This might be bourbon's jumping the shark moment......

[flahute]

Stoli's new plans for a $150 million bourbon theme park and distillery for Kentucky Owl.

 

https://www.kentucky.com/news/business/bourbon-industry/article221639740.html

 

From the article: " According to Stoli, the design for the new Kentucky Owl Park “will be a collection of one-of-a-kind buildings that are rooted in industrial vernacular design, each of which will be carefully sited within the natural rustic landscape. Shigeru Ban’s vision for the site harkens back to the 19th century with long span steel structures that have been reinterpreted with the use of mass timber.”

 

Rooted in industrial vernacular.......so they give us three pyramids? What the heck?

(Full disclosure, I am an architect. I work for an award winning and internationally recognized firm so this is not an opinion from a position of envy).

 

This is a very odd choice.

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/business/bourbon-industry/article221639740.html#storylink=cpy

[cdcdguy]

Love the idea of a bourbon dinner train stopping at distilleries!

[BottledInBond]

Do they not notice that batch 2 of the rye is just sitting on shelves? And batch 8 of the bourbon seems to be a slow seller too. Maybe they should figure out the right pricing and distribution stuff before building this crap

[Harry in WashDC]

I'm a troll, fol-dee-roll

And I'll eat your money for supper.

 

OTOH, if they build it at 7/8 scale like Disney does with its themepark downtowns, maybe people will show up.  I mean, LOTS of us drag our kids to Disney World/Land/bars so we can tell them about all the neat stuff we did when we were THEIR age.  ASIDE - Is my cynicism showing?  IF so, blame it on the Longranch Old Fashions I made tonight for Happy Hour.

[PaulO]

This all sounds like some kind of fake news story April Fools Day prank.

[Kane]

If anybody still had doubts at this point, this says a thing or two about the profit margins on those bottles.

[Kepler]

This is rich.  Good find Steve.  And yes I agree if this happens it will definitely become the jump the shark moment.

[jvd99]

This is exactly the kind of place Mrs. jvd99 wants to go on vacation!!! 

[DeepCover]

This owl-themed bourbon wonderland doesn’t have a roller coaster or even a ferris wheel. I’ll bet they don’t even serve cotton candy. I’m afraid i’m out.

[Saul_cooperstein]

Isn’t this type of investment a good thing? $150m investment in bourbon production and related infrastructure. Good for local economy. Good for more bourbon production. Even better that they care about the architecture. Who cares if you like or buy the bourbon - I have never bought or tried KO. However still seems to me to be a good thing. 

[Obeezy1Kaneezy]

Cool concept, but those pyramids are stupid looking af. 

[flahute]

29 minutes ago, Saul_cooperstein said:

Isn’t this type of investment a good thing? $150m investment in bourbon production and related infrastructure. Good for local economy. Good for more bourbon production. Even better that they care about the architecture. Who cares if you like or buy the bourbon - I have never bought or tried KO. However still seems to me to be a good thing. 

Investment is a good thing, yes. Caring about the architecture is not the same thing as good architecture or appropriate architecture. What I see in this master plan and the pyramids is the kind of over indulgence and irrational exuberance that happens near the peak of hysteria.

Keep in mind that it matters not a bit that you've never bought or tried KO because what gets distilled at this place will taste nothing like it because current KO is sourced. So this massive investment is going towards a whiskey that doesn't even exist yet. Nobody has any idea if it will be any good. They are trading on a cult brand name.

 

I am reminded of the phrase "All hat, no cattle."

 

Also, I know this architect's work. It is not affordable architecture. The value engineering they will face will be an enormous challenge to maintaining the integrity of their work.

Color me extremely skeptical of the whole affair.

[VAGentleman]

19 minutes ago, flahute said:

 

Keep in mind that it matters not a bit that you've never bought or tried KO because what gets distilled at this place will taste nothing like it because current KO is sourced. So this massive investment is going towards a whiskey that doesn't even exist yet. Nobody has any idea if it will be any good. They are trading on a cult brand name.

 

I am reminded of the phrase "All hat, no cattle."

 

 

May not be totally fair bit this totally reminded me of Smooth Ambler

[Mako254]

27 minutes ago, flahute said:

Investment is a good thing, yes. Caring about the architecture is not the same thing as good architecture or appropriate architecture. What I see in this master plan and the pyramids is the kind of over indulgence and irrational exuberance that happens near the peak of hysteria.

Keep in mind that it matters not a bit that you've never bought or tried KO because what gets distilled at this place will taste nothing like it because current KO is sourced. So this massive investment is going towards a whiskey that doesn't even exist yet. Nobody has any idea if it will be any good. They are trading on a cult brand name.

 

I am reminded of the phrase "All hat, no cattle."

 

Also, I know this architect's work. It is not affordable architecture. The value engineering they will face will be an enormous challenge to maintaining the integrity of their work.

Color me extremely skeptical of the whole affair.

 

Just keep the circus out of Lawrenceburg!

