MONEY

Diageo to bottle at Stitzel-Weller distillery

Gregory A. Hall
@gregoryahall

Diageo, the world's largest distiller, announced Tuesday that it is beginning construction on a bottling line at the old Stitzel-Weller distillery in Shively.

The bottling line for American whiskey will begin production late this year, the announcement said, and will mark the first bottling in more than two decades at the site now used for whiskey storage. The number of jobs with the project wasn't immediately known by a spokesman.

Diageo also is converting the old distillery's administration building into a $2 million visitors center that is expected to open next month. Last week, the company broke ground on the $115 million Bullleit Distilling Co. distillery in Shelby County for Bulleit bourbon.

The Stitzel-Weller distillery opened in 1935 and was run by Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr. It made brands such as Old Fitzgerald and Rebel Yell before Van Winkle's son sold the facility and rights to the brands in 1972, according to Buffalo Trace, which took over production of Van Winkle family bourbons in 2002.

Reporter Gregory A. Hall can be reached at (502) 582-4087. Follow him on Twitter at @gregoryahall.