With such a wide range of bourbon options in Kentucky, how cold weather affects production could be front of mind for some.

"On the aging side, the cold's a big part of it," said Cody Giles, head distiller at James E. Pepper. Giles particularly refers to temperature gradients.

"You're pushing the whiskey into the wood and then during the cold weather, that would contract, and it sort of pushes its way back into the interior of the barrel," he explained.

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After being closed early last week, James E. Pepper is back up and running, with distilling and fermentation not taking too much of a hit.

However, Giles said, "If we got really, really cold, maybe sub-zero for extended periods of time, it would probably hurt us a little more."

For now, the head distiller says they're on schedule. From the stillhouse to the fermenter room, with frigid temperatures outside, Pepper Distillery works to keep the aging process consistent and quality the same.

"My philosophy on the fermentation and distilling side for flavor is a clean fermentation is going to be most important," Giles noted.

Moving barrels to their storage facility, Giles cannot overstate the importance of the next few days.

"Extreme, extreme cold. Always run the risk of pipes freezing, pipes bursting," Giles said.

Giles and six full-time distillers are watching the forecast closely as operations continue.

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Operations assistant Katherine Foley told Scripps News Lexington that Pepper Distillery does not temperature control their warehouses or pump heat into them.

"Our warehouses are built to experience natural temperature fluctuations throughout the year," Foley said. "When it's cold outside, like it is now, the aging process does naturally slow down, but this is not detrimental to the quality of our bourbon. These seasonal changes allow each barrel to develop its own distinct profile based on its placement in the warehouse and exposure to varying temperatures over time. Hopefully this cold weather pattern will result in some unique single barrels in a few years."

Pepper Distillery has about 7,000 barrels at its storage facility in Midway.

This story was originally published by Drew Amman at

Scripps News Lexington.

Blood donors are a constant need throughout the year, but from Christmas to New Years, the need becomes dire.

The holidays are going on which means people are spending time with family, Christmas shopping, traveling, and the fact of the matter is they're generally not here donating blood, said Eric Lindsey, director of media and branding at the Kentucky Blood Center.

Compared to pandemic-era numbers, 2024 proved positive for the blood center, but according to Lindsey, good doesnt cut it in the blood donation world.

When it comes to saving lives, good is not good enough, so we always need donors, said Lindsey.

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To supply its 70 partner hospitals, the center required 400 donors each day. Lindsey said that they dont hit their goal often enough. Right now, the Kentucky Blood Center has only a half days supply of O- and A- blood.

If youre looking to beef up your New Years resolutions, the center encourages you to consider donating.

If for nothing else, at some point you may need it and you would hope someone would donate for you, said Donald Meibers.

For about 50 years, Meibers has been a blood donor. Each time he donates, hes saving three lives.

Its a good feeling, he said.

Whats more, donating blood takes less than an hour. Upon arrival, you will be asked a short series of questions to ensure you qualify to give. Once completed, you can give blood, which takes only about 12 minutes.

People are making New Year's resolutions, trying to get off to the right start, so we hope blood donation is one of those things, said Lindsey.

According to the American Red Cross, someone in America requires a blood transfusion every two seconds.

The organization added that blood donations continue to lag into the new year as icy winter weather and seasonal illness can cause continued shortages.

This article was written by

Megan Mannering for Scripps News Lexington.

It's been more than a month since President-elect Donald Trump won the presidential election.

One of his campaign slogans reads "drill, baby drill," which is his push for a less expensive economy by boosting oil supplies after consumer prices soared during the pandemic.

His solution to combat the prices? Speed up drilling and boost oil supplies.

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The top five gasoline-producing countries are Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Canada. Together, all of these produce 52% of the global supply that's enjoyed by 195 countries worldwide, according to Eastern Kentucky University assistant professor and global supply chain management program director James Kirby Easterling.

"So, I think what could happen is that China and Russia in particular if we start increasing the amount of gas that we produce in the United States they may actually reduce the amount of gasoline that they are producing," explains Easterling. "Which in turn would keep the gas prices that we see at the pumps."

Easterling believes we could see some gas relief going into 2025, but not by much. "I think in 2025, we're going to see some continued reductions at the gas pump. I don't think anyone should expect to see gasoline at two dollars a gallon."

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"They're gonna do what's best for them and in fact what might be best for them is to actually reduce or slow the amount of gasoline they're producing. Again, it's a global economy for gasoline. Which would keep those prices somewhat high."

