Larry Kass
Kass, one man’s whiskey story.
In his 20-years at Heaven Hill Distillery, Larry Kass did it all. He handled public relations, legal, brand management, and many other tasks. The funny part about that is that when Larry got hired at Heaven Hill distillery, he didn’t know a lot about whiskey. He says, “my experience drinking bourbon began with drinking it warm from a Styrofoam cup outside a Charlie Daniels concert.”
That worked out o.k. because at the time Larry started at Heaven Hill, in 1998, bourbon was not the most loved member of the whiskey family. So, a man who did not know a lot about whiskey was hired to market a product that needed some attention. One may say, it was a match made in Heaven (Hill).
Larry quoted “lifestyle” reasons for his move from New York to Louisville. He was working for an ad agency that won the account to handle the marketing for Heaven Hill and Larry managed the account. After 3 years of managing the account, he left the ad agency and moved directly to Heaven Hill. When he joined the brand in 1998, he managed the brown and aged goods. The marketing and brand management was nothing compared to what it is today. Evan Williams was, and continues to be, the flagship brand. Today, Evan Williams is a major sponsor of Major League Baseball but in 1998 their marketing was limited to black and white ads in regional editions of Golf Digest and Newsweek.
Fortunately for Larry, he loved to talk, and Heaven Hill gave him products he believed in and loved to talk about. When you listen to Larry, it is evident that not only did he love the products, but he also loved the owners of this family-owned business, and the entire distilling process. In his time at Heaven Hill, Larry helped grow a few family-owned brands into hundreds of brands. Larry also represented Heaven Hill with Legislators. When the distillery needed a representative in Frankfort, Kentucky or on Capitol Hill in Washington D. C., Larry shared our needs with legislators.
Every time Heaven Hill launched a new brand, Heaven Hill President Max Shapira would call on Larry to introduce and push it and say, “Now we to have to roll up our sleeves and get this brand going.” Finally Larry replied jokingly, “I’ve got no sleeves left! I’m in a tank top here, after the last ten brands!” When bourbon really started to engage consumers, Heaven Hill was one of the only three distillers who mashed rye whiskey. That caused a shortage of rye whiskey due to lack of production. He brought to fruition the super-premium brand of Rittenhouse Rye 21, 23, and 25 that are extremely difficult to find today.
As American Whiskey continued growing, Larry convinced Max and Heaven Hill to start a corporate communications department. There was suddenly a need for the company to be involved in the community, to take on a larger role in trade associations, in government affairs at the state and national level. The company, which is family owned and privately held, needed a public persona. Larry had spent a lot of time building up relationships with people in West Louisville, where our the actual distillery is and in Bardstown, where our whiskey is stored and bottled, and across the industry. It wasn’t what I came to Heaven Hill to do, but the fit was natural.
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association inducted Heaven Hill’s former Director of Trade Relations, Larry Kass, into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in September of 2020. The award is known as the highest honor in our industry and recognizes individuals that have left a significant impact on Bourbon’s stature, growth, and awareness. Larry, well known as a “treasure trove” of company history, retired from Heaven Hill in November 2019 after twenty years with the family owned Bardstown company. He served in several capacities during his time with the company, acting as a spokesperson to the media, an champion for innovation, a helping hand in the community, and a voice for the future.
Heaven Hill President Max Shapira says, “Larry has an innate ability to find a connection with any journalist, colleague, or consumer he met, which was a draw for many to our company. His booming voice makes any story interesting and he had many to tell as he shared Bourbon’s history and culture with the world. And it was through these tight-knit relationships that he was able to strengthen the integrity of our timeless craft and be a force for the category’s resurgence. Larry set the course for our award-winning whiskeys to thrive in the Bourbon Renaissance and laid the foundation for brands built on stories of authenticity and legacy.
“His sense of humor, intellectual curiosity, and candor are renowned throughout the industry,” Shapira continued. “His deep loyalty to Heaven Hill and the Shapira family left a distinctive mark in our history.”