Originally from St. Louis, John Smugala joined Luxco’s Kemper plant in 2008 as a Bottling Supervisor. After a few years, he became the Processing Manager, then the Bottling Manager, and he currently works as the plant’s Manufacturing Manager. In this role, John oversees all operations at the plant, including bottling, processing, and managing and maintaining
Thirty years ago when Randy Mehl began his career at the Luxco® Kemper plant as Miscellaneous, he had no idea he would be spending his days filling 50mL bottles of some of the country’s favorite spirits. Randy has been a Bottle Dumper for the past 20 years, having worked on several lines. Most recently he
Glenn Kehoe has been working in the Maintenance Department at the Luxco® Kemper plant for 25 years. “It’s unbelievable to me to see how much the business has grown and how much the production has grown over the years – it is truly impressive,” he states. One thing that has not changed is Glenn’s interest
April 21st was filled with crate-digging, live music, and Rebel Yell® cocktails as music-lovers celebrated the biggest record release event of the year. National Record Store Day united vinyl enthusiasts and Rebel Yell Bourbon fans in St. Louis, Nashville, and Denver for a day of classics. In Nashville, Fond Object Records and Rebel Yell® joined
The sun was shining in Bardstown on April 11th when Lux Row Distillers™ hosted more than 500 guests for its grand opening celebration. Nearly two years after breaking ground, the distillery opened its doors to the public in a grand opening celebration. Employees from St. Louis, Cleveland, and the Luxco® sales team, along with local
The St. Louis Tigers (from Mizzou fame), sponsored by Pearl® Vodka, brought home its third championship in a row! The team capped the tournament championship game with a 3-1 win over the Pikes Peak Gamblers from Colorado. Donn is a proud member of this illustrious “old man’s” hockey team. The Tigers play annually in the
In March, Exotico® Tequila participated as a sponsor at the Nightclub and Bar Show in Las Vegas which is the largest gathering of on-premise professionals in the country! More than 4,000 samples of Exotico Tequila were shared with consumers and industry professionals during the event. The Nightclub and Bar Show is a one-stop-shop to learn
Pedal The Cause™ was founded in 2010 as a cycling challenge with the bold model of using 100% of public donations to fund world-class cancer research at the Siteman Cancer Center and Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. This wonderful organization has raised more than $19 million in the past nine years and has
In April, Luxco® announced that the company was acquiring a controlling interest in Niche Drinks, the specialty liqueur company in Derry, Ireland, that has been a long-time partner in the creation of Saint Brendan’s® Irish Cream and The Quiet Man® Irish Whiskey. Niche Drinks and Luxco are also partnering to build an Irish whiskey distillery
While in Kentucky for the Lux Row Distillers™ grand opening, the Luxco® sales team spent a morning at Limestone Branch Distillery, where they learned more about the distillery’s portfolio of products. The group toured the distillery, led by Ambassador Stephen Fante and Limestone Branch Head Distiller Steve Beam, before tasting some of their Kentucky-only blends.
Let me first congratulate Randy and Glenn on their respective anniversaries (page 9)! We have such a great group of individuals (and families!) that have all practically grown up together here at Luxco®. It seems the multi-decade anniversaries just keep coming and coming which is a pleasure to witness and to be a party to.
Once again, Luxco® was a silver sponsor for the Women of the Vine and Spirits Global Symposium – an organization focused on the empowerment and advancement of women in the alcoholic beverage industry. Attendees met and networked with influential women in the industry, including senior executives, marketing professionals, on- and off-premise managers, and bartenders. The
