Stoli CEO says new distillery, visitor complex still on track for Kentucky Owl

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Friday, Sept. 16, 2022 — Plans to develop the former rock quarry at the intersection of Bloomfield Road and KY245 are still in the works, according to the parent company’s CEO.

Damian McKinny, chief executive officer of the Stoli Group International, said the plans are moving forward to build a distillery and visitor experience in Bardstown.

Stoli Group bought Kentucky Owl in 2017 and announced plans to build a $150 million archistectural masterpiece — a lakeside complex at the former quarry property that will include a new distillery, visitor center, cooperage, rickhouses, bottling house, restaurant and convention center on 420 acres.

Though the company held an official groundbreaking in November 2017, construction has been delayed. Costs have risen significantly, and the project now is expected to run into the “hundreds of millions.”

The company is planning to build a temporary visitor’s center that will begin construction next month and open by April 2023, McKinny said. Visitors will be able to watch the complex rise from the ground-up.

The Kentuck Owl Park complex, described by some as the “Disneyland of Kentucky Bourbon, should have its distillery operational in about 2-1/2 years.

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