MB Roland Distillery Is Headed To Auction
Artfully Bourbon / October 21, 2026One of Kentucky's original modern craft distilleries is looking for a new owner as founders Paul Tomaszewski and Merry Beth Roland prepare to retire after 18 years.
MB Roland Distillery is going up for sale, but this doesn't appear to be another story about a whiskey company shutting its doors.
Founders Paul Tomaszewski and Merry Beth Roland have decided to retire after 18 years, putting the operating distillery, its brands, inventory, and 26-acre Western Kentucky property up for online auction December 7–14, 2026.
From an Amish Dairy Farm to Kentucky Bourbon
The story started after Paul was stationed at nearby Fort Campbell while serving in the U.S. Army. He met Merry Beth, and they eventually bought a former Amish dairy farm near Pembroke, Kentucky, with plans to build a distillery.
They opened MB Roland in 2009 with a 100-gallon still, producing just a handful of barrels each year. Over time, the operation grew into one of Kentucky's original modern craft distilleries and became part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour.
While much of the bourbon industry grew around them, MB Roland stayed committed to making its own whiskey. The distillery built its reputation on Kentucky-grown grains, double pot distillation, non-chill filtration, and an approach inspired by pre-Prohibition whiskey production.
It's a smaller, independent operation with a distinct identity, and it helped define what Kentucky craft whiskey could look like.
What’s included in the auction
The sale isn't limited to the distillery building or the MB Roland name. The entire operating business is being offered, giving a potential buyer the opportunity to continue production.
- Founded: 2009
- Location: Pembroke, Kentucky
- Property: 26 acres
- Auction: December 7–14, 2026
- Sale: Operating business and real estate
The offering includes the 10-acre distillery campus, another 16 acres of undeveloped property, aging whiskey inventory, production equipment, brand names and recipes, distribution relationships, and the Cave City tasting room operation.
The brand portfolio includes MB Roland, Dark Fired, Barker's Mill, Old 2nd District, Kentucky Pink Lemonade, and other products.
According to information released with the sale, the company has relationships with nine distributors covering 17 markets, along with online sales reaching 45 states.
Paul and Merry Beth are also offering up to six months of transition support to help a new owner take over the business.
Why it matters
A buyer isn't starting from scratch. MB Roland has an operating distillery, established brands, aging whiskey inventory, and existing distribution relationships. There's an opportunity to continue what Paul and Merry Beth spent nearly two decades building, rather than simply acquiring the property and equipment.
The AB take
We've been fans of MB Roland for a while, so this one caught our attention.
Plenty of headlines will follow as distilleries change hands and the whiskey industry adjusts to a different market. But we wouldn't automatically put MB Roland in that category.
Two people built a distillery from the ground up, spent 18 years making whiskey their way, and are ready to retire.
Now the interesting part is who wants to take it from here.
MB Roland has always felt a little different from the increasingly polished world of Kentucky bourbon. It's independent, grain-to-glass, and unmistakably its own thing.
We hope whoever buys it understands that it’s worth preserving.
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