Passionate. Kind. Down to earth. Knowledgeable. Dedicated. A true friend. Beloved by all.

These are just some of the adjectives that people have used to describe our colleague, Mike Sonne upon his passing this week.  And most definitely there are a million more reasons to respect and honor him.

Mike was a vibrant part of our Heaven Hill team for over 40 years. Over the course of those four decades, he served in many critical roles in the areas of Processing, Quality Assurance, as a Master Taster and most recently as a Process Engineer with Heaven Hill in Bardstown, before retiring last year.  

The people who knew him best can attest to the fact that he had a passion for the industry, and most significantly a deep passion for all things Heaven Hill.  Over the course of his career with us, Mike worked on many key initiatives that were instrumental to the development of many bourbon products.  In fact, perhaps most enviably, he was renowned for having quite the palate. He loved blending whiskeys, and he loved contributing to Heaven Hill in this way.  His friends and family would attest to the fact that he was an avid boater, hunter and loved driving fast cars.  All in all, Mike was beloved by so many, and he will be missed.

We are very grateful for his enduring dedication and to acknowledge his many contributions, Heaven Hill has decided to honor him with a donation in his name to the WHAS Crusade for Children, a non-profit very near and dear to his heart.  If you would like to make a donation in Mike’s name as well, please click here.

We know Mike was revered and cherished by so many Heaven Hill team members. In light of his passing, if you could benefit from the use of counseling resources, please click here to learn about free, available support.