Groundbreaking held for new Midway distillery

MIDWAY, Ky. (WTVQ) — A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday for Bluegrass Distillers’ new $8 million operation in Midway.

State and city leaders joined the distillery owners at the property.

The new location, expected to open this fall, will include a 36-inch column still and six, 18,000-gallon fermentation tanks with room for future growth, as well as barrel warehouses, a bottling line, a tasting room, visitor center and event space.

Once open, the distillery will increase Bluegrass Distillers’ capacity by over 100 times to meet growing demand and facilitate contract distilling and a bottling operation.

“We never came in this industry thinking we’d be this huge grand distillery and things like this. We evolved and our plan is to always be a family based business and that’s sort of the heart of who we are,” said co-owner Sam Rock.

Bluegrass has been distilling for nine years.

Its products include Kentucky Straight Blue Corn Bourbon, Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon, five rye whiskies and seasonal products.

Since 2019, the company has maintained a philanthropy barrel program, with a goal to raise money through single barrel selections to benefit local nonprofits.

To date, more than $75,000 has been raised.