Earlier today, Heaven Hill Distillery President Max Shapira led a groundbreaking ceremony to commemorate the start of construction on the new Heaven Hill Springs Distillery in Bardstown. The event, which included remarks by Kentucky governor Andy Beshear and Heaven Hill Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll, paid tribute to Heaven Hill’s rich history while looking toward an innovative and ecologically-sound future. The new distillery is slated to open in 2024.

Heaven Hill Distillery Groundbreaking, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Master Distiller Conor O'Driscoll, Heaven Hill President Max Shapira

Governor Beshear jokingly said of the $135 million facility, “I’m pretty certain it is the Hogwarts of Bourbon.” Heaven Hill Springs Distillery has been engineered to minimize water use to below industry benchmarks and reuse certain water streams. The site will use native plants and natural systems to manage stormwater runoff and improve habitat on the property. The distillery will include a wastewater pretreatment system to ensure discharged water exceeds environmental standards and greatly reduces the load on the city’s treatment plant. Heaven Hill also will plan to utilize energy creation and recovery, lessening the distillery’s demand on the city’s electrical grid.

The distillery’s name is a nod to the Shapira family-owned company’s original facility, Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery. This facility was founded in Bardstown by the five Shapira brothers (one of whom, Ed, was the father of Max Shapira) in 1935; the first barrel was filled on Friday, December 13th of that year.

Modern bourbon lovers will, of course, recall that Old Heaven Hill Springs distillery was destroyed by fire in 1996. After the fire, Heaven Hill moved distilling to the historic Bernheim Distillery in Louisville, while retaining bottling and aging processes in Bardstown. The new distillery will add at minimum 38 jobs to the 381 people already working in Heaven Hill’s bottling, aging and tourism roles in Bardstown alone. Max Shapira noted that the addition of a second Heaven Hill distillery indicates a belief in the long-term economic growth potential for bourbon. “I don’t have to state it, but we are bullish on bourbon,” Shapira proclaimed to a crowd that included state and local politicians, tourism industry workers and media. “Not just in the short- or medium- term, but we are bullish for the long-term market.” Shapira went on to recognize event attendees who were Heaven Hill employees at the time of the 1996 fire.

A green and white flower arrangement in a 5 Brothers Bourbon bottle serves as a centerpiece at the Heaven Hill Springs Distillery Groundbreaking in Bardstown, KY

Cheers to Heaven Hill for recognizing their rich history while planning for a dynamic future!