Blue Grass Airport and Cork & Barrel Announce Plans to Open Bourbon Store

Blue Grass Airport announced a partnership with Lexington's Cork & Barrel Wine & Bourbon Bar to open a retail bourbon store in the airport terminal. In a prime location, beyond the security checkpoint, travelers will now have an opportunity to purchase bourbon products to take with them in their carry-on bags so Lexingtonians and visitors alike can enjoy Kentucky's distilled spirits when departing from or arriving to Lexington.  

Primarily carrying bourbon and bourbon-related products, this store will be the second retail location for Cork & Barrel. Owned by husband and wife team Jim and Bev Taylor, Cork & Barrel has its main store on Nicholasville Road. The airport location will include wine and craft beer products, but will emphasize Kentucky bourbons, barrel heads, bourbon-themed jewelry and apparel, and bourbon-based culinary products.

"With Kentucky being the supplier of 95 percent of the world's bourbon, it is only fitting that Blue Grass Airport has this signature product available for our passengers," said Eric Frankl, executive director at Blue Grass Airport. "We are fortunate to have our partners at Cork & Barrel leading this initiative at the airport. Jim and Bev's expertise will allow us to showcase the bourbon industry and provide our travelers with an excellent amenity." 

The store, scheduled to open in spring 2017, will have architecture that resembles an authentic Kentucky barrel house. The exterior of the store will include an actual barrel rick — a wooden structure used to hold bourbon barrels during the aging process. The rick will be built using timbers from an historic distillery in Frankfort and will include more than a dozen full-size bourbon barrels from various Kentucky distilleries, providing a great "background" for travelers to take their photos and immediately be embraced by Kentucky's bourbon heritage.

"Bev and I are thrilled to be working with the team at Blue Grass Airport to help promote Lexington as the gateway to the historic bourbon region," said Cork & Barrel owner Jim Taylor. "While not every traveler will be able to visit a distillery, we'll recreate some of that experience with our unique displays and, of course, great bourbons, too."

Working with master distillers, special "barrel picks" will be personally selected by Cork & Barrel and offered for sale. Less than 200 bottles are typically filled from a single barrel and are branded with special labels. These unique, one-of-a-kind bourbons cannot be bought elsewhere and will be a special treat for visitors at Blue Grass Airport.