LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The spirits company behind Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey is taking a deeper plunge into Kentucky bourbon.

Brown-Forman said Monday that Coopers’ Craft will be its first new bourbon brand in 20 years. The roll-out for the premium whiskey will come this summer in eight southeastern states, with plans to expand distribution once supplies increase, company executives said.

Brown-Forman master distiller Chris Morris, whose production team spent more than a decade creating Coopers’ Craft, said “the time for a new style of bourbon has arrived.”

Louisville-based Brown-Forman’s flagship brand is Jack Daniel’s and its extensive spirits lineup includes Woodford Reserve and Old Forester bourbons.

Coopers’ Craft whiskey will age four to six years before bottling, the company said.

It’s bottled at 82.2 proof, lower than Woodford Reserve and Old Forester, making it a prime “entry-level whiskey” for people unfamiliar with bourbon, said Doug Petry, co-owner at RYE, a Louisville restaurant.

The new brand’s name is meant as a tribute to the craft of barrel making and the importance of wood in creating bourbon, the company said. Bourbon matures in charred, oak barrels, resulting in its amber color and distinctive taste.