This year marks 85 years of our historic, family-owned and operated company. As we commemorate this milestone, our A Day in the Life series will focus on retirees pivotal to Heaven Hill’s evolution to becoming the country’s fifth-largest distilled spirits supplier. 

Retiring as our VP of Production in 2011 after 41 years, David Hobbs not only witnessed our transition to a more diversified portfolio. He also saw our operation’s barrel production more than triple from 200 to 900 barrels per day and case production spiral from 1 million to over 11 ½ million cases annually.  

Upon his retirement in 2011, David was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, the highest honor given by our signature industry. 

Today he talks to us about his long career with Heaven Hill, from his beginnings in bottling to senior leadership.

Tell us about a typical day for you at Heaven Hill. 

A typical day was visiting with the people involved with production. We discussed scheduled production dates, problems, future needs and planned for future projects to meet demands. 

What was your favorite thing about working here? 

My favorite things were working for a family-owned company that welcomed an open-door policy from everyone who worked there. In my position, I was fortunate to be able to work with everyone at the company from bottom to top. It was a growing company, and we were given an opportunity to feel like a part of that growth. 

What are some contributions you and your team made during your time at Heaven Hill that you are particularly proud of? 

Contributions included development of a team of very skilled management people; product development, expanding facilities to meet the demands of the increased production in distilling; aging; bottling and distribution. We also developed a group of outside suppliers to help with the increased demands of production. 

What first attracted you to Heaven Hill? 

This was my first full-time job, and I had heard from friends that Heaven Hill was a good place to work. 

What is your favorite Heaven Hill memory? 

My favorite memory is traveling to other facilities throughout the country and world to learn about new ideas in the industry. There is a compatibility and open-ness within the industry to share ideas. 

Which Heaven Hill corporate value do you feel your work best represented and why? 

Nimble – My group could present an idea to the president of the company and get an answer quickly without bureaucracy. 

Tell us about your life in retirement and how you like to spend your time today. 

My wife and I enjoy traveling. Since getting married in 2018, we have travelled to Turkey, Greece, a cruise to the British Isles, France, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Florida, Colorado and California. When COVID is resolved, we plan to resume our travels. I play golf and keep busy with family and friends.