THE BOURBON BARON
How a former Chevy Chase lawyer created a destination distillery in Kentucky
PHOTO BY TOM DEKLE
BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN
DAVID MANDELL ENTERED THE spirit world in 2004, during a night out at Skybar in Los Angeles with Daniel Linde, a friend since freshman year at Washington University in St. Louis. An idea took hold, a plan was hatched and a new entrepreneur left the bar. Mandell, a 42-year-old resident of Chevy Chase, is the president and CEO of the Bardstown Bourbon Co., the newest and one of the largest distilleries on the “Bourbon Trail” in central Kentucky. His own trail, however, is full of twists and turns. Before that night in LA, the former lawyer and Republican Party operative—who helped monitor the Florida recount during the Bush-Gore presidential election in 2000—had been working in Washington, D.C., for 10 years, including four as chief of staff to the administrator at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Linde and Mandell were catching up over sugary Red Bull and vodka when Mandell rightly observed that they were trying to get tipsy without getting tired. What if they could marry the two in a single beverage? Working nights and weekends, Mandell researched the concept and found a Dutch distillery and a Florida bottler that could produce a custom vodka and infuse it with a blend of caffeine and guarana, a South American berry that contains an herbal component similar to caffeine. Mandell left the FAA in 2006 and moved with his wife, Alison, and two kids (he now has three) to New York, where Linde, who had been living in LA, joined him. They launched the p.i.n.k. Spirits Co. on May 1, 2006, and the first-of-its-kind vodka was a success, distributed in 44 states and five international markets and selling more than 75,000 cases before being sold in 2009 for a hefty but undisclosed sum to Prohibition Beverage Inc. “The whole p.i.n.k. experience really got me motivated,” Mandell says.
“I had lots of ideas, and I was consulting with other companies about beverage marketing.” Mandell moved back to Chevy Chase in 2009 and reunited with his FAA boss, who was now heading the Aerospace Industries Association. Mandell joined the trade association as vice president, using his entrepreneurial muscles to beef up membership. But after a few years, he got antsy to pursue other dreams and came up with an idea to create a destination distillery that would attract tourists, host special events and partner with other distilleries to produce custom whiskeys. The idea was to create an experience like you might find at a winery in Napa Valley, California, with tastings, tours and an event space. Mandell convinced Linde to join him in the venture, and in 2015 they formed Bardstown Bourbon Co., with Linde as chief financial officer. “I came to it somewhat skeptically because it was a big thing to bite off,” Linde says. “But eventually the pieces fell into place”—a key piece being partner Peter Loftin, a telecom millionaire who is a major investor. The $25 million distillery sprawls over 100 acres in Bardstown, 40 miles southeast of Louisville. Mandell is on-site almost full time now as the distillery is in production and the facility prepares to welcome visitors in mid-2017. Once everything is functioning fully, Mandell will return to Chevy Chase. The project dwarfs anything Mandell has attempted in the past. He recalls good advice from a mentor at his former law firm when he became a 28-year-old chief of staff at the FAA. “Are you scared?” the mentor asked. Mandell nodded. “Good,” his friend said. “That insecurity will help you, because you’ll work harder.” Lucky for Mandell there’s also plenty of bourbon available to calm the jitters.
BETHESDAMAGAZINE.COM | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
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