A new $200 million distillery opened in Somerset this week.

Horse Soldier Bourbon has opened its own distilling operation just a few miles where this military team turned.

Entrepreneurs got the call to serve in Afghanistan in the days after nine over 11.

Our Mackenzie Spink tells us more about their story and the new distilling campus.

Just in time for the country's 250th birthday.

The opening of Horse Soldier Farms celebrates Kentucky's rich bourbon industry, as well as the service of the veterans who started the company.

Its origins traced back to a 2001 training mission on the Cumberland River, when the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Since that Green Beret team to Afghanistan, some on horseback.

Horse soldier bourbon joints, Kentucky's signature spirits industry with a backstory that celebrates both our Commonwealth and our country when our nation needed them most.

This group of dedicated soldiers answered the call and defended our nation.

And now, some 25 years later, the Horse Soldier Team has returned to the Commonwealth, bringing new jobs, award winning and delicious bourbon and tourism to bring this thriving Somerset community even further.

In 2015, Horse Soldier Bourbon launched its award winning whiskey.

Now they're back in Pulaski County with a 100,000 square foot facility expected to have a $100 million impact on the Lake Cumberland region.

Ten years ago, a small group of us decided to start over and build this.

It takes about ten years to make the bourbon you'll be enjoying this weekend.

So the whiskey in your glass.

And this company grew up together in the dark, waiting to be ready.

Wakes together somewhere back in another life.

This group was selected for a certain kind of difficult work.

And selection isn't about being the strongest.

The fastest, or the smartest.

It's about being the one who takes one more step after everyone else stops.

That's who fills this bottle.

The group's unique history is included in touches across the facility, as well as the design of the bottle.

Some of your fans and you know there's 12 hidden meanings in this bottle, and I'll explain them all today.

They're yours to discover.

But the shoulders, for instance, is because we had to carry the weight of our nation, and the cross and hatchet is from our Granger and Greber brothers, and the metal is a play on words, and it means the courage to try.

But the glass is just the vessel.

What matters most is what's inside and what's inside isn't only bourbon, it's also the spirit and all of us that distill it.

The tourism impact of bourbon distilleries is not an accident.

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers says it's good to see the end results of legislation that paves the way for opportunities like this new distillery.

I remember back in 2014 when we changed the tax code to make it more conducive to have your stock here without it being tax on bourbon, the industry alone.

Then we changed, I think in 15 or 16 with the Tourism Development Act, which allowed the sale of alcohol on site and to become a tourism destination, and then you or you wonderful things are going to make a difference.

And then you go through and you continue to try to work on a tax code or regulatory system to create an economic dynamic where people can chase the American dream.

And now you're seeing the American dream has been caught by this group, and we thank you for what you have done and the investment not just in Somerset and Pulaski County, but this will be an investment for the total region.

Bringing people here to see this facility and taste good.

Kentucky Bourbon for Kentucky edition.

I'm McKenzie Spink.

Cumberland.

Thank you.

McKenzie.

And according to recent data, last year was Kentucky's fourth straight record year for tourism with over $14 billio