The software-driven approach pioneered by a new Kentucky distillery runs counter to the low-tech methods of whiskey’s old guard. Its mix of data and automation might help pave a way forward.
In case you missed it, the American whiskey industry is seemingly in free fall. The once untouchable bourbon business has seen many big brands abruptly retreating, with sales of Bulleit down 7 percent and Wild Turkey down 8 percent in the first half of this year. Brands like Kentucky Owl and Garrard County Distilling have filed for bankruptcy. Uncle Nearest, one of the “it” bourbon brands of the past few years, went into receivership in August.
All of that is a long way to say that the present makes for an awfully inauspicious time to launch a new Kentucky distillery, but for bourbon veterans David Mandell and John Hargrove, cofounders of Whiskey House, industry chaos equals opportunity—thanks in part to a massive investment into tech to bring an often antiquated industry into the 2020s...
RSK: I like a good bourbon every now and then, especially after a Badger football victory...so my throat is a little parched. What does this mean? Well, without the human touch, it does take a little of the bloom off the rose. I mean, a little human error could lead to a new taste experience. I get the business side of things and why it is a ghost distillery.
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- - Volume: 25 - WEEK: 43 Date: 10/21/2025 9:48:42 AM -