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The trouble with the booze industry
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Join us live: Our next live podcast, "Access Louisville: The State of Dining Out," is set for 4 p.m. April 21 at 500 West Jefferson. Three local chefs are coming on: Noam Bilitzer, of MeeshMeesh, Anne Shadle of Mayan Cafe and Lawrence Weeks of Murray’s Creole Pub. We’ll talk about issues facing the industry, including food costs, changing neighborhood dynamics and more. Tickets are available here.
What would a deal for Brown-Forman Corp. mean in Louisville? We chat about it on this week's Access Louisville podcast.
Louisville-based spirits giant Brown-Forman and Paris-based Pernod Ricard have confirmed they're in discussions about a potential merger. LBF Bourbon reporter Stephen P. Schmidt is on this week's show to talk about the size of the company this would create and how it would stack up in the industry.
Brown-Forman (BF.A, BF.B) is Greater Louisville’s fifth-largest public company, with most recent annual revenue of $3.98 billion. It's key brands include Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester. Meanwhile, Pernod Ricard, which had net sales of €10 959 million in fiscal 2025 (roughly $12.6 billion) has more than 200 brands, including Absolut Vodka, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet just to name a few.
We also talk about the philanthropic and sponsorship impact that Brown-Forman has around Louisville. And check in with how Wall Street is thinking about the news.
After the bourbon discussion we talk about the closure of Louisville-based Goodwood Brewing and Spirits local taprooms. The company is undergoing an ownership transition while grappling with mounting financial problems, including multiple lawsuits alleging nonpayment of rent, services and taxes, as LBF's Michael L. Jones reports.
Late in the show we also chat about a new speakeasy coming to Hotel Distil and the upcoming They're Off luncheon, which will feature University of Louisville alum and Detroit Lions backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
Access Louisville, sponsored by Baird, is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
A potential deal is in the works to buy one of Louisville's signature companies. We'll chat about what it means up next on Access Louisville. Thanks for joining us. My name is David Mann, and joining me today are Zach Owens. Happy to be back. Steve Schmidt. Hello. And Michael L. Jones. How are you doing out there? Zach, you nearly threw me with it. You catch first. That's right. Alright, let's see. Access Louisable is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. Each week we bring you the latest news and plenty of sharp opinions about what's going on here in Louisville, Kentucky. A few things before we get into it. First, this podcast is sponsored by Baird. Discover the difference Baird can make in your financial life at rwbaird.com/slash Louisville. We'll hear more from Baird later in the show. Also, our next live podcast is 4 p.m. April 21st at 500 West Jefferson. It's called Access Louisville, the State of Dining Out. We've got three local restaurant folks on. We've got Noam Billitzer of Meesh Meesh, we got Ann Shadow of Mying Cafe, and Lawrence Weeks of Murray's Creole Pub. We'll talk about all kinds of issues facing the industry, including food costs, changing neighborhood dynamics, and changing diner taste. So I'll leave a link in the show where you can find tickets to the event. If you're a local foodie, this is not one to miss. We would love to have you out for it. But right now, let's get into the business of booze in a couple of different ways here. Let me set the scene, I guess. Brown Foreman, which is a Louisville-based company, owns many popular brands in the American whiskey space, including Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniels, Old Forester. It has confirmed that it's in merger talks with Pernault Ricard, that is based in France. And this is uh obviously comes at a time when the alcoholic beverage industry has been seeing a lot of struggles. And there are really a lot of reasons for that, those struggles. We can probably get into it here later. But uh, Steve, I understand if this were to happen, it would create one of one of the world's largest alcoholic beverage industry. So one of the world's largest alcoholic beverage companies, I should say. Uh what uh how big are we talking here?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so some really big numbers. Um, these are so Brown Foreman is um estimated to be around$12 billion, uh worth$12 billion with about 5,000 employees. Perno Ricard um is worth about$17 billion in US dollars with about 19,000 employees. So put together, we're looking at a$29 billion company. The thing is, though, is that that's really big, but that's still kind of uh is not nearly as large as Diaggio. And DiAgio is uh last check, I saw 30,000 employees and worth about 41 billion dollars. So um the thing is that Purno, they have giant brands like Jamison Irish Whiskey, Absolute Vodka, um uh Malibu, Kalua, things you always see everywhere. Yeah, but their whisk their American whiskey in particular is not as strong as their other parts of their portfolio. So here they have actually in Louisville, in they set up a um an office for their American whiskey, and you have Rabbit Hole, Jefferson's, uh, and some other brands, but they just don't have like a brand with a clout of, say, Jack Daniels. Yeah. So I think you can really say that Perneau wants Brown Foreman mostly before for Jack Daniels. Yeah. And then also obviously Old Forester and Woodford is good too, because those brands you know have have traction. But um, yeah, that's that's the big thing is trying to get their American whiskey portfolio.
