New Luxco Distillery, Lux Row Distillers, Opens to the Public

Fans of Rebel Yell, Ezra Brooks, David Nicholson, and Blood Oath bourbons now have a new item on their bucket lists: visit the brand-new, state-of-the-art Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown, Kentucky. The 90-acre, 18,000-square-foot facility is the latest hotspot for Bourbon tourists, as well as the new home for some of the most treasured names in bourbon history. Having just opened to the public in April, the distillery and its visitors’ center are already generating buzz in the industry and the local community.

Cut the Ribbon

At a special ribbon-cutting ceremony, Luxco CEO Donn Lux reflected on the importance of the new facility. “Today marks a great celebration and momentous occasion in the evolution of Luxco,” he said. “It gives me great pride to be here to cut the ribbon as we embark on this new chapter of distilling our own whiskey for our award-winning brands,” adding, “We further extend our sincerest thanks to the city of Bardstown and the bourbon community for welcoming our family into theirs. We are looking forward to making world-class bourbon here for many years.”

Lux elaborated on the occasion in a recent interview with Breakthru, explaining how Luxco’s future is now theirs to make, or distill, rather. “The main reason for building Lux Row was to take our destiny into our own hands and to create a home for our bourbons,” he told us. “We have been in the bourbon business for decades, but now we have a place to call home for our bourbon portfolio.” 

He told us Luxco’s next step is to “continue making our award-winning bourbons as well as start working on future innovation that will come out of Lux Row in the years ahead.” 

Luxco Creative Director Michele Lux welcomed the eager crowd at the ribbon-cutting. “Thank you all again for being here to celebrate this momentous event in the history of Luxco,” she said, as reported by Insider Louisville. “By law, the bourbon process is universal. Everyone does it the same way. It’s how you tell your story that makes you different. Soon you will experience what stands behind me and learn our story.”

The new Lux Row Distillers has a 20,000 barrel production capacity, and has the capability to increase to 50,000 barrels at some point in the future. John Rempe, head distiller at Lux Row Distillers, sees the move as a vital part of ensuring Luxco’s ability to grow in the future. “With the opening of Lux Row Distillers,” he said, “the future of our bourbon brands is in our hands – and it’s an incredible feeling.” Rempe elaborated, “I am eager to continue the tradition of our long-standing brands, as well as flexing our creativity with new flavor profiles – continuing to provide our customers with the best bourbon in the world.”

Deluxe Tourism

In a recent post on the Rebel Yell website, Kevin Didio, manager of Lux Row’s visitor center, calls the facility “a game changer,” saying, “This takes the company to the next level,” because “we’ll have a place for the brand to truly come alive.”

For years, bourbon tourism has been steadily growing, giving distillers a chance to meet face-to-face with consumers and foster brand loyalty. Having an impressive, interactive, and welcoming facility makes it that much easier for Luxco to reach the consumers who come to Kentucky from all over the country.

“Our brands never really had a home,” Rempe told Whiskey Advocate. “But now they will have a home that people can actually walk in, they can experience, they can see, they can put their hands on it. They can taste the bourbons right there. It is a big change for us, but it’s exciting.”

Donn Lux shared more of his plans with us, saying, “we are continually evolving our tour as we get additional visitors to Lux Row. And this summer we will be officially on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail,” adding “we are really excited that so many more people can see our great distillery and taste our fine bourbon portfolio.”

Recipe for Success

Luxco’s move to distilling their bourbons’ in-house means that production will shift from external vendors to the in-house team at Lux Row. Rempe understands the importance of maintaining quality and consistency throughout the move. “Our current suppliers haven’t stopped and they’re not going to stop making whiskey for us for a little while,” Rempe recently told Whiskey Advocate. He added, “but once we get whiskey that’s of age, we’ll be rolling that into our brands. Eventually all of our bourbons will come out of Lux Row Distillery … [and] the whiskey coming out of Lux Row will match the whiskey from our [current] supplier.”
Rempe is also enthusiastic about his team’s ability to experiment and play in the new space, telling Whiskey Advocate “we’ll have complete control,” and “if we want to, say, do a wheat whiskey, [we can].” Rempe sees the change as a wonderful opportunity, adding “I’ll be able to use my creativity and do whatever I want.” He expanded on that opportunity in a recent interview with Breakthru, saying, “I’m always looking for new opportunities to use my creativity to develop new products, and with Lux Row now being able to make our own whiskeys, it gives us endless opportunities to create new products down the road.”

Getting a new distillery up and running is a challenge most distillers never get the chance to face, but one Rempe was rather nonchalant about, telling us, “It’s been a lot of long days and hard work, but it’s also been a ton of fun and definitely worth everything we have all put into it.” He praised the work that went into the planning for Lux Row, saying, “We actually had a pretty smooth start-up, given the fact that this is a completely new facility. And that’s a testament to the great people who designed, built, and are now operating this awesome facility.”

Finally, Lux told us about his plans to take the opportunity to use the distillery as a way to encourage an ongoing relationship with visitors, but clarified that “the first thing we want is for them to have a great experience at Lux Row.’ 

“We have put a lot of time and energy into ensuring every part of our tour fits today’s bourbon consumer,” he said. “We know everyone will enjoy the tour, our visitor center, and especially our award-winning bourbons.”

Breakthru Salutes

We are thrilled to partner with Luxco and to distribute their full line of incredible bourbons to businesses across the country. We look forward to watching as fans visit Lux Row and carry their experiences back home. Talk to your Breakthru Sales Consultant about how your business can leverage Luxco’s popularity into real sales growth.

 

 Images courtesy of distillerytrail.com