Bluegrass Bottling LLC, a Kentucky-based, woman-owned business, will construct a new bottling facility in Lancaster with a $6.25 million investment that will create 27 full-time jobs for Kentucky residents.
Bluegrass Bottling operates in Garrard and Lincoln counties, currently employing 14 people in Kentucky. The company will build a 50,000-square-foot bottling facility on a 98-acre site in Lancaster, where the company will operate under the name Poor Ridge Distillery. The project also will more than double the company’s storage space to a total of 49,000 square feet. Bluegrass Bottling will retain its employment base from its current bottling facility in neighboring Lincoln County, where the company will maintain a distribution presence. Construction is expected to begin next month with completion slated for March 2023.
“We could not be more excited and proud to be a part of Kentucky’s bourbon industry,” said Lisa Strevels, owner of Bluegrass Bottling. “This investment will be vital to our company’s continued growth in the commonwealth, and we look forward to expanding our presence in Lancaster.”
Established in 2020, Bluegrass Bottling’s services include blending, proofing, brand development, labeling, private labeling, specialized packaging and designing of spirits brands.
The company’s investment builds on recent bourbon and spirits growth across Kentucky. Since the start of Governor Andy Beshear’s administration, the commonwealth’s spirits industry has announced more than 50 new-location or expansion projects totaling over $1.1 billion in planned investments and creating more than 900 announced full-time jobs. Currently, approximately 60 spirits facilities directly employ more than 5,300 people. Kentucky’s bourbon sector is a nearly $9 billion signature industry, generating more than 22,500 jobs with an annual payroll exceeding $1.23 billion.
Gov. Beshear worked with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to remove bourbon tariffs on trade with the UK and European Union, ensuring continuing strength in the export market.
