Interview with Max Shapira, February 11, 2014

Interview Summary

Max Shapira is the president of Heaven Hill Distilleries. In this interview he discusses growing up in the distillery and how he became involved with the business after working on Wall Street. He talks about the history of Heaven Hill from his grandparents' immigration from Lithuania when their five sons began the distillery, to the present day. He talks about other milestones in the distillery's history including World War II, Prohibition, and the fire that occurred at the distillery in 1996. He talks about trends within the bourbon industry, new products and target markets, and the beginning of the bourbon tourism industry.

Interview Keyword

bourbon Bourbon Industry Distilleries--Kentucky Distillers Family-owned business enterprises Kentucky (bourbon) Marketing whisky whiskey

Interview LC Subject

Bourbon whiskey Whiskey Whiskey industry--Kentucky

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.