VERSAILLES, Ky. — Kentucky’s tourism and bourbon industries continue to boom with another new investment coming to Central Kentucky. Versailles in Woodford County will soon welcome its sixth bourbon experience with Saga Spirits Group distillery.
The 150-acre site behind the Kroger off of Lexington Road will be home to a $92.5 million bourbon-related investment. It will include a distillery, interactive visitors center, tasting room and even some dining and lodging.
Versailles mayor Brian Traugott said the project will create around 89 new jobs.
“It will be a regional, statewide, national draw. It’ll be unique to the Bourbon Trail and it will just allow us to showcase the other parts in Versailles and Woodford County that those of us who live here know are so great,” Traugott said.
Traugott said the city was looking to sell the industrial lot for years and was looking for a project to avoid subdividing the 150 acres.
“The problem is our labor market here is extremely tight so if we were to pursue the traditional, large employee count employers then we would’ve cannibalized existing industries, so this is really the perfect way to get rid of the property,” Traugott said.
Saga Spirits Group, headed by one of the Angel’s Envy founders and Kentucky Castle owner, Wes Henderson, will pair the distillery with the Kentucky Castle which already has a farm-to-table restaurant, lodging and bourbon bar.
“It’s going to be yet another unique experience. Not every distillery is made the same so this would pair with the castle ownership and that castle experience. It’s going to be kind of a royal bourbon experience,” said executive director of Visit Woodford, Emily Downey.
Downey said large investment helps keep the small town thriving for its residents. Visitors spending money, locally.
“We couldn’t survive without our visitor experiences here. We are a small community, and we love that and want to keep it that way and a way to do that is to invite our guests in because when they come, they impact the local economy,” Downey said.
Once complete, the production side of the experience will also affect local farmers.
“At the distillery aspect, they’re going to try and source locally their inputs from Woodford County farmers. I think Wes said they’re going to target 90% so to create a market for our local farmers is a big deal,” Traugott said.
The land was sold by the city for $7 million with $4 million in profit. The city used its income to avoid long-term debt on capital projects.
The tourism industry supports 274 jobs and generated $38 million in economic impact for Woodford County in 2023, according to a Kentucky Tourism.