In contrast to the stresses felt in agriculture, many industries are coping well with the drought. You might have to drink your bourbon straight instead of with branch water, but that's about the only bourbon industry concession to the drought. The maker of Heaven Hill, Evan Williams and Elijah Craig uses river water and spring water, and has had enough to maintain usual production. But the distillery may have to go farther afield for its corn, which usually comes from within 80 miles. The situation is similar for Brown-Forman, which makes Woodford Reserve in Woodford County.
Racetracks also are in good shape.
The only live thoroughbred racing in Kentucky now is at Ellis Park in Henderson, which waters the track after each race, said Karl Schmitt, spokesman for Churchill Downs, which owns Ellis. At Churchill, where horses are training, the track is watered twice a day. In Lexington, at the Churchill-owned Kentucky Horse Center, things are a little different. Just as the distilleries are still distilling and the racehorses still racing, Toyota is still making Camrys. As part of the Kentucky-American Water Co.'s increasing alert on the water shortage, large industrial users of water could be monitored and asked to cut back.