Kentucky Distilleries Are Raising the Bar
Town Branch is one of many distilleries stepping up to produce hand sanitizers
Distilleries are donating millions to service industry relief organizations, and finding creative ways to stay engaged with customers
As COVID-19 continues its escalation throughout the world, this faceless, invisible enemy has caused businesses, organizations, and life as we knew it to grind to an unfortunate halt. In the spirits industry, while most distilleries worldwide are closed to visitors, some have continued operations with a skeleton crew, and some have switched gears to help make hand sanitizer for those on the frontline of combatting the virus.
In Kentucky — where there is now two barrels of bourbon aging per resident — the distilleries are doing their part, as one of the state’s leading industries, to offer up monetary relief for those in the service industry, as well as continue to reach their customers in creative ways. Many of them also have swapped out bourbon for hand sanitizer and are getting the much-needed germ fighter to area healthcare workers.
Of course the larger companies, like Brown-Forman (Old Forester, Woodford Reserve), Beam Suntory (Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark), Diageo (Bulleit, Blade & Bow), Campari (Wild Turkey), and Bacardi (Angel’s Envy) have each donated at least $1 million to bar and restaurant industry efforts. And others, like Heaven Hill, Sazerac (Buffalo Trace, Barton 1792, etc.), Michter’s, Rabbit Hole (partnered with Pernod Ricard) and Kentucky Peerless Distilling have ponied up thousands of dollars as well for the very same causes.
“The people of Beam Suntory and our colleagues at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits are passionate about helping support the bartenders, restaurant workers, and their families whose lives have been turned upside down by the global pandemic,” said Albert Baladi, president and CEO of Beam Suntory, in a news release. “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary actions. We are proud to support the trade community and their livelihoods, as they are part of our extended Beam Suntory family, and we are fortunate to be part of an industry where so many companies are uniting to assist our communities in this unprecedented battle.”
Beam Suntory also put out a touching video on YouTube featuring all their distillers — from Fred Noe (Jim Beam) and Rob Samuels (Maker’s Mark) to Sarah Dowling (Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey) and Carlos Camarena (El Tesoro) — expressing their utmost respect for bartenders who work with their products every day.
Heaven Hill, the makers of Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Larceny, Old Fitzgerald and many other brands, has pledged $400,000 in the communities where they operate, which includes Louisville, Ky.; Bardstown, Ky.; Austin, Texas; Lethbridge, Canada; and Dublin, Ireland. The company took into account two main priorities: employee communities and hospitality professionals.
And Sazerac — producer of renowned brands like W.L. Weller, Pappy Van Winkle, Elmer T. Lee, Buffalo Trace and, yes, Fireball — has created the World’s Biggest Tip Jar campaign, getting things started with a $100,000 donation and matching all contributions up to $400,000. The ultimate goal is to reach $1 million, and donations as of press time are $152,068.
Jay Erisman of New Riff Distilling, courtesy New Riff
Connecting Through Quarantine
Meanwhile, distillers in Kentucky also are coming up with creative ways to engage customers, who mostly remain at home due to government recommendations and safety precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. Some, like New Riff Distilling in Newport, Ky., Lux Row in Bardstown, Ky., and Kentucky Peerless Distilling in Louisville, are offering curbside pickup of their bourbon, while brands like Old Forester and Woodford Reserve suggest using delivery services like Drizly for their products, even offering a coupon for first-time users. Old Forester also has free downloadable tasting mats and tasting videos for anyone wanting to drink through the portfolio.
Meanwhile, liquor stores in Kentucky remain open, deemed an “essential business” by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
Two Kentucky craft distilleries discuss how they’re coping during the crisis, and if they can see brighter days ahead
Cordell Lawrence, director of marketing and strategy at Kentucky Peerless, says it’s business as (somewhat) usual at the Louisville-based distillery in terms of production, although the crew is practicing social distancing while at work. And for those visitor center employees who still want to work, Peerless is reassigning them to maintenance and production roles to keep them engaged and, best of all, paid
On March 18, Peerless started a curbside pickup program for its single-barrel products, donating a portion of the sales to the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild’s Emergency Relief Fund. So far, that service has been popular.
Old Forester tasting mat
“We decided to offer curbside sales, because it’s time that we serve America’s bartenders who have so graciously served us over the years,” says Lawrence. “The overwhelming generosity has been truly humbling and awe-inspiring. Our patrons have gone above and beyond to contribute to our donations.”
Along with the donations, the Peerless crew make it a point to order takeout every day from local restaurants and bars. “Additionally, we are connecting with friends in the bourbon and tourism industry to ensure we are implementing best practices and also to lend an ear to any uneasiness,” Lawrence adds. “We don’t know what the future holds, but we know there are brighter days ahead. It’s inspiring to see so many in the bourbon industry step up to assist. Our industry is a tight knit community that is truly compassionate.”
About 90 miles north in Newport, Ky., New Riff Distilling co-founder and distiller Jay Erisman echoes that sentiment and also shares similar news of his operations.
“We’re in full production as normal, distilling whiskey all week long and putting barrels into the warehouse,” he says. “The distillers are standing six feet away from each other, and as far as we can tell this does not affect the quality of the whiskey! We’re also still operating our warehousing and bottling lines, although those have also been adjusted to maintain social distancing.”
New Riff is also offering curbside services to area customers as a way to continue the strong partnership between distillery and patron. “We're actually quite excited about the possibilities,” explains Erisman, who says they’ve received a handful of sales during their first week. “It lays some groundwork for future outreach to bourbon consumers. Perhaps what we see on the other side of this thing is not only a return to normal — or a ‘new normal’ — but also new patterns of behavior and new relationships formed with bourbon lovers.”
Erisman believes that as long as they can stay in production, the craft distillery will be just fine. In order to keep front-of-the-line staff employed, the distillery also is reassigning roles and producing hand sanitizer to be donated to local first responders.
“Curbside pickup sales with online purchasing is a way to keep our gift shop operating during this unprecedented shutdown, even if the total traffic is a fraction of what it used to be,” he says. “A lot of us smaller distilleries rely considerably on gift shop and tourism sales, and the economic effects of the pandemic are really hard on that, of course. We’re not as heavily impacted as the very small producers, but still, it hurts. So please, go support your local distillery!”
courtesy Kentucky Peerless
Erisman recognizes the industry as a whole has taken a hit, but he believes bourbon will persevere.
“We have every faith and certainty that the bourbon industry will bounce back — in fact, despite the shutdown of tourism, consumers are continuing to enjoy Kentucky's whiskey,” he says. “Most of all, Kentucky’s distilleries are, for the most part, remaining in production with distilling and bottling, and that bodes well for the future (and it bodes well for older, well-aged bourbons of the future).
“On a deeper level,” Erisman continues, “this pandemic has affected a disruption in the ‘bourbon boom’ or the lifestyle organization around bourbon and bourbon tourism. Bourbon societies, for example, can’t meet up every month like they used to. As an industry, we will need to reconnect with them on the other side of this thing, but we also need to find new ways to stay connected during this crisis — hence our own in-house initiatives at New Riff. Our creative wheels are turning faster than ever.”