Blue Run Spirits announces Trey Wade has joined the fast-growing, Georgetown, Kentucky-based whiskey company in the role of Chief Experience Curator for Blue Run’s soon-to-be-announced Private Barrel Program. Wade starts immediately, reporting to CEO and cofounder Mike Montgomery.
Wade, a well-known figure in the American whiskey industry, joins Blue Run having served as the Vice President of National Partnerships for the Black Bourbon Society for three years. An Executive Bourbon Steward, he has participated in more than 120 barrel selections and contributed to dozens of blending projects for well-known brands. In 2021, Trey collaborated with Blue Run on its inaugural 12 Days of Bourbon release, which set records for selling out 12 days in a row, each in less than two minutes.
Tapping into his years of experiential marketing experience at Dell, Amazon and Five Hour Energy, Wade will manage the curation of Blue Run’s first Private Barrel Program, developing an experience that is quintessentially Blue Run. The project will kick off in February, allowing select businesses, spirits societies and individuals to choose from a collection of carefully selected barrels, securing their own whiskey perfectly suited for them but with the distinct characteristics for which Blue Run is known.
Wade will also oversee Blue Run’s corporate partnerships and culinary alignment.
Blue Run Spirits has introduced 13 bourbon and rye whiskey releases since the company launched in October 2020, selling 21,000 9 liter cases in 2022 – a 300% year-over-year increase. It is forecasting sales of 32,000 9 liter cases in 2023. Blue Run plans to invest nearly $51 million in a 35,000-square-foot distillery and a 20,000-square-foot rickhouse in Georgetown, Kentucky which will break ground in Q2 2023.