SPEAKER_05J Jack Daniels has to be the golden goose.
SPEAKER_04Of American whiskey, Jack Daniels is the market. If Brown Foreman didn't have Jack Daniels, we would not be having this conversation.
SPEAKER_02It would be a much smaller company.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I would say if you go anywhere in the world and you want an American whiskey, Jack Daniels is probably the one you'll find. Um, you know, it depends on the market, obviously.
SPEAKER_03And I've wrote a story last year about how uh they were looking for inter international sales, and actually the state was spending money on promoting bourbon tourism in places like Europe and Australia and that. And so, you know, I I think that um this has a lot to do with the popularity of um of uh bourbon and whiskey over there. And I don't know how the tariffs impact this. Oh, no. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, no, the the the tariffs, that's interesting you bring that up, Michael. Um there was a um there was a um a report that came out la yesterday from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, uh uh known as discus in the industry. And they said U.S. whiskey we exports were down 19 percent uh uh just just American whiskey alone, and overall spirits are down 3.8 percent from a year ago. Uh and so the tariff situation, um, as you may recall, today's we're recording this on April 2nd. This is a this is a year anniversary of of uh the uh Liberation Day tariffs that Trump put out.
SPEAKER_02Today's the year anniversary. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04And so that has not gone well, uh particular for the um uh for the spirits, the spirits industry, uh which Discus, which is a large lobbying international or national trade group, they they constantly are yelling from the rooftops like we need zero zero for tariffs and be done with these tariffs. And and everybody from you know Canada and Europe are saying the same thing. Um and then today the the um independent wine spirits record, IWSR, they had a report that said that spirits are down, sales are down two percent in 22 of the largest markets, which make up 75% of the global market. So everything is either flat or declining, and so that's why you're seeing all these talks of uh of mergers.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well, we had this event last week, and I remember asking Chris Morris of Brown Foreman. I ask everybody, but I said, what's the number one brand or what's the number one market you want to be in globally? And everybody said India, but then Chris Morris said, you know, it'd just be nice to have Canada back. Yeah. Um speaks to the state of it.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, no, they love Canada because can't they're only really in two two um two provinces right now, um uh Alberta and Saskatchewan.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Uh anyway, how's Wall Street seeing this uh potential deal? I mean, it's a potential deal right now, and I guess so the analysts are kind of weighing in on what it would look like.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, they say this looks good on paper, but they're they're very skeptical. Uh one analyst said very complicated. One said I think it kind of sums it up nicely, messy and complicated due to cultural differences. Uh so Purneau is based in Paris. Obviously, Braun Foreman's here in Louisville, and so there's a lot of things to work out uh when it comes to how you would uh one of the big talks is where the head where's the headquarters gonna be? Perneau's American headquarters are in New York. Um one bank said it was about a 50-50 shot 50-50 shot that this takes place, and I feel like that's that seems to be based on what I've been reading, I think that that's um that's how kind of I would handicap it as well.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I I thought the fact that Brown Foreman didn't flat out deny that these talks were happening said a whole lot. Uh traditionally, whenever merger talks came up with Brown Foreman, whenever those reports would surface, they would categorically deny it quickly. The fact that they said, Yeah, the fact that these talks are happening kind of says to me that they might want this to happen.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. It's like they got to tell us at some point they might as well start us out this way.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. In 2017, Constellation Brands, which is a they have a large three large Mexican beer brands like Pacifico and Corona and Modelo, they tried to buy Brown Foreman, and the Brown Foreman family came out and said Brown Foreman is not for sale, and it was quote unquote a thriving, family-controlled, independent company. So they they went out and they they own that narrative from the get-go. Whereas this other thing talks about if this happens, it will be quote unquote a merger of equals. Um, but if you look at the numbers, Perno is larger than um Brown Foreman, so I don't look at that as being there's never a merger of equals when it comes to a merger. Someone's always bigger.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. My thought was this would give uh Perno a foothold in American whiskey, but is this really the time to be getting into American whiskey because uh things are have been so down, of course, I guess by the dip, you know.
