Happy 2016 to everyone and I hope you had a great holiday and New Year! It’s hard to believe that March is already upon us. Thanks to all Luxco staff, vendors, suppliers, distributors and retailers for your assistance toward another successful year for Luxco.
Luxco announced today the company has finalized plans to build a distillery, located in Nelson County, Kentucky. Luxco has chosen to build the distillery on a 70-acre site off state highway KY-245 in the heart of Bardstown and Bourbon Capital of the World. The company announced preliminary plans for the distillery in late 2015, and the distillery is expected to be fully operational by late 2017.
Luxco announced today an agreement to acquire Los Angeles-based VEEV® Spirits. Appealing to today’s discerning millennial consumer, VEEV’s portfolio includes award-winning brands VEEV Spirit, a 70 proof vodka alternative, and VitaFrute™ Cocktails by VEEV®, the first line of certified organic ready-to-drink cocktails.
Luxco’s “Pick Your Paradise” Sales Incentive Program will give qualifiers a tough decision: a Mexican beach vacation at an all-inclusive resort off the Riviera Maya, or a chance to play golf in Ireland on the northern coast.
More than 400 people attended the company-wide celebration for Luxco employees and their families, held at the Concord Lanes and Recreation Complex in St. Louis on September 26.
The ‘Lord of the Grill’ 2015 Sweepstakes was a big success, with a total of 417,897 sweepstakes entries! More than 1,000 instant prizes were awarded, including 590 BBQ sauce sets, 105 BBQ grilling utensil sets, 105 Igloo coolers, 210 folding camp chairs and 90 Weber grills. The grand prize, estimated at $3,500 was 350+ lbs of meat (an entire cow) and a 21 cubic foot freezer for storage.
Don Doran was born in Kansas City, Kansas and grew up in Wisconsin before moving to Florida to work in the wine and spirit business. He joined Luxco September 1st, 1989 as the Southeast Divisional Manager. “My job title stayed the same, but the company has changed drastically in the past twenty-six years,” he notes.
In August, the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division recognized Luxco as their #1 performing vendor among the top 14 largest vendors doing business in the state. Those 14 vendors represent 92% of the Iowa ABD’s annual volume of almost 2 million cases.
This past October, Luxco teamed up with Pedal the Cause (PTC) to participate in the annual PTC bike ride benefiting the Siteman Cancer Center and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. PTC was founded by my friends, Bill & Amy Komen, after Bill fought and beat lymphoma not once, but twice.
Luxco recently restructured its sales department, which has meant a reshuffling of roles within the team. The department has been divided into three units – East, West and Control States – led by Brian McEnany, Jason Maxwell and Rick Przebieda, respectively. Ryan Earey has been promoted to National Sales Manager and Dan Streepy, Executive Vice President– Sales, will now focus on International and National Accounts.
Congratulations to Lori W. of Lexington, Kentucky; Suzanne Z. of Arden, North Carolina; Frank D. of Abbeville, Louisiana; Lawanda B. of Los Angeles, California; and Brent M. of Grand Rapids, Michigan! They were all grand prize winners in the Pearl
Bar Cart Sweepstakes!
On September 16, 2015, Yellowstone Whiskey – a combination of hand-selected 12-year rye, 7-year rye and 7-year wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskeys – was introduced to an enthusiastic crowd of more than 100 people at the Oscar Getz Bourbon Museum during the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, KY.
