LOUISVILLE, Ky. (DERBY CITY WEEKEND) - Louisville-based Hillerich and Bradsby has entered the Bourbon market.
Hillerich and Bradsby is best known for producing wooden Louisville Slugger baseball bats, but they also produce wooden bourbon barrels. Now, they’re getting back to their 19th century roots.
At their new Barrels and Billets location, guests can blend their own bourbon, sample it and bottle it.
”It’s really about understanding your pallet and what you like,” Hillerich and Bradsby spokesperson Andrew Soliday said.
After customers mix and match their favorite bourbon types, they can take it to the Bourbon Wizard machine and create their own shots. They can also take a quick 13-question survey about preferences and scan a QR code to present to the machine.
ADVERTISEMENT
If customers really like what was concocted, Hillerich and Bradsby can bottle it with a customized label.
This Hillerich and Bradsby adventure, located next to the Louisville Slugger Museum, hopes to bring more people to the area post-COVID.
”For us, rising tides lift all boats,” said Soliday, “and we’re all in this together. If we can get more people down to main street, it really benefits everyone else, so we a re so excited to open our doors and just get people down here for a fun experience and just to have people come back downtown.”
Soliday said Hillerich and Bradsby isn’t the only attraction I the area, but they were one of the first. It’s a point of pride for them.
“When we opened our doors at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in 1996, we were really a catalyst for just driving this part of West Main,” he said, “so this is really just a continuation for us as a company.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Barrels and Billets officially opens on Wednesday, Feb. 23. Guests need to purchase tickets ahead of time.
To purchase tickets and find out more information, go to the Barrels and Billets website.
Copyright 2022 WAVE 3 News. All rights reserved.