With Brown-Forman laying off 12 percent of its workforce and a looming trade war with much of the world, one of Kentucky’s signature industries faces significant challenges. Lexington-based Barrel House Distilling co-owner Pete Wright says while their products are presently only sold in Kentucky, they’ve been approached recently about selling used bourbon barrels overseas.
“But whether or not that's going to be something that's viable here in the next in this next year, it will be a question mark, just because of those, those potential tariffs.”
Wright says there’s also a chance if large companies selling overseas are hurt by tariffs, they may flood the domestic market, which could hurt Barrel House’s chances of sell to the rest of the U.S. Despite that, they are expanding. Fellow co-owner Jeff Wiseman:
“We're actually building a new distillery right now over in Cynthiana and Harrison County, and we're, you know, so we're going to stay here as well. Always, the plan was to stay here as well because we're a half mile from Rupp Arena.”
Wright says their future could include sales to Canada and possibly Mexico, but acknowledges threats of new tariffs by President Trump against those countries could affect those plans.
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