ABOUT

5094 Distilling LLC was established by Tom Jones on 11/15/2022, and shortly thereafter, on 3/31/2023, Tom, together with his wife Sheila, completed the purchase of the abandoned Old Lewis Hunter Distillery property in Lair, KY.

Thus begins the journey...

Meet the Head Distiller:

Tom Jones

With over 17 years automotive manufacturing experience as a Senior Engineering Manager in Quality Engineering at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, Tom is no stranger to the challenges of manufacturing mass production quantities while maintaining a high-quality product.   Bourbon on the other hand, is a different story.  Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Tom knew very little about Bourbon and didn't even drink it!  Fast forward 3 years, my how things have changed...

Few good things came out of the COVID-19 pandemic; lucky for you, Tom's All-in Leap into bourbon is one of them.  Tom's passion for bourbon began September 13, 2020, with an event scheduled with a group of friends that Tom tagged Come "Dischill" with Us.  Looking for a local staycation day trip, Tom sought out distillery tours.  One small problem, all the local "big name" distilleries were closed to tours.  Tom kept looking and stumbled on a Grounds Walking Tour of the former Old Crow Distillery in Frankfort, KY - Glenns Creek Distilling was open for business.  David Meier, the Owner and Head Distiller at Glenns Creek Distilling led the tour.  That day, Tom witnessed a small, start-up distillery full of passion bringing life back into a legend of a historical distillery.  How cool is this?  

Two days later, Tom emailed David about helping out.  David replied - "Pay is low, conditions terrible, work hard, interact with tourists... but some good guys."  The ideal job exists!  Sign me up, right?  Maybe not, but that is exactly what Tom did, and he has worked nearly every weekend since (and still does).  Starting as a metal fabricator and distillery operator, Tom learned the fundamentals.  At Glenns Creek, being a small team, you learn to do it all.  David became Tom's mentor, and Tom eventually became his Merchandise Manager and Graphic Designer, stepping up the GCD merch game.  Then in 2022, Tom created his own bourbon collection - the Glenns Creek Heirloom Collection, which is currently aging, and set to be released in July 2024 or 2025.  This collection will be Tom's formal introduction as a distiller into the Bourbon Industry ahead of 5094 Distilling.  

Now you may be wondering, how did 5094 Distilling come about, and why 5094?  Well, let's start with the easy one - yep, 5094 is the address, but more than that - if you google it, you will find reference to angel numbers, and the "meanings" behind 5094 seemed to align with Tom's story.  In addition, another distillery currently owns the rights to the name and brand Old Lewis Hunter, so at the moment, the original name is not available, although Tom is in negotiations to get it back.

Now, how did 5094 Distilling come about?  Old Lewis Hunter Distillery wasn't for sale...  Well, ever heard of "Abandoned Kentucky"?  It's a very cool site/Facebook page/book that captures and seeks to preserve the story behind historical properties.  Someone posted pictures of an abandoned distillery in Harrison county in November 2022.  Wait, there is an abandoned distillery in Harrison county?  Turns out there was, and Tom reached out to the owner through PVA to see if he'd be interested in selling it.   Hey hun?...  Let's buy a distillery!