites. In December, Jim Beam, which consistently ranks as the best-selling American whiskey brand by volume, shocked the industry when it announced it would halt production at its flagship location.
Willett has remained a family-owned business since its 1936 founding. After producing its first batch of whiskey in 1937, the company paused operations a number of times until 2012 when current owners Evan and Martha Kulsveen fully resumed on-premise distilling.
