Green River Distillery has sold 19 rickhouses in Ohio County to free up capital, but they will continue using the buildings to store barrels of bourbon through a lease agreement, officials confirmed this week.
The warehouses were built in two phases: O.Z. Tyler constructed the first nine before selling the property to Green River, which later added 10 more at the site after facing zoning restrictions in Daviess County.
Property manager Jim Estes said all 19 rickhouses, each about 20,000 square feet, are now owned by Dynasty Property Group LLC, an Owensboro-based investment group.
“They did a lease-back on it, so they’re going to stay in the facilities,” Estes said. “But they just freed up a lot of equity to do other things, to do what they do best — bourbon stuff.”
Estes noted that the warehouses require little daily oversight, though Green River typically keeps one or two staff members on-site for security, drop-offs, and pickups.
In addition to the Ohio County site, Green River has rickhouses at its Owensboro campus and has more recently constructed new storage facilities in Hancock County.
Lofted Spirits Public Relations Director Holly Weyler said the move reflects the distillery’s growth strategy.
“We will continue to use the location for barrel storage, but selling the buildings will allow us to invest in capital elsewhere within the business,” Weyler said.
The sale is not yet finalized, but Weyler confirmed the transaction is in progress.