AAA reports that, as of Sunday, the national average price of gas is $3.02.

Aside from gas, Trump also claims boosting oil supplies could reduce other costs as well, saying, "We've been conditioned to pay those higher prices and there really isn't that much of an incentive to decrease them going forward."

Easterling says that even though things are expensive from a consumer perspective, manufacturers have little incentive to reduce the price.

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"If you look at all of the changes that the Federal Reserve has made over the last few years, with one rate increase after the other. With the whole perspective on trying to tame or to reduce demand. As a measure of reducing inflation," said Easterling.

This means costs across the board, including gas prices, won't change drastically if oil supplies are boosted.

"I think we'll continue to see some reductions going forward and I think going into the new year there's lots of reasons to be optimistic," Easterling expresses.

This story was originally published by Kayleigh Randle at

Scripps News Lexington.

There are a lot of questions surrounding the deadly shooting of a 61-year-old Laurel County, Kentucky, man this week by police officers who say they were there to serve a search warrant.

The man's neighbors believe they went to the wrong home.

"I heard five shots," says a neighbor, who does not want to be identified. "At least five shots. Woke me up. I was laying on the couch."

Neighbors are still in disbelief and looking for answers as to why London, Kentucky, Police were at the door of Doug Harless on the night of December 23.

"My wife looked out the back door and said, 'Doug's house is all lit up.' At that time, we had seen several cop cars up and down the road and I contacted his daughter. She sent her husband out here to find out that her dad was deceased. The cops had shot him," a neighbor said.

London Police say they were attempting to execute a search warrant at a home on Vanzant Road in Laurel County. In a press release, officers say Harless pointed a gun at officers, and that's when an officer opened fire. Harless died as a result.

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Neighbors say Harless was a victim, not a criminal.

Carl Merritt and his wife live just across the road and caught the shooting on their surveillance camera.

"It shows on the camera that there were police officers on his porch and they announced that they were there," said Merritt. "They banged and banged and banged until they finally made their way through the man's door and with not even making it completely through the door, they shot him. I mean it was just that quick."

Merritt says Kentucky State Police now has that surveillance footage.

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Family and friends of Harless, as well as the community, are looking for justice.

"He was a very quiet, humble person," saod Merritt. "Stayed to himself, never bothered nobody. For something like that to happen to that poor man, it hurts me really. To think that somebody like that, especially in my backyard, being shot, you know? In his own home."

"My office will closely follow the investigation being conducted by the Kentucky State Police. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this incident. The family and friends of the individual remain in our thoughts and prayers as well as the officers involved," said London Mayor Randall Weddle. "I want to remind everyone that this is an open investigation, so I am limited in what I can say at this time. Let's allow the Kentucky State Police to thoroughly investigate this situation."

This article was written by

Lauren Minor for Scripps News Lexington.

This time of year is like the Super Bowl, said TSA regional spokesperson Mark Howell.

Hes been waiting for this day all year.

But for those hitting the airport, traveling can be more stressful during the holiday, especially when you are trying to cram Christmas gifts into the rest of the luggage.

"A prepared family is a successful family, added Howell.

Whether youre packing presents or not, TSA suggests travelers get to the airport early.

Just go into it with patience and an open mind, especially this time of year. Go in with the thought that hey, it may be a little busier than it typically is," said Lauren Zimmerman.

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Both Howell and Zimmerman added that how people pack their presents matters. The TSA suggests putting gifts in bags instead of wrapping them because if wrapping sets off a monitor, agents will open presents early.

No one at the TSA wants to be the Grinch. We don't want to unwrap your gift, we don't want to have to take things out of your bag. So, we ask that you pay attention to what you bring with you, Howell said.

TSA also suggests that if people are traveling with something sentimental, they should put it in their carry-on.

General rule of thumb, high-value items, it's just good to keep it on you, Howell noted.

But what if travelers dont know if a gift can travel with them?

According to the agency, their website has a feature where you can search for whether specific items are allowed on an airplane.

Great resource for that kind of outside-the-norm items, said Howell.

The airport says if you take these steps, and plan properly, your holiday journey will be merry, not miserable.

Its really great to be a part of reuniting folks for the holidays. I get to pass through baggage claim pretty frequently working here. It's great to see those reunions and special moments and being a part of that."

This story was originally published by Ajay Patel at

Scripps News Lexington

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