Green River Distilling Company revives a legend
Over the past several days our community has celebrated a comeback which was over a century in the making.
From Wednesday’s fireworks celebration to Friday’s community celebration, Green River Distilling Company revealed the label, bottle and bourbon that will put Greater Owensboro at the front of the pack on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Their team is made up of people at the top of their professions. From the top-quality branding, the one-of-a-kind signature bottle and the visitor experience, to the quality of the bourbon, every detail is world class. These people are the A Team.
Simon Burch, the CEO, expects that 50,000 people a year will visit by 2027. That’s 50,000 people a year coming to our community. The potential economic impact is staggering.
Not only is there the direct and obvious economic impact to the company and the community by money spent here by visitors, there is long-term potential impact from visitors who come to our community for the first time and see what we all know — that we have a great city where you can live, work and play.
Jacob Call, an eighth-generation master distiller born and raised in Kentucky, has created a bourbon that will be the talk of the bourbon world. It is just that good.
We often do not think about the level of investment, thousands of hours of toil and the sacrifice that so many people make to create a first-class destination with a first-class product. And all of this sacrifice is made toward a concept where you cannot predict an outcome. At each and every turn, there is risk. This week’s smashing success was not guaranteed. That makes this moment even more special.
The team mentality is one other quality that needs to be recognized. Bluegrass and barbecue were prominent aspects in all of the launch events. Our community’s hallmarks all complement one another. And they will each help the other succeed.
Thank you, Green River Distillery for believing in our community and sticking with us, even through some tough blows over the past few years. We are deeply grateful.
A launch video sums this up quite appropriately: “1885 might seem like the distant past, but in whiskey years it seems like yesterday. Bourbon making is the art of patience.”
Well, my friends, patience has paid off.