GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — When Blue Run Spirits opens its new distillery and headquarters in Georgetown, it won’t just be bourbon connoisseurs making the trip to visit.
Designed by international architect firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the facility has already been deemed a work of art, and it hasn’t even broken ground yet.
Titled “Meander,” the facility includes a 35,000-square-foot distillery and a 20,000-square-foot rickhouse. There's also an amphitheater in the modern and elaborate designs.
In a press release, the Blue Run Spirits team says, “The design is meant to evoke the journey of the limestone-rich water of the Royal Spring in Georgetown as it winds its way through the distilling, aging and blending process to becoming fine Blue Run bourbons and rye whiskeys.”
“When you start coming into a design like Meander with the curls and swirls and colors…distilleries like that don't come around,” said Jake Kratzenberg, COO and CFO at the Bourbon Flight.
The new distillery won’t just get the bourbon flowing. Ramifications are expected to ripple throughout the state.
“Blue Run Distillery is going to create 40+ jobs, but it’s not just the jobs, it’s the tourism,” said Kratzenberg.
The bourbon expert believes the newness of Meander alongside Kentucky staples like Buffalo Trace and Makers Mark will elevate the bourbon industry as a whole while giving some distilleries a run for their money.
“You have a lot of distilleries rooted in history,” explained Kratzenberg. “Some of the rickhouses are over 100 years old. So, you bring in a new distillery, it doesn't have the history, but it has the bourbon to back it up. A lot of new distilleries or the older distilleries will have to up their game to get more of an attraction. The Meander Blue Run Distillery is gonna be a must-see.”
Ground breaks on the facility in 2023, with a projected opening date sometime in 2025.