SPEAKER_03But well, it's well, it might be a good time to cash out. Yeah, true. It might be a good time for the it it brought to mind the uh selling of the Kerr journal for me. You know, a family-run business that nobody thought would ever be sold, and you know, Gannett bought it. Yeah. Changed the cultured city, I think.
SPEAKER_02And that is a there's a family behind this, so that uh, you know, the Brown family, obviously good stewards of the community, um, you know, put a lot of money into the various things. Uh, you know, uh one thing that I'll throw out there is they've they've paid for free Sundays at the Speed Museum, that sort of thing over the years. They sponsor a lot of stuff. So I don't know. Anybody got uh just want to weigh in on what they think the cultural impact would be if this were to go through?
SPEAKER_05I I think it would be pretty devastating, honestly. Uh Brown Foreman is so entwined in this community, it is the oldest of old money. You think of the major power players in this city's history, they're all browns. Yeah, and uh I don't know, maybe it's necessary for the city to move on. I don't know. Yeah, but uh it would definitely be a uh a monumental shift.
SPEAKER_02It's scary on its face, for sure. Yeah, we I mean we're a bourbon city.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we did some research uh uh and according to our our our um records, the Brown Foreman Foundation has given$65.9 million dollars in charity for the last five years, just going from 2020 to 2024. And so that's that's very significant. I mean, if you look at all the events, if you just put, I don't know, maybe 20 random events, there's a good chance that uh that are sp that are in the city, there's a good chance that they're gonna have some brown foreman um sponsorship in one of those. Um so yeah, it's all over the city. So yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um and uh yeah, one before we start talking, you mentioned the uh the Brown Foreman uh or somebody mentioned it. Who mentioned it? The Brown Foreman Paristown uh hall.
SPEAKER_04Oh yeah, it's uh old foresters Paristown Hall. Yeah, old foresters, yeah. And then my uh my uh uh 10-year-old son doesn't really know the nutcracker is called the nutcracker. He thinks it's called the Brown Foreman Nutcracker because when you go there, it says Brown Foreman in huge letters on top of the stage. Yeah. So like those are just two good, yeah, two examples of of how that company has is intertwined with the community. And so you can't one would just would would think that that uh any type of merger would would lessen that community impact on the Wolfville. I can't see it improving.
SPEAKER_02I it wouldn't it like maybe the year after it would be the same, but then like little less, little less, little less until 20 years from now, it's way less, you know. Um so that kind of thing does happen in uh in a lot of the when you see a company change hands, they just don't have the same impact as they do when they're here. Uh but uh with that, let's go ahead and take a break and we'll get a message from our sponsors. Lisa Benson, the LBF publisher, has conducted an interview with Zach Chamberlain for Baird. They talk about wealth management and a lot of other topics. Uh, this is sponsored content. Uh, we'll be back here in about five minutes or so, and then we'll pick up with another troubling story about the alcoholic beverage industry. This one's about beer. Stay tuned for that.
SPEAKER_00Hi, this is Lisa Benson, publisher at Business First. My guest today is Zach Chamberlain, a wealth planner and vice president of private wealth management with Baird. Zach is an Evansville, Indiana native who has called Louisville home since 2007. He joined Baird in 2022 and has a passion for financial education, risk management, charitable and personal needs planning. He has a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Southern Indiana and has designations as a chartered financial consultant and a certified planner. And when he's not helping his clients navigate through the world of financial planning, he likes spending time with his daughters, Taylor and Avery, cooking, hiking, and playing a little golf. Welcome to the podcast, Zach.
SPEAKER_06Thank you, Lisa. Good to be here.
SPEAKER_00I get the opportunity to talk to a lot of people who work in the financial services industry, and I hear a lot about how important it is to have a plan. You guys really like to say that. Have a plan. But I think the question for a lot of people is why? And then beyond that, what type of plan do I really need?
SPEAKER_06That's a great question. And while having a plan is important, I I do personally believe that it is the act of planning that is even more important. A little bit like I exercise this morning versus I exercise daily. But really the benefit for someone to have a plan, uh planning really, when it comes down to it, is is just a decision-making process. Uh a process that helps you be aware of where where you are at today, but also the direction that you're heading. And that way you have the opportunity to make course corrections. It's really simply taking what you want, weighing what you have, and then projecting out whether or not you're on track to accomplish it. Uh and a plan, uh it should change over time. For for most people, uh, when you get started and you're young, it's more about living on less than you make and not doing anything silly with that difference. But over time, that plan and what it addresses should expand. It should expand to show the the impact that taxes may have over time. Uh and then ultimately it needs to make sure that you know what we don't enjoy ultimately gets to the people and the causes that we care about in a time frame that we're okay with. That's really what a plan is. It tells you where you're at today and and where you're headed. That way you have a chance to make adjustments before it's too late.
