Kentucky residents fight Rabbit Hole distillery expansion

Some 399 Louisville residents have signed a petition opposing the demolition of two pre-Civil War buildings as part of Pernod Ricard’s Rabbit Hole distillery expansion.

Kentucky-based Bourbon brand Rabbit Hole has come up against the local community in Louisville after it was revealed that its distillery expansion plans would lead to the destruction of two historic buildings in the Nulu neighbourhood.

Local resident Kevin Dohn launched a Change.org petition on 12 June to save the two buildings. The petition calls for officials to designate the buildings as landmarks, making it more difficult to level the structures.

The petition read: “The two buildings slated for demolition are a quaint solid brick shotgun house at 223A S Clay St and a three-story solid brick Italianate building at 749 E Jefferson St.”

Dohn, who works in renovations, said he believes that both buildings likely date back to before the Civil War.

“As a progressive designer, I’m all for modern development, but it is best done creatively incorporating historic structures, and Rabbit Hole can easily afford to do this. Once these centuries-old structures are gone, they won’t ever come back,” he said.

Both buildings sit in an area within which Rabbit Hole is proposing to expand by nearly 80,000 square feet.

The project aims to make the property the brand home of American whiskey for parent company Pernod Ricard, according to the Courier Journal. Its construction would increase Rabbit Hole’s hospitality offering, bring jobs to the local area and reconfigure aspects of its on-site whiskey production.

Expansion would increase visitorship from 55,000-60,000 annually to up to 150,000. Distillery capacity will remain the same.

At least one historic building on the block has been incorporated into the new distillery plans, which were introduced in March 2023, and will become part of the retail space and entry lobby.

Kaveh Zamanian, Rabbit Hole’s CEO, founded the distillery in 2012 in Louisville and opened its three-story NuLu distillery in 2018 at 711 E. Jefferson St.

The petition was due on 11 July and required 200 signatures to be considered by the city government. Eligible petitions trigger a study by the Louisville Metro Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission, followed by a public hearing, after which the commission may vote to deem the properties landmarks.

Pernod Ricard is investing heavily in the American whiskey category. The French spirits giant has launched a North American Distillers (NADL) division to solidify its presence in the sector. Read more here.