LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky alcoholic beverage regulators on Tuesday raided the Louisville and Lexington locations of Justins’ House of Bourbon, a specialty bourbon shop, seizing “numerous” bourbon bottles and other evidence of suspected “improper” purchases and sales, according to state officials.
The Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet confirmed the enforcement actions in a written statement, which noted that both shops’ alcohol licenses remain active while the investigation is ongoing.
The statement doesn’t address what specific laws or regulations may have been broken, and officials did not respond to a request for further comment.
Neither Justin Thompson nor Justin Sloan, who are listed as owners of the Louisville shop in public records, responded to requests for comment.
Justins' House of Bourbon offers “rare and vintage” bourbons and purchases unopened bottles from private collections, according to its website. Its Louisville store is at 101 W. Market Street, while its Lexington store is 601 W. Main Street.
In 2018, a change in Kentucky law allowed individuals who do not hold liquor licenses to sell unopened bottles of "vintage spirits" to bars, stores and restaurants, which can resell them by the bottle or the drink.
Liquor stores and businesses that serve alcohol typically must buy from state-licensed wholesalers.
“In the past, if you were cleaning out Grandma’s basement and found a vintage bottle of whiskey that had never been opened … you could not legally sell that bottle. With the new law, that bottle can be sold to a licensed bar, restaurant or package store,” Kentucky Distillers Association President Eric Gregory said during a 2017 bill signing ceremony.
The law was amended in 2022 to place a limit on the quantity of vintage spirits that any single seller can offload in a 12-month period. Also, license holders such as liquor stores are required to report their purchases of vintage spirits to the state before reselling the liquor.
Bourbon author Fred Minnick first reported the raid on his site Wednesday.
