LifeSciKY has teamed up with New Riff Distilling for the second year to release an exclusive single barrel bourbon to benefit the growing life sciences community.
Poceeds from the collaboration will fund lab bench grants at Covington’s life sciences incubator, lowering the barrier to entry for startups by providing the critical space and equipment needed to scale scientific discoveries. Blue North, the Northern Kentucky-based entrepreneurial hub, will match all bourbon sales and bottle pre-orders generated through this initiative, dollar-for-dollar, up to $5,000.
The inaugural fundraising effort generated two $10,000 grants: the Science is Bourbon Bench Grant awarded to Clareo Biosciences and the Stronger Together Bench, awarded to PAN Biologics. The financial support allowed PAN Biologics to relocate its offices from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Covington; and Louisville-based Clareo Biosciences used the funds to expand their footprint into Northern Kentucky.
“Receiving last year’s grant helped make it possible for Clareo Biosciences to expand our Louisville operations up into Northern Kentucky as well,” said Melissa Smith, CEO of Clareo Biosciences. “As we’ve expanded our organization, we’ve experienced firsthand the generosity and collaborative spirit that make this region so special. That sense of community and overwhelming support for our team has been instrumental to our growth, and has given us, as an early-stage company, the resources, motivation, and confidence to keep building and innovating here in Northern Kentucky.”
The grants, combined with a donation from the William J. Motto Family, inspired the creation of the LifeSciKY Stronger Together Grant Program, an initiative is designed to provide entrepreneurs, researchers, and emerging founders with grant-supported access to laboratory infrastructure, equipment, mentorship, and commercialization resources.
“Many promising entrepreneurs never get the opportunity to test their ideas because they lack access to the infrastructure, equipment, and support needed to get started,” said Dr. Christin Godale, executive director of LifeSciKY. “That’s why LifeSciKY is here. Our new Stronger Together Grant Program takes our mission a step further by helping remove barriers to innovation by providing founders with access to the capital and the resources needed to transform ideas into real-world solutions.”
The single-barrel bourbon will be hand selected by representatives of LifeSciKY, Blue North and community partners.
Bottles of the single barrel bourbon can be pre-ordered through Aug. 4 for $69.99 each at newriffworks.com. A limited number of bottles will be available for purchase. Pickup instructions will be coordinated by LifeSciKY and will be sent to purchasers.
LifeSciKY