SPEAKER_00Well, this is a very timely conversation because it is tax season. And if I haven't gotten around to filing yet, what are some things I can do to reduce reduce my tax burden this year?
SPEAKER_06Well, um I I love that question because it it always justifies a little bit of clarification. Uh, if we're talking about what maneuvers can we do right now, um right before tax filing to reduce our taxes for the prior year, our our options are somewhat limited. Uh, you can still put money inside of a traditional IRA and maybe deduct that and save some taxes, but also uh putting money inside of an HSA would be another way you could reduce taxes for a prior year. Outside of that, the the main thing that someone needs to do right now is just to communicate and coordinate. You know, all of those tax documents that you get from from your financial firms, have those been communicated to whoever is doing the taxes? And do they understand the numbers that are on there? That not communicating clearly what you've done is the number one reason some people might end up paying more in taxes uh than they need to. Now, if we're talking about what can someone do to limit taxes over the next maybe 10, 20, 30 years, that's when we would need to look back at that plan. And hopefully that plan has expanded to factor in the impact of taxes. Too many times I've seen good savers get penalized in the long run because they save all their money in in one spot. Typically the spot that's the easiest, what our employers would give us uh as available. And that can lead people to have uh higher taxes in retirement than they expect. Those accounts typically require us to take out a certain amount when we get older, and that can exceed what we need for a living. So just making sure you're not putting all of your money in one basket, having multiple types of tax buckets is the best way to limit one's taxes over the long run.
SPEAKER_00I think there might be an assumption that some people make that only the rich pay an estate tax. People who don't consider themselves in that category, do they need an estate plan?
SPEAKER_06Absolutely. And while there may not be an estate tax, um there is time that it takes for assets to get distributed to our loved ones. Um in this great state of Kentucky, for example, if someone passes away and they're married and they do not have a will, only half of their personally owned assets goes to the surviving spouse. The remaining half would actually go to their children. Now, if someone doesn't have children, the spouse still only receives half if they don't have a will. Parents and siblings would get the other half. So having a will absolutely something that I think every 18-year-old should at least have the moment they turn 18, is a basic will.
SPEAKER_00That's really interesting. And you know, I think it's also sort of human nature not to want to think about how my health, either now or in the future, might impact my financial situation as I grow older. So can you talk a little bit about how health might also be something that impacts my planning?
SPEAKER_06Absolutely. Uh health has a profound impact on our planning and and our finances. Um all too often we think of health simply, I'm healthy until I'm old. And then maybe I don't I'm not healthy. Um, but the reality is there are things that we should probably be doing today that will help in terms of our overall health and with our overall finances. Um things like preventative screening or um some genetic testing. It might not be covered 100% nowadays, but spending a little bit of money today can definitely go a long way when it comes to helping diagnose different medical issues that we can hopefully prevent. After all, being healthy hopefully will extend our our life lifespan. Of course, that may mean we have to save a little bit more if we're gonna enjoy a nice long retirement.
SPEAKER_00And and what about long-term care insurance? Is that something our average listener needs to be thinking out about? When does that come into play?
SPEAKER_06Well, I think it's something that everyone needs to at least think about. I I saw a statistic just today that um 70% of those turning 65 years old today are going to experience the need for um care at some point in their life. Um the problem is we're all very bad at predicting when we're gonna get sick and how sick we're gonna get and how long we're gonna stay sick. So there are things that I think we should start doing sooner rather than later. Um of those who wait to 65 to apply for the traditional long-term care insurance, 25% of them find they can't qualify. And that's typically for a health reason. Over the last several years, uh insurance companies have made some changes. Sometimes if you buy life insurance when you're young, it can have a long-term care benefit that can be very valuable as you get older. So insurance isn't always the answer, uh, but not having a conversation about what you would do if and when this happened, that would be absolutely detrimental. So that's why the act of planning and having an active conversation about what you want and what you have, and doing that over time is essential.
