Bourbon Is BOOMING In Kentucky, And We Do Mean Booming

As has often been said here before and also across the rest of the whiskey media world, bourbon is going through a golden renaissance at the moment the likes of which have not been seen in several generations. Recent new data out from the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) suggests this growth is continuing at a staggering rate, as Kentucky’s booze industry increased its economic output by $1 billion in the last two years alone.

This data comes from a biennial study conducted by the University of Louisville’s Urban Studies Institute in conjunction with the KDA. The full highlights of this you’ll find in a long range of bullet points at the end of the article, but the most important takeaway, besides the $1 billion increase, is that another 2,000 or so distillery-related jobs were added to the industry’s workforce in the same related time period.

“The powerful growth of Kentucky’s Bourbon industry is a testament to our proud history of innovation, engineering and manufacturing,” said Kentucky governor Matt Bevin in a prepared statement. “It is a genuine, home grown, only-in-Kentucky success story.”

As we continue cutting bureaucratic red tape across the Commonwealth, we will pave the way for even more economic opportunity and job growth in the Bourbon industry, as well as every other industry across the Bluegrass state.”

Here’s the list of the major highlights of the economic and job impact of the bourbon industry:

• Distilling contributes $8.5 billion to Kentucky’s economy, up $3 billion since 2008 and $1 billion in the last two years alone. This includes direct, indirect (spin-off) and induced impacts;

• As many as 17,500 people owe their paychecks to the spirits industry; either directly, or because their employers are part of the industry supply chain, or due to the household spending of those people. This is up 2,000 jobs from 2014;

• Payroll for those workers increased to more than $800 million, from $707 million in 2014;

• New craft distilleries employ 200 people with salaries totaling more than $5.5 million;

• Average salary for distillery employees is $95,089;

• Distilleries are in the middle of a $1.2 billion building boom driven by the virtual repeal of the ad valorem barrel tax and new tourism reform measures;

• Use of locally grown corn has increased by 65 percent in the last two years, aiding Kentucky’s farm families;

• Distilling has the second highest job multiplier in the state when it comes to total number of jobs and spin-off factor, behind only light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing;

• More than $190 million in tax revenue for local and state governments is generated by spirits production and consumption, distillers pay another $625 million in federal excise taxes;

• At 34.4 cents per dollar of output, Kentucky taxes spirits higher than all other 536 industries in the state. Kentucky’s spirits tax rate is fifth highest in the country among open market states;

• The number of distilleries has grown to 52 – the most distilleries in Kentucky since the repeal of Prohibition;

• Bourbon barrel inventory, now at 6.7 million, has reached its highest level since 1974;

• If the industry continues to grow at this rate, economic output will exceed $10 billion by 2020, with employment more than 20,000, payroll over $1 billion and state tax revenue $200 million.