During the pandemic, Brittany Penny and her husband decided to start their own bourbon brand, releasing “The IX.”
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bourbon’s history in Kentucky is long and storied. But every once in a while, someone shakes things up and makes waves.
That’s what Brittany Penny is trying to accomplish with 2 Cents Inc.
Penny started the company back in 2020, locked in during the pandemic and pregnant with her daughter.
Her husband was enjoying a bourbon, and thought Penny might like the aroma.
“He was like ‘smell this, you can’t drink it, but you can smell it,'” Penny said. “And all these different aromas and flavors came up and I was like ‘we should start our own.'”
A lot of hard work and elbow grease then went in to their first small batch bourbon ‘The IX,’ blended from barrels the couple selected.
Penny said she wanted to create a sweeter flavor profile, for a sippable pour that might encourage other women to dip a toe in the bourbon world.
“It doesn’t have the big old Kentucky hug. Normally bourbon is know for its burn going down,” she said. “Women who are new to bourbon love it, they absolutely love it.”
Launching the brand launched Penny into a bourbon spotlight as the first Black woman CEO of a bourbon brand in Kentucky.
“For me being the first is truly inspiring and I don’t take it lightly at all. I definitely want to be the first but I don’t want to be the last,” she said. “It really hits home with my girls, my oldest every time she sees in magazine or thinks like that she just lights up.”
With her partner in life as her partner in business, centering family is key to their mission. So much so, they put it in the company’s name.
“Penny and Penny, so 2 Cents,” Penny said with a laugh.
She said they hope to be the next in a long line of family-run bourbon businesses.
“Kind of like Brown-Forman does, Jack Daniels does, Heaven Hill, they have family owned companies and that’s what I was going for too,” Penny said. “To build that generational wealth.”
The company is currently working on its second product for release.
You can find ‘The IX’ at Louisville area liquor stores, including Frankfort Avenue Liquors, and at restaurants like Dasha Barbour’s, Watch Hill Proper and Joe’s Palm Room.
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