Pennyroyal project draws interest, moves forward

The July announcement that Pennyroyal Barrel Co. will be investing $8.52 million into a project at the Green River Commerce Park has sparked attention for the company owners from across the world.

They have heard from a number of supporters and potential investors, and several serious conversations are already taking place with companies interested in developing their brands through Pennyroyal’s services as an incubator for start-up bourbon companies.

“We’ve had four different brands reach out to us,” co-owner Ross Hutchison said earlier this week. Hutchison said one company is from California and he was traveling to Louisville to meet with representatives from an overseas company at the time of the phone interview. Two other companies are located in Nashville.

Hutchison, who is an attorney in Nashville, and business partner Daniel Griffith announced plans to develop a 4-acre campus at the Green River Commerce Park in Adair County for Pennyroyal Barrel Co., which provides a new concept in the industry by providing a bourbon incubator for third party brands.

The property will include a state-of-the-art blending and bottling facility, single-story rickhouses for consistent aging, a storefront to purchase each brand’s products and apparel, a tasting room in a repurposed grain silo, a single barrel selection room and a wooded amphitheater with walking paths.

Hutchison said they have been putting together the team that will operate the facility, and it will include Doug Beard, an Adair County native with decades of experience at Brown-Foreman Corporation, most recently serving as manager of global strategic meetings and events for the Louisville-based company.

Hutchison said Pennyroyal is now working on the engineering process for buildings at the new facility.

By Sharon Burton
snburton@adairvoice.com