(TDB) - Bourbon distilleries added an additional US$1 billion to Kentucky’s economy over the last two years alone, according to figures from the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA).

Overall, the Kentucky Bourbon industry adds $8.5 billion each year into the state’s economy, up $3 billion since 2008 and $1 billion in the last two years alone, providing the state $825 million in tax revenue, according to the association’s biennial study, conducted in collaboration with the University of Louisville’s Urban Studies Institute.

The number of distilleries in the state now stands at 52, with a “$1.2 billion building boom” currently taking place as a number of distilleries are built and expanded, driven in part by the repeal of the ad valorem barrel tax.

The repeal, under House Bill 445, offers Kentucky distillers a corporate income tax credit against the amount of barrel taxes paid, providing the money is reinvested into their work in Kentucky.

“By virtually eliminating the barrel tax, we paved the way for more than one billion dollars in new distillery investments and created jobs for thousands of Kentuckians,” said Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester. “That growth is exactly what an authentic signature industry can do for Kentucky.”

Currently, the industry supports some 17,500 jobs, taking into account its supply chain as well, a rise of 2,000 positions since 2014. Pay for those workers was found to have increased to more than $800 million from $707 million in 2014.