April 1 update: Investors plan 12th century technology for new bourbon distillery
A group of investors are planning to bring a new distilling operation to the Bardstown area that will use 12th-century technology.
NC GAZETTE
STAFF REPORT
Saturday, April 1, 2017 — Nelson County’s well-earned reputation as the epicenter of the world’s bourbon industry has attracted a group of investors who are planning what may be the county’s newest industry, the Gazette learned Saturday, April 1st.
Taking a cue from other distillers with unusual names, the investors promise that Rot Gut Swill Ltd. will be unlike any operation the county has ever seen. The anonymous group of Kentucky investors say they are planning what will be Kentucky’s largest little distillery.
“We’re basically making a micro distillery on a macro scale,” one of the investors told the Gazette.
The company planned distillery’s processes aren’t just innovative, they’re downright dangerous. As such, the investors will petition Nelson Fiscal Court for its support in creation of a new industrial zoning class.
The county’s heaviest industrial zoning classification now available is I-2, Heavy Industry. The investors will seek support for a new I-3 zoning class, specifically designed for Really Hazardous & Irresponsibly Operated Industry.
The new zoning classification is necessary for a couple of reasons, investors told the Gazette.
First, the company says they will have the lowest employment qualifications of any industry in the county.
“If you have brain activity and a pulse, you’re good to go,” an investor said.
INNOVATIVE PROCESS. The second reason Rot Gut Swill Ltd. seeks a new zoning classification is the experimental process it plans to employ.
The company’s chemists say they will use a new “inverse distillation process” that will convert used, fermented sour mash back into its original grain components.
“It’s based on the same ancient, time-honored principles alchemist used in the 12th century to turn metals like lead into gold,” Rot Gut’s chief scientist said. “We expect to be at least as successful as they were.”
The reintegrated mash will be then go back through the traditional cooking and distilling process to create the new distillery’s namesake product, “Rot Gut Swill Premium Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey,” and a new product, “86 Proof Old Turpentine.”
A company spokesman said it understands community concerns about the arrival of an industry that will use hazardous and highly experimental processes in close proximity to farms, neighborhoods, schools and commercial districts.
“We get what they’re saying,” the spokesman said. “The truth is we just don’t care.”
For more information contact the company at Rot_Gut_Swill@yahoo.com.
-30-
