The 2008 economic crisis hit everyone hard, including bourbon country. But, according to Louisville’s Courier-Journal, the current global obsession with bourbon is raising Kentucky from its economic slump. Barrels are the state’s lead export, and the industries surrounding barrel manufacturing pumped $7.9 billion through the state’s economy in 2013. The entire process—from logging to factory production—employs 3% of Kentucky’s population, with more job growth expected in 2014. The director of the Kentucky Division of Forestry claims the increase in logging is not depleting the state’s natural resources thanks to the state’s effort to grow twice as many trees as those harvested. We’ll be ordering a bourbon or two tonight, in support of the American economy, of course. [The Courier-Journal] [Photo: Flickr/RichardBowen]