near little all the world's borbon is distilled and aged in the state of kentucky.the state's history, borbon was considered safer than drinks the local water. but a strong temperance movement sprung in the state and kentucky approved a constitutional amendment banning alcohol two months before prohibition kicked in nationwide. after it was repealed, parts of kentucky kept the ban in place and it's remained there for nearly 100 years. kentucky has 37 completely dry counties, meaning there is no retail sale of alcohol allowed period. of the other 83 counties, less than half are wet. the others allow alcohol sales only under certain circumstances. believe it or not, those counties are known as moist counties. arkansas, where about half the 75 counties are dry is the only state in the same neighborhood as kentucky. nevertheless, senator mitch mcconnell knows full well the importance of liquor to his state's identity. he won passage of a resolution last week recognizing the 50th anniversary of the original declaration on kentucky bourbon. >> on may 4th, congress declare

and many drinkers are asking for borbons that cost a little more. >> i enjoy the taste. it's delicious. yeah. producers anywhere in the u.s. can make bourbon. but those in the state of kentucky make 95% of the world's supply. many distillers set themselves up in the suburbs of louisville. they're supporting the regional economy and building on tradition. people at this company have been making bourbon and whiskey for 140 years. last year they hit a record, with annual sales of more than $3.7 billion. that was up nearly 5% from the year before. producers are shipping more cases overseas. to japan, europe, and emerging economies, too. >> even though we now get around 60% of our sales outside the u.s., so there's this huge opportunity. >> reporter: and it's not just the distillers who are enjoying the boom. they need somewhere for the bourbon to mature, and barrelmakers can't make enough of them. employees in this division are getting lots of overtime. they're keeping the production line humming at full capacity. but they need to make even more barrels. so the owners decide