Kentucky distilleries have been told they are allowed to reopen on June 8, 2020, after being closed for public tours and tastings during the COVID-19 pandemic as required by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
BourbonBlog.com was the first to interview a representative from a major Kentucky distillery and brand as we talked with Jefferson’s Bourbon founder Trey Zoeller live on our nightly BourbonBlog.com/live online show.
He gave us his real-time reaction and thoughts on Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s announcement, watch what Zoeller says in the video above or on the link.
Zoeller explains it has only been 2 shifts of 2 people during the course of the pandemic at Kentucky Artisan Distillery. They’ve also been making hand sanitizer at Kentucky Artisan Distillery.
“With all the hand sanitizer we’ve been producing, we will have no excuse not to have our place sterile when we reopen,” Zoeller tells BourbonBlog.
Other Kentucky distillery representatives at several distilleries are also telling BourbonBlog.com that more guidance on how the reopening process will look is anticipated soon from the governor’s office. However, they explain, that there are still many “unknowns.”
One unknown is whether or not tasting rooms will be able to give tour guests tastes of Bourbon whiskey as per usual practice at Kentucky distilleries.
Like retail and restaurants, which have to reopen dates this week, these businesses will have to operate at 33% capacity and individual groups must be 10 or less.
More on the Announcement
Museums, outdoor and indoor attractions, and libraries will also be joining the openings in Kentucky on June 8, and guidance will be posted soon for those groups. This was all announced on Tuesday, May 19 by Governor Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Beshear said while they are still working on specific guidance for these industries, that this announcement “gives these businesses some advance notice.”
We’ll bring you more updates on the reopenings on BourbonBlog.com. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on this linkon this link.
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