Justins’ House of Bourbon Summoned to Hearing Over Potential Bourbon Smuggling Violations

Thu, February 9, 2023

News

Lexington Times Web Editor

Lexington,Ky.–According to a report from the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Janet Patton, Justins’ House of Bourbon has been summoned to a “show cause” hearing in Washington, D.C., over potential violations related to the January raid that found hundreds of potentially illegally transported bottles of bourbon.

Patton reports that the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board of the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration has ordered the hearing after “a closed meeting to review the results of a months-long investigation involving D.C., Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Texas, and federal alcohol regulators.” As the investigation is still ongoing, no charges have been filed.

The case file has been sent to the D.C. Attorney General’s office to prepare a charging document with potential administrative violations. Justins’ House of Bourbon must appear at the hearing to “show cause” for why they should not be held responsible for the violations. Patton reports that a date for the hearing has not been set yet.

Justins’ House of Bourbon is owned by Justin Thompson, Justin Sloan, and Phillip Lee Greer, and is licensed in Kentucky. The case file lists 11 potential violations, including illegally transporting alcohol into the D.C. and obtaining product from outside the United States with altered labels that were not approved by the federal government.

During the January 17 raids of Justins’ House of Bourbon’s operations in D.C., Lexington, and Louisville, numerous bottles of bourbon and other items were seized, including hundreds of bottles of Blanton’s and Weller bourbons. The case report states that investigators found Justins’ was “improperly importing” hundreds of bottles of Blanton’s from the Netherlands and that no licensing was found for Starr Liquidation, a Pennsylvania company from which Justins’ allegedly bought 600 bottles of Weller bourbon.

Photo: Justins’ House of Bourbon at Main and Jefferson in Lexington, Ky. (The Lexington Times)