Paul Lux
“LuxCo Founder”
Born in 1930, Paul A. Lux lead an uneventful childhood. Following high school, Paul attended and graduated from MIT. After MIT, He became a Captain in the US Air Force and served during the Korean War. Upon discharge from the service, Paul would further his education at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration’s: Executive Education program.
In 1958, Paul and his partner, David Sherman, started the David Sherman Corporation (DSC) based in St Louis Missouri. DSC was a private bottling company intended to serve local retailers and distributers. DSC started with 10 people, a 30,000 square ft facility and small bottling line. Over the years it would grow to become one of the globes premier marketers, bottlers and importer/ exporters of alcoholic beverages, today possessing 3% of the global market share.
In 1993, DSC acquired the Ezra Brooks Bourbon brand from United distillers. They added to their bourbon portfolio in 1999 and 2000 when they purchased the Rebel Yell and David Nicholson brands respectively. Both brands had been produced at the Stitzel-Weller distillery by Diageo. When Diageo sold the Bernheim Distillery to Heaven Hill, they also divested in bourbon, selling the two brands to DSC. DSC and ultimately LuxCo would continue “source” Rebel and David Nicholson from Heaven Hill.
DSC continued to grow its overall spirit portfolio through the years acquiring such brands as Juarez and El Mayor Tequila, Pearl Vodka, Everclear, Saint Brendan’s Irish Cream and another bourbon brand in 2015, when they formed a partnership with the Limestone Branch distillery maker of Minor Case and Yellowstone bourbon. In 2004, the Lux family purchased the Sherman family’s 50% stake in DSC to become to sole owner. In honor of its founder, Paul A Lux, DSC was renamed LuxCo in 2006. In 2018 LuxCo opened its own distillery Lux Row in Bardstown, KY and in 2021 LuxCo was purchased by Midwest Grain Products (MGP) of Indiana.
Paul A Lux has been described as a humble, unassuming, caring and laidback man. His employees loved him…so much so…that in 2008 the Paul A Lux award was started honoring outstanding achievement, dedication, integrity and commitment in his memory. Paul married Ann Sherman in 1955 and the couple would have four children: Dr Paul Lux, a respected doctor, and Donn Lux, current Chairman and CEO of LuxCo, and two daughters, Catherine N. Lux and Caroline Lux Kaplan. Sadly, Paul A Lux passed on March 22 2005 from Leukemia. He remained CEO of DSC until his death.
