Louisville craft spirits blender buys Shively rickhouse for $2.41M for 'increased demand'

Matthew Glowicki, Louisville Courier Journal
·1 min read
The five-story warehouse on 7th Street Road in Shively was built in 1940 as part of a bourbon distillery campus. The rickhouse was bought in late 2022 by Barrell Craft Spirits.
The five-story warehouse on 7th Street Road in Shively was built in 1940 as part of a bourbon distillery campus. The rickhouse was bought in late 2022 by Barrell Craft Spirits.

A Louisville-based spirits blender and bottling company has bought a 1940s rickhouse in Shively to help meet increased demand.

Barrell Craft Spirits purchased the five-story, 89,000-square-foot warehouse in late December for $2.41 million, the company announced Monday.

The Louisville-based company cited increased demand for its whiskey and rum as the drive behind the acquisition.

Angel's Envy previously owned the rickhouse, 3430 7th Street Road, which sold in 2013 for $530,000, according to Jefferson County Property Valuation Administration records.

"Working with approximately 65 different producers presents logistical challenges for transporting and accessing all of these barrels,” the company's founder Joe Beatrice said in a release. “The new facility will help to solve these challenges and allow for increased storage space near our blending facility."

Barrell New Year Bourbon 2023 is a tribute to the optimism that every new year brings, says the brand, and to that end, it's brought us a careful blend of five, six, seven, nine, and 14-year-old straight bourbon whiskeys from points across the country.
Barrell New Year Bourbon 2023 is a tribute to the optimism that every new year brings, says the brand, and to that end, it's brought us a careful blend of five, six, seven, nine, and 14-year-old straight bourbon whiskeys from points across the country.

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Dating back to 1940, the rickhouse was built as part of the Yellowstone Distillery campus, which produced Yellowstone bourbon. It can store more than 17,500 barrels.

The distillery was bought by Glenmore Distilling Company of Owensboro, which ran the plant until it closed in 1991, according to The Filson Historical Society.

Barrels are expected to start filling the warehouse by the end of the month.

Barrell Craft Spirits, founded in 2013 in Louisville, blends cask-strength whiskey and rum to create unique blends that replicate tasting a spirit straight from the barrel.

Business reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo. 

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Barrell Craft Spirits buys Shively rickhouse for $2.4 million