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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Brothers Wright Distilling Plans Pike County, Kentucky, Operations

10/31/2023
Brothers Wright Distilling Co. plans to establish operations in Pike County, Kentucky. The $38 million project is expected to create 28 jobs.

The new 12,000-square-foot distillery, located on a 20-acre tract – part of a larger 1,200-acre property, along Kentucky Highway 292, will use a rehabilitated underground coal mine to age the company’s product. Construction is scheduled for completion by the end of 2024.

“Our family of companies’ footprint in Pike County stretches back over 25 years. We have been blessed to live and work in the mountains of Central Appalachia over that time frame,” said Shannon Wright, co-owner and CEO of Brothers Wright Distilling Co. “Working in Kentucky’s coal mining industry has given us the opportunity to grow and support our families as well as our employees and their families. We are excited to marry two of the great state of Kentucky’s industries, bourbon whiskey and coal mining, in a new and unique approach that we hope will bring a new economic opportunity to the mountains that we call home.”

To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved a 15-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $850,000 in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of nearly $37.9 million and annual targets of creation and maintenance of 28 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 15 years; and paying an average hourly wage of $30.50, including benefits across those jobs.

Additionally, KEDFA approved the company for up to $150,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing. By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.

“It is great to see the continued growth of our state’s bourbon sector, especially when we have companies that embrace Kentucky’s history the way Brothers Wright Distilling has with this investment,” Governor Andy Beshear noted. “This is an incredibly innovative project that will use a once-forgotten coal mine to bring a great Kentucky product to market. I want to thank the company’s leaders for their commitment and for creating more great jobs for Kentuckians.”

In addition, the company can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.

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