Wilderness Trail craft distillery plans $3.5m expansion

Wilderness Trail Distillery, the Danville craft distillery that opened in December on Roy Arnold Boulevard, announced plans Thursday to expand.

The distillery will move to a 21-acre lot of the John Hill Bailey Industrial Park, along the historical Clarks Run waterway. The lot includes the historical Willis Grimes House, which was built in 1859 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Distillery owners Shane Baker and Pat Heist said in a news release that they will invest $3.5 million over the next few years to turn the Willis Grimes House into a visitor center, and that they plan to build a new barrel-aging warehouse and a new still house.

Wilderness Trail Distillery is to begin construction on the two-story barrel-aging warehouse later this month. Wilderness Trail, which opened originally as Wilderness Trace, makes Blue Heron Vodka and Harvest Rum, made with Kentucky grains and sorghum. The distillery also is aging an unreleased bourbon.

For more information, go to Wildernesstraildistillery.com.

This story was originally published September 4, 2014 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Wilderness Trail craft distillery plans $3.5m expansion."