Wes Henderson plans $92.5m distillery
The co-founder of Angel’s Envy Bourbon, Wes Henderson, will build a US$92.5 million whiskey distillery in Kentucky.
The 150-acre site will be located in Edgewood, Woodford County, according to the office of Kentucky governor Andy Beshear.
The project is being led by Saga Spirits Group, a company headed by Henderson who left Angel’s Envy in March 2022.
The development will include a distillery, an interactive visitor centre, a tasting room and restaurant.
The project will also make improvements to the nearby Kentucky Castle, located four miles from the site, to cater to visitors exploring the state’s Bourbon Trail and the Keeneland Racecourse. In 2023, Henderson purchased Kentucky Castle for US$19m, which is home to a spa, hotel and ‘farm-to-table’ restaurant.
Henderson founded Louisville-based Angel’s Envy in 2006, alongside his father Lincoln Henderson, who died in 2013. The American whiskey brand was acquired by Bacardi for an undisclosed sum two years later.
“It has been a huge blessing to be members of the Kentucky Bourbon industry for many generations,” said Saga Spirits CEO Henderson. “To begin this next chapter for the Henderson family, we have chosen Versailles and Woodford County. We are humbled and honoured by the support we are receiving from government officials, tourism development, businesses and residents.”
Henderson added that the project is expected to break ground this autumn.
“Our team is composed of experts in distilling, distilling finance, supply chain and logistics, marketing, packaging and hospitality, with combined expertise of more than a century of success in the industry,” he continued.
The development is projected to create 89 jobs, paying an average hourly wage of US$38.62.
The Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority approved up to US$4.192m in tourism tax incentives for the project. Saga Spirits received approval for a separate US$1.05m in incentives last year.
“People from all over the world travel to Kentucky for our Bourbon, horses and hospitality, and this project from Saga Spirits will give our guests and our neighbours one more reason to visit and to fall in love with Kentucky,” said Beshear.
Henderson previously teamed up with Blackened American whiskey’s master distiller and blender, Rob Dietrich, to create a Bourbon finished in white Port casks as part of the brand’s Masters of Whiskey Series.
The Angel’s Envy co-founder was also a member of the board of advisors for Hiatus Tequila.
Henderson followed in his father’s footsteps in 2019 when he was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.
In 2022, Angel’s Envy appointed Owen Martin, of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, as its master distiller and opened a US$8.2m visitor centre expansion in Kentucky.
Known for cask-finishing, Angel’s Envy recently released its first unfinished whiskey.
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