Exciting Developments At Diageo's Shelbyville Distillery

SHELBYVILLE, Ky., July 27, 2015  On July 6, the first barrels of whiskey started arriving at the brand new warehouse now standing in Shelbyville, Kentucky.  From now until October, barrels will arrive every day for unloading into the warehouse.  Stacked six high, the warehouse will hold a whopping 55,000 barrels.  Four new employees, Vicky Storey, Austin Blakeman, Michael Dodson and Christopher Thompson, have just been trained in the past few weeks are working the forklifts and getting the barrels moved in.

"The new team is doing an amazing job of getting the barrels into the new warehouse efficiently and safely," said James Henson, warehouse manager.  "Stacking each 3,000 pound pallet up to six high is a delicate business, and they are doing great."

Once the first warehouse is filled in October, the second of six planned warehouses will be ready for inventory.

In addition, the metal frame of the new distillery is now standing and is visible from the main road.

"Things are taking shape and there is lots of excitement here," said Dan Feeser, Director of Operations overseeing the project.  "There is lots of activity now, with about 150 construction workers at the site.  We expect that at the height of construction we will have about 250 construction workers on site."

"I am very pleased to say that so far this project is on schedule and we are looking forward to starting to make whiskey in late 2016," said Feeser.  "We truly appreciate all the support we have gotten from the community, especially all our immediate neighbors, as construction begins to ramp up in earnest."

For updates and photos of progress at the site, please visit us on Instagram at "BulleitDistillery_Shelbyville".