Heaven Hill Distillery

Interview with Bernie Lubbers

“Bourbon Whiskey History Episode #19”
ABV Network
3-14-19

He was a comedian on Bob and Tom radio show and had a bit about his dad drinking a quart of Heaven Hill 90 proof every day whiskey drinker and a rep from Jim Beam asked him to say Beam instead. In 2005 he started doing conventions for them talking about what is on the labels.
2006 he started working with small batch products.
2013 he started working at HH
Wrote the book: Bourbon Whiskey Our Native Spirit
He is now brand ambassador at HH
1935 the 5 Shapira brothers started the distillery.
Their father came over from either Russia or Lithuania.
- He was a door to door salesman
- He was successful and opened a store
Each son opened a store either called Louisville store or Peoples store up until the 1990s
Investors: bought out their investors in 1936
They filed for their name and the filing office put in a space it was supposed to be “Heavenhill”
Bourbon Falls, 2 year old was their first Bourbon
1939 Old Heaven Hill they launched
Ann Shapira lived until 103 dying in 2017-18

Interview Conor O’Driscoll
Bourbon Pursuit Episode #231
12-12-19

Conor is the 7th Master Distiller to have worked at HH
Grew up in Doublin, Ireland
Chemical engineer
Started with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
- They sent him to Terre Haute, IN out of college
- They were making cheese using a synthetic yeast
- 6 years he worked there
- He had friends in Louisville and that helped keep him there
Drove a Harley motorcycle for 11,000 while in Terre Haute around the US
- Followed route 66
He got tired of the engineering side of fermentation and looked at getting into Bourbon
- In 2002 he started looking at getting into bourbon seriously
- It took him 2 years of knocking on doors and then Leo Rengier (?) from Brown Forman
- Spent 5 years in Shively running the distiller
- 2008-9 they sent him to Woodford
- From 2009-2017 he was at Woodford
- When they left they were shipping 1 million barrels a year
A former Woodford college called him and told him that they might have an opening at Angles Envy
So he worked there and made rum for Bacardi
Then HH called and he turned them down but then they called back and talked him into it
They make 5 mash bills
Their top spirit is HH Reg their Rye bourbon
Evans Williams is 2.7 cases/year and is 2nd selling bourbon in the world
2 weeks after he started Henry McKenna won best whisky in the world but he had nothing to do with it he laughs