The Blending House opens in Kentucky
Consulting firm The Spirits Group has opened a 30,000-square-foot blending and bottling facility in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
Built in collaboration with Indiana-based construction firm The Koetter Group, the new facility spans 108 acres in Shelbyville.
With the capacity to handle up to 250,000 cases annually and operating at speeds of 35 to 40 bottles per minute, the site is considered critical for the company’s next phase of growth.
The Blending House highlights The Koetter Group’s ‘innovative’ K-Rax Premium Barrel Storage system across seven advanced rickhouses, each capable of holding 20,000 barrels.
After years of collaboration with third-party bottlers, the operation was designed to incorporate industry best practices while addressing critical gaps.
With a focus on vertically integrating post-distillation needs, The Blending House is said to offer state-of-the-art barrel storage, expert blending, precision bottling, and comprehensive back-office support in a single site. The team comprises industry veterans with decades of experience.
Monica Wolf Brown, CEO of The Blending House, said: “As the distilled spirits industry evolves, the strategies that built brands over the past decade won’t necessarily sustain them in the decade ahead.
“We built The Blending House to give brands a reliable base of operations, allowing producers to protect quality, operate efficiently, and grow without the capital burden of building and operating their own facility. Currently, there are no other facilities like it in Kentucky or the US.
“We were built to bottle, with no competing priorities. When brands work with us, they know their production isn’t an afterthought; it’s our core mission.”
Services
The Blending House provides comprehensive bottling services, including filtration, proofing, and packaging. It features a custom-built bottling line capable of handling formats ranging from 200ml to 1.75 litres.
The facility also offers both automated and artisanal packaging options, along with a dedicated secondary line for hand-finished and custom products.
The Blending House is said to adhere to strict quality assurance standards and offers guidance on labelling and regulatory approval.
Additionally, clients can choose from a range of back-office support services, including packaging development, logistics, bookkeeping, graphic design, marketing, and domestic product distribution.
Matt King, director of operations at The Blending House, explained: “Our facility layout, equipment, and overall concept allow us to put our customers first, with flexibility to align our operations around their timelines and standards.”
Blending services take place in a dedicated sensory lab, led by master blender Ashley Barnes.
The Spirits Group is a spirits consulting firm, founded in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2017 by Wolf Brown and Barnes.
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