Editors note: This article has been updated to properly identify the type of licensing Pennyroyal Distillery hold with the Public Square address in Columbia.
Pennyroyal Distillery, formerly Pennyroyal Barrel Company, announced in July 2023 plans to open a bourbon incubator in Adair County, but the project is now on hold indefinitely due to current conditions within the bourbon industry, according to co-owner Ross Hutchison.
The land previously reserved for the project by the Adair County Economic Development Authority is once again available for other interested businesses.
“We do have product out, trying to create our own momentum and put ourselves in a position to be able to build,” said Hutchison. “We’re not saying we are not doing it. We are not giving up on the project, but there’s nothing currently in the works.”
“Our intention or our want is to build there in Adair County,” he said.
Hutchison said the pause is largely due to instability in the bourbon market, which has experienced overbuilding, overproduction and shifting consumer habits. Several distilleries have opened in recent years, while others, including some large facilities, have already closed.
“So, you have overbuilding, you’ve got tariffs and trade, and then you have, not a decline in consumption, the consumption is actually up year over year if you remove covid from the number, but it’s becoming stagnant. People are drinking a little less alcohol overall,” he said.
“We are still moving forward with the brand. We’re moving forward and still wanting to have a distillery; we would love for that distillery to be in Adair County,” said Hutchison.
Hutchison said the company had secured millions of dollars in incentives and completed the required process in Frankfort, but access to those funds required construction to begin first, a step the company determined was not financially feasible at this time.
Jim Rutledge, master distiller, remains involved with the project. He distilled and blended a small batch of bourbon released on Sept. 5, 2025, titled Echoes of Oak. Pennyroyal partnered with Kentucky Eagle to distribute the product.
Pennyroyal holds limited in-state distilled spirits supplier's license with an address on the Public Square, Hutchison said plans to open a temporary storefront, gift shop and tasting area while construction was underway are also on hold. As of now, the company does not have a physical presence in the county.
“Pennyroyal is alive and working,” said Hutchison. “We are still doing things and always trying to evaluate things and figure out ways to move forward with the build or a facility.”
Hutchison said the decision to pause was also decided based on responsibility to investors and the community.
“That’s part of the reality that we are looking at,” said Hutchison. “We wanted to be responsible stewards of not only our money, but the money that was invested in us and also the community like what good does a build out there do if we took land from the county and it just sits vacant.”
“That was part of the decision making and saying, okay, we’re just pushing pause,” he said. “Right now is not the time. We will continue to build; hopefully get some good momentum and be in a better place. Let the market be in a better place or more stable place and revisit and continue to revisit.”
While the distillery project remains paused, Hutchison said Pennyroyal will continue focusing on brand growth and monitoring the bourbon market, with plans to revisit construction in Adair County when conditions become more stable.
By Amy Pike
amy@adairvoice.com
