West End Gin Secures State Incentives for Louisville Distillery
West End Industries will build a distillery in Louisville's Portland neighborhood after receiving $112,500 in Kentucky tax incentives.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Cocktails
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West End Industries received $112,500 in state tax incentives from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority on October 29 to support a planned distillery. The company plans to invest roughly $6 million to build the facility in an industrial building in Louisville's west end.
Why it matters
The project brings a Black-owned gin producer's planned production site and tourist destination to one of Louisville's most underserved communities, with the company aiming to become a neighborhood anchor. For Louisville readers, it adds a new distillery and tasting venue to the city's cocktail and spirits scene.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved $112,500 in state tax incentives on October 29, 2026, against a planned roughly $6 million build-out. The West End Gin lineup currently includes two expressions, The West End at 88-proof and The Rose Ann Edition, while the timing and final size of the distillery remain to be confirmed.
The players
West End Industries
The Louisville company behind West End Gin, which is Black-owned and is building the distillery in the Portland neighborhood.
Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority
The state body that approved $112,500 in tax incentives for the West End Industries distillery project.
Dawn Wade
A co-founder of West End Gin alongside Stacey Wade, who launched the brand more than two years before the funding approval.
Stacey Wade
A co-founder of West End Gin alongside Dawn Wade, who launched the brand more than two years before the funding approval.
The details
The planned distillery will occupy an industrial building at 1301 W. Main St. in the Portland neighborhood, renovated into a production site and tourist destination. The space will include a tasting room, a botanical garden, retail space, a speakeasy smoke room and distillery tours.
Timeline
West End Gin launched in 2024, more than two years before the state funding approval.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved the $112,500 in incentives on October 29, 2026.
The tasting room is targeted for completion in the third quarter of 2027.
Season Trajectory
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority's approval extends its use of state incentives to a craft spirits project in Louisville's Portland neighborhood. Louisville's distilling sector has been a visible part of the city's economic identity, and this project adds a Black-owned producer to that landscape.
Louisville residents who enjoy cocktails will gain a new local distillery with a tasting room, retail space and tours once the Portland site opens. The project is aimed at a neighborhood the company describes as underserved, which may bring new foot traffic and jobs to the area.
The takeaway
A new neighborhood distillery in Louisville's west end signals how state incentives can support locally owned craft beverage businesses that also serve as community anchors. Readers interested in the project can watch for the planned 2027 tasting room opening.
What happens next
The tasting room is targeted for completion in the third quarter of 2027, a fixed milestone the company has publicly projected.
Further reading
Explore more Louisville Cocktails coverage for context on the city's spirits scene.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Courier-Journal.
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