Results 1 to 1 of 1
Thread Information
Users Browsing this Thread
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
-
11-07-2011, 10:54 PM #1
Made in America: Bourbon Boom in the Heartland
Made in America: Bourbon Boom in the Heartland
By JONATHAN KARL (@jonkarl)
Nov. 7, 2011
There's a bourbon boom in the heartland. Production has expanded, sales have broken records and employment is on the rise.
Bourbon, an 100 percent American product that is almost as old as the U.S. itself, has not seen this kind of demand since the end of Prohibition, according to the Kentucky Distillers Association.
"It's a remarkable thing," said Max Shapira, president of Heaven Hill Distilleries. "A remarkable turnaround for an industry, especially in this kind of economic climate."
Production of bourbon has been up 18 percent in the past year and continues to soar. In Kentucky, there are now more barrels of bourbon than there are people, according to the Kentucky Distillers Association.
According to Fred Noe, great-grandson of Jim Beam, half of the company's business is now overseas.
"We're selling American products around the world, which is great," said Noe, the seventh-generation Beam family distiller. And it means jobs, he said.
Made in America: Exporting Bourbon Watch Video
Entrepreneur Can't Bring Jobs to U.S.? Watch Video
Noticing a slowing American market, bourbon makers aggressively sought sales overseas. They improved quality and capitalized on what made them different: By definition bourbon can only be made in America. Distillers could sell bourbon by selling America itself, plastering horses, cowboys and the Kentucky Derby right on the bottle.
The results have been lucrative.
In the past decade, bourbon exports have boomed, reaching 126 countries.
In Spain, sales are up 153 percent and in France, where ads showcase Mount Rushmore, sales have increased 286 percent. They are also up 98 percent in Australia and 55 percent in Germany.
Guthrie McKay, owner of Toddy's liquors in Bardstown, Ky., told ABC News the boom has been tremendous for all aspects of the bourbon industry.
"You got the truck drivers that deliver it, the people that make the barrels ... you got all the restaurants that benefit from it," he said.
One cooperage in Louisville has added 60 new jobs over the past three years, employing 270 people. There are new jobs on the bottling line too.
Kathryn Winspear had been out of work for three years after the Ford plant where she worked shut down. Now she's bottling the good stuff at Jim Beam.
"It means a lot to Kentucky," she said.
Maker's Mark is racing to build new warehouses to store all its barrels. The bourbon inside the barrels won't be ready until 2016, but Maker's Mark is banking on a long boom.
Once it's ready, each bottle will be dipped in wax by hand, a tradition Maker's Mark says no boom will bust.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/ ... d=14896867NO AMNESTY
Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.
Sign in and post comments here.
Please support our fight against illegal immigration by joining ALIPAC's email alerts here https://eepurl.com/cktGTn
BACKWARDS WORLD: Illegal alien encampments treated like royalty...
05-15-2024, 09:35 PM in General Discussion