(TDB) - Kentucky’s Bourbon industry contributes US$8.6 billion annually to the state’s economy – a 60% increase since 2009 – according to a study by the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.

The study also indicates that the bourbon industry in Kentucky generates $235 million in local and state tax revenue and a total annual payroll topping $1 billion generating 20,100 jobs – a 104% increase since 2009 and 2,600 more since 2016.

The industry is also in the middle of a $2.3 billion building boom, with Diageo and Stoli both in the process of building multi-million pound distilleries in the state.

In the past decade, the number of distilleries in Kentucky has more than tripled to 68, and the number of counties with a distillery has quadrupled to 32.