Southwestern Kentucky Whiskey Founders
The Southwestern Kentucky Region includes the entire “bootheel” area of the Bluegrass State
Below are links to Whiskey Founders Life Stories that have made huge contributions to the growth of the Whiskey Industry and Southern Whiskeys in general. These may have been historical figures that lived long ago before prohibition or may be living leaders that have advanced the cause of the industry as a whole.
(NOTE: FOUNDERS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
1
Tom Bard
The Bard
Tom Bard was born in February 1980. He graduated from the University of Kentucky and trained as a mechanical engineer, building a career in industrial quality control and continuous improvement. But before he founded a Kentucky distillery, he spent many years in motorsports, where he met his wife, Kim.
2
Craig Beam
Jackson Purchase
Craig Beam belongs to a group of Kentuckians sharing a common surname that reads like a map of whiskey history. Seventh generation by blood, Beam grew up in a world where the language of barrels and mash bills was passed down over kitchen tables as naturally as mashed potatoes.
3
Jacob Call
Green River
In 2014, Jacob Call took over the historic DSP‑KY‑10 site in Owensboro, Kentucky, which had once been known as OZ Tyler Distillery and which had originally achieved its Distilled Spirits Plant (DSP) registration in the 1880s. He led the renovation and revival of the nearly forgotten facility. By 2016, with the help of his father Ron, Jacob assumed the role of Master Distiller.
4
Ron Call
Green River
In 2014, Ron Call returned to Kentucky to take on a historic mission: restore and revive the Green River Distilling Co. in Owensboro. Collaborating with Terressentia Corporation, he led a comprehensive renovation of the original 1885 DSP-KY‑10 distillery site, which had fallen into disrepair.
5
Arlon Jones
Casey Jones
AJ Jones began exploring the possibility of establishing a distillery. His mechanical background allowed him to evaluate still designs, fermentation systems, and layout requirements with a practical eye. Rather than purchasing a turnkey system, Jones fabricated and assembled much of his own equipment.
6
Casey Jones
Casey Jones
Casey Jones built stills all over Kentucky using only copper. He refused steel because it was often coated with zinc, which he considered dangerous. He was so practiced that he could judge how much copper, and at what gauge a still required almost instinctively. He then shaped it with his own hands.
7
Paul Tomazewski
MB Roland
He hadn’t been settled in Kentucky long before Paul met Merry Beth Roland. They married, and over time their relationship became a working partnership as well as a family one. Paul and Merry Beth didn’t build a brand around a single founder; they built it around the fact that they were doing it together.