SPEAKER_00Well, Zach, you've given us some really valuable information that I think will help a lot of our listeners. Thank you so much for joining me, and thanks to Baird for being a great supporter of our Access Louable podcast.
SPEAKER_02Let's see. So we talked about bourbon at the top of the show, and let's talk about beer. It's a nice sidecar, you know. Um, Michael, you just wrote a story about Goodwood closing its Louisville location. What's going on with Goodwood?
SPEAKER_03Well, a lot is going on with Goodwood right now. So um I think on March 30th, um, they closed two of their uh tap rooms in Louisville. Uh the the one in at uh 636 East Main Street in Newload, and then they had one on Whiskey Row that used to be number 15. And so uh once uh we got to looking into it, it turned out that there was a lot of lawsuits involved. Um the the numbers holding company, the um owners of number 15 had subleased to um Goodwood. And so uh it turned out they were suing Goodwood for back rent um and some other stuff for about$200,000. They had Had uh like Creation Gardens, some food vendors and stuff who were also uh suing them. And so uh I talked to Ted uh Mitsloff, the um owner of Goodwood, and he said that they had some uh trouble last year. Uh they had a chiller that went out and and some other equipment failure that cut their production by 25%. And then they had some flooding at uh some of their locations uh in Owensboro and elsewhere, and all this like just was um like just caused a lot of like financial setbacks that uh got them in a hole, and they're looking to either sell or merge with another brewery now.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And this is one of Louisville's oldest breweries, and by far one of the larger breweries. I get I think it's the largest brewery.
SPEAKER_05So it's my understanding that Goodwood basically BBC, the packaging division, became Goodwood.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so basically BBC had its tap room in St. Matthews, but they anything that was in bottles, they Goodwood was making it under the name BBC.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, downtown.
SPEAKER_02Downtown. And then after that partnership ended, BBC went away, it became Goodwood.
SPEAKER_05I have a lot of good memories of that downtown tap room. Yeah, me too, especially shooting darts.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and actually I shouldn't say BBC went away. It is still downtown. The St. Matthews one's gone, but there's still a BBC downtown. Um, so uh yeah, this is just one of several beer industry closures or beer, beer, I won't say beer industry, beer uh joint closures, yeah, tap room closures, brewery closures. Um what's going on with this? Uh you you notice several of them, I guess. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05It's hard, it's hard to know what's really going on. Uh maybe the market's saturated, but this comes after uh the closures of uh shipping port down in Portland.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And uh probably more prominently against the grain out of Slicker Field, their flagship.
SPEAKER_02Highwire in the Highlands?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, Highwire in the Highlands, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um 1020 had one in the Highlands, closed it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. They were kind of take they took over the lease of the uh Heine brothers there. Douglas, and uh they left when the uh lease ran up, but you would think that the Highlands would be more uh of something where they'd like to say.
SPEAKER_02And when I remember when BBC moved over to that tap room on Whiskey Row, I was like, oh good. Because there'd been so much trouble in industry, I was like, oh good. Well, at least BBC's doing well. They moved into this big new space, or yeah, Goodwood's doing well, they moved into this big new space, but that apparently wasn't the case.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, one time they had eight locations, yeah. And I think uh like their Louisville base and they don't have any tap rooms here. Yeah, and uh, they have one in Lexington that I think is involved in lawsuits now. Uh I'm not sure if the Owensboro one is still open. They closed uh it is still open.
SPEAKER_05I was just at it uh last weekend, okay. Believe it or not. Uh and it's a really nice space, but there was no one in there.
SPEAKER_03Uh and uh they closed Columbus and Indianapolis. So but things are hard for restaurants in general right now. We we've had a lot of prominent closings too of restaurants. Um uh birdies was a shock to me closing in Nulu come back in.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well, I think it's just a sign of the economy. I mean, gas prices are up, grocery prices are up, you know, the thing that gets cut is the luxuries, which is like going out to a restaurant.
