John Hargrove
| Co-Founder, President, and COO of Whiskey House of Kentucky
John Hargrove is currently the co-founder, President, and COO of Whiskey House of Kentucky, which is the largest, most flexible, and sophisticated custom whiskey manufacturing facility in the United States. The project commenced in February 2022 and is scheduled to begin operations in the second quarter 2024 in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
Prior to founding Whiskey House of Kentucky, John served as the President & COO of the Bardstown Bourbon Company. Joining the team in 2017, John led a distilling team of more than 50 operations employees with an average of more than 15 years each of direct whiskey making experience. During this time John made significant contributions to the Collaborative Distilling Program, quality control, brand development, product innovation, process improvement, capacity expansion, and project management.
John previously had served as a Master Distiller and Director of Distillation Operations and Quality Assurance for Sazerac in Bardstown KY at Barton’s 1792 Distillery. John started with Sazerac as the Quality/Continuous Improvement Manager and quickly rose through the ranks where he discovered and leveraged his passion for whiskey, bourbon, and rye production.
John obtained a wealth of experience in manufacturing working with Quaker Oats/PepsiCo in various roles where he had the opportunity to focus on innovation, process improvement and project management. As a results-oriented leader, John has been afforded opportunities to serve as an effective leader throughout his career in the Spirits Industry.
With experience serving in United States Army Special Forces, John began to travel the world when he served in the US Army from 2004 to 2012. As a decorated Green Beret, John served with the 5th Special Forces Group in OCONUS and CONUS operations. His successful completion of training includes key areas of advanced special operations such as Combat Diver Qualification Course in Key West, Combat Dive Supervisor Course, Air Assault School, Airborne School, SERE school, Special Forces Qualification Course and at the JFK Special Warfare Training Language School, where he learned Arabic.
John is the recipient of numerous awards and certifications, including the U.S. Army Commendation Medal, Global Defense on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal. Since serving in the military, John has garnered a number of other awards and designations including a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification, Lean Six Sigma Kaizen Certification, and ISO 9001/22000 Food Safety Certification. In 2014, John was recognized by Quaker Oats/Frito Lay/PepsiCo at the annual meeting in Dallas with a Resource Conservation Award as America Foods Supply Chain Sustainability Quaker Resource Person of the Year as well as a Research and Development Special Recognition award from Frito Lay. An Eagle Scout with the Bronze and Gold Palms, John is also a recipient of MO House and Senate Proclamations for scouting in addition to other awards.
A graduate of the University of Missouri, John actively participated in study abroad programs in the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece and Turkey. Born in Saudi Arabia, John spent his youth in the Midwest. He currently resides in Bardstown KY, The Bourbon Capital Of The World!