Bill to preserve distilleries’ bourbon barrel picks heading to Kentucky Senate
Barrel picks, those unique bourbons cropping up everywhere from Keeneland to your local whiskey club, would be protected under Kentucky legislation that heads to the Senate floor.
State Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, proposed the bill, SB160, which Tuesday morning unanimously passed the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee that he chairs.
Schickel said the new legislation was necessary because under Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration, alcohol regulators have determined barrel selections don’t meet existing regulations.
For more than a decade, individual groups, from clubs to businesses, have been coming to distilleries and sampling barrels to bottle their own unique version of a particular brand of bourbon. The bill would allow them to continue doing so.
The barrel picks have become increasingly popular in the bourbon industry, said Chris Nolan, speaking for the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.
“Barrel picks are the backbone and the future of the bourbon industry,” Nolan told lawmakers.
State Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said protecting this major growth area for distilleries is important for consumers too.
“A lot of hard-to-find bourbon is becoming more hard to find,” Thayer said. “Consumers look to stores, restaurants and bars for barrel picks because that has an aura of uniqueness about it. It’s becoming more and more popular.”
