Cincinnati entrepreneur Bob Slattery has acquired Norwood's Shumrick and Leys Distillery and rebranded it as the "Robert James Distillery."
Slattery, a partner in Fifty West Brewing Company with his son Bobby, founded Slatts Group, whose portfolio includes companies ranging from valpak to Wagspark and Slatts Pub in Blue Ash to the aforementioned Fifty West.
“I could not be more excited with our acquisition of Shumrick and Leys,” said Slattery in a press release. “We plan to continue traditional distilling techniques, but also look forward to exploring new technologies to improve quality and accelerate the aging processes that haven’t changed in hundreds of years."
Terry Shumrick, co-founder of Shumrick and Leys and veteran wine and spirits producer, will remain onboard as the master distiller for Robert James.
Shumrick will be working with technology like iStill from Amsterdam to "collaborate across a network of like-minded smaller distilleries and come to market faster with cutting edge, patented spirits production processes," he said in the release. "Innovation and quality are our guiding lights.”
Slattery and Co. will be rebranding the taproom and updating the craft cocktail and line of spirits, with a target of early June.
Robert James Distillery is located at 2810 Highland Ave., Norwood.