SPEAKER_03Restaurants are like the canary in the coal mine for the economy for sure. And like because that's something that people could cut out easily.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I was to say that I think that, you know, um since since everything has been kind of deregulated or been regulating, the market's been regulating after the post-COVID boom, um, it's always been like the in terms of like steps of how many of who is safest from from the the market. You have spirits, then you have beer, and then you have wine. Wine is in the worst shape. Beer is right in the middle. I didn't know that. And then spirits are in a little bit better shape. And that's to try that's kind of traditionally what's going on. But I would say that what's going on with beer is what's going on with spirits, where you've got people drinking less, uh, you've got people looking for NA's. I mean, the amount of NA beer at liquor stores is exploding, and they're getting they're actually getting really good. They're getting like there's a there's some juicy IPAs out there that are like, yeah, they're like, man, this is not beer because it tastes just like one. So they the the big companies are expending more and more uh effort into getting these NA products. Um but then you got the you know the GLP ones and and uh Gen Z and all the things that people talk about in the distillery space uh uh are talking about in the brewery space as well. Um so yeah, I think that they're they're fanning the C strengths are big now. And I think that that's that's kind of the big thing in the brewery space is you you notice a lot of uh in the beer they are whereas as um the uh spirits have taken a combative stance against CPD, um C B the C BD industry, the the the uh breweries are are trying to figure out how they can how they can work. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I've seen a lot of different collaborations out there um that are very interesting. Like I, for instance, I know that like Cornbread Hemp, which is a locally based company here in in Louisville, they have one of the their board members used to work at uh a prominent brewery, um uh I think uh Las Lagonitas. Um yeah, so um there's a lot of that happening where the CBD industry is trying to trying to partner with the beer industry, but like when we talked to bourbonomics, we're like, hey, um they were quite everybody on the panel was like, yeah, like we did our our legislators did a great job, you know, helping get that, you know, um hurt them, you know, on the uh, you know, in Washington, and and we hope they stay down. Whereas brewery's like, hey, let's work together and figure this out.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, these Gen Z's with their Ozimpic and their weed. You just yeah. Go out there and drink a thousand calories worth of IPAs in a night and get back to it.
SPEAKER_04I don't know if Gen Z is doing Ozimpic. That's that's more of like our generation. I guess so. Yeah, it's more like the soccer moms. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05The looks maxing Gen Z's. The looks maxing on the Ozympic. Nice.
SPEAKER_02Um, all right. Good thing Olivia is not here to correct us about Gen Z. Yeah, I could hear her like Yeah, I could hear her where Spidey. Yeah, she's the old people are talking about you. I can tell. All these unks are talking too much. Unks. All right. Uh well, let's see. Uh it's been kind of a bummer of a show, so let's uh let's get into some some uh more up upbeat news, I guess you'd call it. Uh a new speakeasy? Hey, more booze, more more alcohol. Uh what's uh what's going on at the the distill speakeasy?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, uh this came in hot across our desks uh yesterday. Uh new speakeasy. It's called the 1933 Society. It's going to be in the basement of hotel uh distill. Is it distal or distill?
SPEAKER_04I've never I've always thought I believe it's distill, but then they just they're too cool for the extra L.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, it just has one L.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. They ain't got time for two L's. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05But it's the it's the latest uh speakeasy. I I'm having a tough time defining what a speakeasy is.
SPEAKER_03Is it just a uh basement bar now? Dark basement door.
SPEAKER_04It's a bar with a secret door. Yeah, it has to be dark. Uh you you generally have to have leather chairs. And yeah, there has to be some type of uh secret thing. Like I've I mean I've seen all of kinds. I've seen the ones that uh it slides open from like a cabinet or a staircase goes down the thing. Like there just got to be some type of like, ooh, check this out. Yeah, and then it's speakeasy.
SPEAKER_02In the 20s and 30s, people probably didn't talk about them in on podcasts. Yeah. Way less.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Well, what's funny is I I went to a uh to do a uh a tease for a story I'm doing on luxury living about a in-home speakeasy, which one of the coolest places that you'll see that's in somebody's home. And I was like, well, do people really know about your place around here? And he's like, Well, sorta kinda, but like that's kind of the point. Is like I don't want everybody to know about it. It's like if you know, you know. It's a secret. And so like that's the big thing, too, is that it's there's got to be a level of of like, hey, this this place is here, but like we want to keep it on the down down low.
SPEAKER_05I think Al Capone sent out press releases to the not as much, you know.
SPEAKER_04Well, there were also like codes and stuff. Uh I don't know. You had to know a password, you know a password. There were things.
SPEAKER_05It it gets goofy though. I went to uh Hill or High Water, which is actually an amazing space. But uh I don't know if they do this anymore, but right after they opened, you would go in, there'd be someone staying there and be like, what are the three ingredients to bourbon? Like it would be like a like you had to enter a riddle before you get a drink. How the hell am I supposed to know?