 

[Richnimrod]

10 hours ago, Obeezy1Kaneezy said:

Cool concept, but those pyramids are stupid looking af. 

...'af'...????   Huh?

[Obeezy1Kaneezy]

2 hours ago, Richnimrod said:

...'af'...????   Huh?

as f***

[Saul_cooperstein]

I suspect that while KO will be the ‘face’, this project and its scale is really to grow stolli exposure in American whiskey (I think that article mentioned that stolli whiskey team would also office there). Again, architecture aside, seems like a good thing for more investment in bourbon production and the competition that can come from another big player (stolli) getting into the mix. Here’s to hopes of a glut 5-10 years from now of well aged, well made American whiskey with competition and lots of deep pockets behind it. 

[smokinjoe]

7 hours ago, Saul_cooperstein said:

I suspect that while KO will be the ‘face’, this project and its scale is really to grow stolli exposure in American whiskey (I think that article mentioned that stolli whiskey team would also office there). Again, architecture aside, seems like a good thing for more investment in bourbon production and the competition that can come from another big player (stolli) getting into the mix. Here’s to hopes of a glut 5-10 years from now of well aged, well made American whiskey with competition and lots of deep pockets behind it. 

Please, let’s not hope for a “glut”.  That’s not going to be good for anyone, long term.  

[Old Hippie]

It seems to me that most of us value the rich history and heritage of the Bourbon industry. It is the only beverage that I am aware of that is distinctly American. It is not given to short cuts or gimmicks (at least not in the long run). It accepts advances in understanding and improving the basic concepts of bourbon production as long accepted guidelines and laws are adhered to. The industry is showing remarkable and sustainable health in both growth and innovation. There is a genuine thirst for information about the product in the bottle (age, mash bill, distiller, equipment, history, lore etc. etc.) so that informed decisions can be made. 

What most of us do not like are gimmicks to artificially inflate prices well past the quality in the bottle. I realize I am an old fart and not of the mind set of the millennials,  which are driving much of the growth, but I do not see a winning proposition here.

Now, GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

[GaryT]

Wait . . . they're actually selling 2 yr barrel proof rye for over $100 . . . and we haven't jumped the shark yet?  Where do I sign up for a 5 yr nap until this is all over  

[flahute]

3 hours ago, GaryT said:

Wait . . . they're actually selling 2 yr barrel proof rye for over $100 . . . and we haven't jumped the shark yet?  Where do I sign up for a 5 yr nap until this is all over  

Oh buddy.........wait until you see more of these plans. It's ridiculous.

[PowderKeg]

Watched the embedded video below:

 

https://www.distillerytrail.com/blog/kentucky-owl-bourbon-and-stoli-unveil-21st-century-design-and-3d-rendering-of-its-new-pyramid-shaped-distillery/

 

While the forester/woodworker/timber beast in me would really enjoy viewing the incredible woodwork and architecture this Japanese design will present - stunning doesn't begin to cover the possibilities - the Bourbon Geek in me absolutely doesn't want my bourbon distillery "experience" to be re-visioned and re-packaged in some artsy-fartsy globalist's re-interpretation of what a distictly and uniquely American product should look like in their eyes.  Give me old school stone, brick, mortar, heavy squared  timbers, tin cladding - restoration or re-creation, not re-interpretation.  I love Barton, BT, WR, and 4R for old school American industrial distilleries, and Willett, AE, OF, even L-R for new/recent construction.  Really looking forward to C&K tomorrow - did the Resto Tour twice and want to see the final results of their years of hard work restoring an iconic distillery experience, with gardens, a train station, et al - as EHT originally envisioned and built it. 

 

Never say never to going one day to the future KO, but it won't be high on the list, at least not for a bourbon "experience".

[Obeezy1Kaneezy]

9 minutes ago, PowderKeg said:

Watched the embedded video below:

 

https://www.distillerytrail.com/blog/kentucky-owl-bourbon-and-stoli-unveil-21st-century-design-and-3d-rendering-of-its-new-pyramid-shaped-distillery/

 

 Really looking forward to C&K tomorrow - did the Resto Tour twice and want to see the final results of their years of hard work restoring an iconic distillery experience, with gardens, a train station, et al - as EHT originally envisioned and built it. 

 

 

I just did the tour tour a couple weekends ago.  It’s absolutely beautiful.  I hope the bourbon that starts coming out of C&K is just as good.  

 

Also, if you’ve never driven further down McCracken, head down & see the Old Crow Distillery.  It’s fenced in but you can park & check it out from the road.  I wish someone would try & restore that behemoth!  It’s a sight to behold, & kind of sad that it’s just sat there all these years dilapidating with it’s great history.  

[Obeezy1Kaneezy]

To answer my above post...  Glenn’s Creek bought it in 2013 & has plans to restore it. 

[Paddy]

^^^Glenn's Creek is distilling (and restoring) on a shoe string.  If you stop by they'll usually spend a bit of time with you, and give you a nice look around...