BEVERAGE CASE STUDY
CFO at Bardstown Bourbon
Founded in 2014 by Peter Loftin in the heart of Bourbon Country on 100 acres of active farmland, Bardstown Bourbon Company is one of the country’s most modern and technically advanced whiskey distilleries. Celebrating the art of making high-quality, authentic bourbons, the innovative distillery produces custom rye, whiskey, and bourbon for prominent brands including Jefferson’s, Blue Run, Belle Meade, and many others through its one-of-a-kind collaborative distilling program.
Bardstown Bourbon Company honors tradition and drives innovation with their exceptional destination experience for visitors, including The Kitchen and Bar at Bardstown Bourbon Company. In addition to their flagship Origin Series, BBCo. offers limited releases throughout the year including the Discovery Series, which showcases the art of blending, and Collaborative Series, which celebrates partnership and transparency across multiple spirit categories. Bardstown Bourbon Co. also owns Green River Distilling Co, located in Owensboro, Kentucky.
Challenge
A disruptive leader in the Kentucky bourbon landscape, Bardstown Bourbon Company has experienced incredible growth, even amid the pandemic. Bardstown Bourbon was seeking a strategic Chief Financial Officer who could support the growth and scale within the spirits industry as they were evolving from an early growth stage business to a mid-market company. They wanted an executive who had real experience with financial controls, financial systems, and structure. In addition, they were looking for a local candidate with a lot of investor relations who had category experience within the spirits industry.
Solution
ForceBrands was able to identify a candidate with a strong finance background. She was also local to the Louisville, Kentucky market and had a significant amount of experience in spirits. She was the ideal candidate given her expertise in corporate planning processes, annual budgeting, and intra-year, performance-based course adjustments. She had experience setting annual performance goals for corporate, global brands and regions; as well as determining key growth opportunities and allocating resources accordingly. All of these reasons made her the ideal candidate for The Bardstown Bourbon Company.
of Alphabet Village and the subline of her own road.