SPEAKER_02Like I well, Shay was talking about the time he went and um I can't remember where it was. He ordered um old-fashioned or something. They were like, I'm sorry, this is a candy store. We sell candy here.
SPEAKER_03Gertie's uh, which used to be in Newload, they had one, and I think it was like an old bank vault door or something you had to go in, but you had to stand there and wait until somebody could open it for you. It's not the most cost friendly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, big time investment to get to these places.
SPEAKER_04Pretty much every I can't think of many uh tasty rooms that have opened um that are like in the historic areas of of town of town that do not have a speakeasy. Like everything I'm like racking my brain right now, and I'm like, yep, speakeasy, speakeasy, speakeasy. So like everybody's like taking a spot that is away from the thing that's either down a hallway or underground and just labeled it as speakeasy.
SPEAKER_05They are everywhere. So right now we have this one, the 1933 Society. Uh Slugger Field announced they were having uh installing a whiskey thief sponsored speakeasy behind home plate. There's the chicken cock speakeasy Green River has one.
SPEAKER_04Green River has one road has one.
SPEAKER_05And then the the down the street where Barry Bagels is, they're gonna have two.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah. The the bakery is gonna have one, I know.
SPEAKER_05Um where are all these craft bartenders coming from?
SPEAKER_04There's the black rabbit in St. Matthews.
SPEAKER_02If you we should make a map and not put it on our website, you just gotta know to ask for the map of all the species. And yeah, and then we'll we'll sell it to you for a lot. Um anyway, if you subscribe to Access A Little.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you have to subscribe to our podcast, and then we'll give you the we should open one in the office. We got enough bourbon here.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's true. We do have uh we have a bourbon locker, um, and it's got some pretty good stuff in there.
SPEAKER_04What was the the place I'm trying to remember? The place, yeah. The chicken cock whiskey, that speakeasy, that one was, I think, by far the one that the coolest one that I've seen. But they said that the previous owners, um, was it Gertie's, I think, maybe they they had it already pretty much set up. They said they didn't have to do much to it, but it's it's really cool. Like when I think of a speakeasy, that's the one that like I picture in my mind.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, I used to go to GERDIE's a lot because they would have jazz on Wednesday nights.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Nice. Well, uh one last story here, and it is Teddy Bridgewater, the NFL quarterback. Now with the Detroit Lions, he was with the Buccaneers last year. He is coming back to Louisville, of course, played uh played for the University of Louisville, and he's going to be the speaker at the There Off Luncheon. I'll be there. I'm gonna say it's my favorite Kentucky Derby Festival event because it encourages day drinking uh in such a good way. But I guess they all kind of encourage day drinking. Um lot of alcohol on this show, this week. We are totally sober doing this. Um, but uh, but uh yeah, what are some uh I don't know what derby festival events are you guys looking forward to?
SPEAKER_03Well, I always look forward to their off luncheon because they have the best gift bag. Oh yeah, they do have a great gift bag. Yeah, I uh like a a lot of uh electronics and stuff. I've gotten good things from there.
SPEAKER_02It'll be cool to hear from Teddy too.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and and uh I uh love Thunder. Uh I usually like the Galthouse has like a good view viewing there, yeah. Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_05I the Thunder Air Show is probably my favorite derby festival of it. Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_02And then I wouldn't have picked you as an air show guys.
SPEAKER_04Love the air show. Yeah. It's good stuff. I'm a I think um I've got kids and they're all they always like the uh we live not too far from Bowman Field, so to see all the see all the balloons light up and then take off is a pretty cool thing. Um and that's uh yeah, so I I would say I would say that one's a good one.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's a tough one too, because any little bit of weather throws that thing off.
SPEAKER_04That's true. It it does take a while for it to like go off without a hitch.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02All right. Well, there's plenty of those coming up uh here in the next few uh next few weeks. So but I believe that is our show this week. Before we go, let's go around the room and share our social media handles and let folks know where they can find us on social media. Zach, where are you?
SPEAKER_05Uh LinkedIn, Zach Owens, and Instagram Zach.Owens1.
SPEAKER_02All right, how about you, Steve? Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn at SB Schmidt. And Michael? LinkedIn and Facebook is Michael L. Jones. And you can also find me on LinkedIn as David A. Man. If you like this podcast, please consider subscribing to it on many popular podcast services. We're on Apple and Spotify. Those are our most popular. Uh, thank you very much, Zach, Steve, and Michael. Thank you guys for listening to us at home, and we will see you next time. Bye.