LEXINGTON, Ky. – There’s a new bourbon distillery in Kentucky, and it’s located on University of Kentucky’s campus.

The James B. Beam Institute distillery has opened its doors to students, with the intent of offering students a chance to learn the ins and outs of Kentucky’s spirits industry through its Whiskey Apprentice Program.

The institute has been a part of the school since 2005, but the physical buildings are built and open for hands-on learning starting this fall. The program is part of the school’s College of Agriculture, but it’s also available to students from different colleges.

 “The students can earn a 12 credit-hour Certificate in Distillation by taking agriculture-related courses on horticulture, forestry and entomology, and the course also includes courses in engineering, chemistry, business, law and science,” said Seth DeBolt, institute director and UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment professor. “The course is ideal for agriculture students as they’ll learn about distilled products made from fermented items such as corn, sugar cane, fruits, honey, maple sap and others.”

Bourbon, a prized product from Kentucky, is made from corn and grain, such as amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa.

“When we think of spirits like bourbon and others we need to think of them in the global context, as we can use sugar cane from the Caribbean, agave from Mexico, even wheat and barley from Scotland,” DeBolt said.

Students wanting to earn the Certificate in Distillation must first take two required courses: Distillation, Wine and Brewing Science, and Spirit Chemistry.

Distillation, Wine and Brewing Science teaches viticulture (growing grapes for wine), making wine, brewing science and distilling. This course will focus on introductory concepts, career paths available and problem solving.

 Spirit Chemistry will teach students about the production of distilled spirits involving three basic steps: selection and processing of a carbohydrate (starch or sugar), fermentation of the carbohydrate to produce ethanol and distillation of the ethanol. Seven distilled spirits are discussed in detail: moonshine, vodka, gin, rum, tequila, bourbon and scotch.

After completing these two required courses, students then choose electives from the following: Brewing; Wine; Distilling; Food Service; Tourism Principles and Practices; Special Problems in Plant & Soil Science; Experimental Learning in Plant & Soil Science; Craft Writing; Bourbon Oral History and others.

 According to DeBolt, the Wine elective will be of interest to ag students, especially those who might pursue a career in the commercial grape and wine industry. These ag students will learn about the history of grape production, basic grapevine physiology and anatomy, vineyard design and establishment, and the important pathogens of grapevines.

 Ag students, he adds, can choose electives related to plant and soil science. This elective, he says, is a field-based learning experience in plant and soil science under the supervision of a faculty member. DeBolt said all UK students can earn a Certificate in Distillation alongside their degree.

“After completing this 12-credit hour course students can take their knowledge anywhere, apply it to running their own business, go into agriculture economics and much more.” DeBolt said.

 “For every 100 students that are coming through the certificate,” he said, “you’ve probably got 1,000 that are learning about this industry. And that’s a great way to potentially attract a more robust workforce.”

 The new UK campus facilities include a research distillery building, with a 30-foot column as the centerpiece, and the Independent Stave Company-Boswell Family Barrel Warehouse capable of storing 600 barrels of bourbon. The maturation facility allows the Beam Institute to experiment with barrel aging spirits produced in its research distillery.

“This is the largest teaching distillery in the U.S. and in the world,” DeBolt said. “It will allow us to train and the next generation of distillers and researchers, and to conduct cutting-edge research on the science of spirits production.”

The Beam Institute is a multidisciplinary effort of experts from the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, College of Engineering, College of Arts and Sciences and Gatton College of Business and Economics.

 “We’ve got opportunities to come in with agricultural innovations through grain,” said Brad Berron, research director at the institute. “We can do engineering innovations through distillation techniques and we can also study all the business innovations in terms of how these new bourbon businesses are evolving in the state of Kentucky and really support those.”

Tours to this facility will be offered to the public in early 2024.