The distillery in question is MB Roland, the Pembroke craft operation in Christian County that helped put western Kentucky on the craft whiskey map, and it is headed to an online auction rather than a conventional listing. There is no asking price. No target figure has been released, and the whole thing, from the stills and rickhouse to the brands and recipes, will be sold as a single lot when bidding runs December 7 through 14, 2026, through Bolinger Real Estate & Auction. The reason is a simple one: after 18 years, founders Paul Tomaszewski and Merry Beth Roland Tomaszewski are retiring.
The Lexington Herald-Leader first framed it as an invitation to anyone who has ever wanted to get into whiskey. For the right buyer, it is a rare chance to take over a working Kentucky distillery with its own whiskey, its own history and a highway location that is about to get considerably busier.
Why the Founders Chose Now
Merry Beth Roland Tomaszewski told the Herald-Leader that the couple had been weighing the move for some time. "Paul and I have given our exit strategy much thought over the years and decided this was an opportune time," she said, in part. She also put it in terms of a handoff: "After 18 years of growing MB Roland Distillery, we have decided to retire and pass the torch."
The timing is not only personal. According to the Herald-Leader, she pointed to a Buc-ee's travel center planned within about a mile of the distillery on Interstate 24, a development she expects to bring a wave of new highway traffic past the property, near Fort Campbell. Selling now lets a new owner capture that upside from the start.
Paul Tomaszewski, in a news release about the sale, put the distillery's legacy front and center. "For 18 years, MB Roland Distillery has been proud to be one of Kentucky's pioneering craft distilleries," he said, adding that it had been "helping shape the state's craft distilling movement." He said the company had "worked alongside fellow distillers and industry leaders to advance legislation" and to "build a stronger future for Kentucky's distilling industry." Looking ahead, he said: "We're proud of what we've built and look forward to finding the right new owner to take MB Roland to the next level," and "ensure its legacy continues for generations to come."
From an Army Posting to an Amish Dairy Farm
MB Roland's story starts with the military. Paul Tomaszewski, who was born and raised near New Orleans, came to Kentucky in 2007 while serving in the U.S. Army at Fort Campbell. The couple founded the distillery in 2009 on a former Amish dairy farm, setting out to make pre-Prohibition-style whiskey and bourbon.
They started small, with a 100-gallon still, and the Herald-Leader reported that they outgrew it within four years. That is a typical arc for the first wave of Kentucky craft distillers, who launched in a state dominated by global brands and had to build an audience a few hundred bottles at a time.
Dark Fired and a Make-It-Yourself Philosophy
The distillery's calling card is Kentucky Dark Fired Whiskey, made with smoked corn. It draws on western Kentucky's tradition of dark-fired tobacco, a curing method that uses smoldering hardwood fires, and gives the whiskey a smoky profile that sets it apart from most of the state's bourbons. MB Roland also makes a range of flavored moonshines.
The Herald-Leader noted that MB Roland makes its own products rather than sourcing whiskey from other distilleries. In a market where many young brands have bottled sourced bourbon while their own stock matures, that is a point of pride for craft purists and a selling point for a buyer looking for a genuine production asset rather than a label.
What a Winning Bidder Actually Gets
The auction covers both the operating business and the real estate, and it will not be broken up.
The Land and Buildings
The property totals about 26 acres: a 10-acre distillery campus and 16 acres of undeveloped land. The campus includes the production distillery, a rickhouse, an event barn and a tasting area. A second tasting room in Cave City, Kentucky, is part of the package as well. The listing says the land has no restrictive zoning and that utility improvements are already in place.
The Brands and the Whiskey
Buyers get the brand portfolio and the recipes behind it. According to Fred Minnick's report on the sale, that includes MB Roland, Dark Fired, Barker's Mill, Old 2nd District, Kentucky Pink Lemonade and St. Elmo's Fire, among others. The sale also includes aging whiskey inventory and a barrel program with a track record across multiple blends.
The Sales Network
Distribution may be the most valuable piece for an outside investor. The listing describes nine distributors covering 17 markets, the option to self-distribute in Kentucky and online sales reaching 45 states. The distillery is also a member of the Kentucky Distillers' Association, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Stateline Whiskey Tour, and it owns official Kentucky Bourbon Trail interstate signs at the site. It is also an established Harvest Hosts location, which brings in RV travelers, and it comes with a trained staff.
A Six-Month Handoff
The Tomaszewskis have offered up to six months of support after the sale to help the new owner learn the operation. For a buyer without distilling experience, that transition period could be the difference between a smooth takeover and a costly learning curve.
The Buc-ee's Factor
The planned Buc-ee's is the clearest example of why the founders see this as a good moment to sell. The chain bought property on I-24 in mid-2025, and the travel center is expected to open in 2029 as Kentucky's third location. Buc-ee's stores are known for drawing enormous crowds of road-trippers, and a craft distillery with bourbon trail signage within about a mile of one has an obvious path to more visitors.
Fort Campbell adds another steady source of traffic. Distillery Trail noted that the post, less than 10 miles away, is home to the 101st Airborne Division and supports a population of nearly a quarter million people.
Not Only a Distillery Deal
The listing is written to appeal beyond whiskey makers. It says a buyer "could continue the distillery, build a hospitality or agritourism venue, or return part of the acreage" to farming or other commercial use. It also notes that "a state tourism grant of more than $500,000 is also available for up to two years," subject to program terms.
That flexibility widens the pool of potential bidders. A distiller may see a ready-made production site with brands and distribution. A hospitality operator may see an event barn on a busy interstate with a tourism grant attached. A land investor may see 16 undeveloped acres near a major new traffic generator.
A Bourbon Trail Original in Western Kentucky
MB Roland sits a long way from the bourbon heartland around Bardstown, Frankfort and Louisville, and that distance has shaped its identity. It was one of the early destinations on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, the program that gave small producers a way to attract visitors who might otherwise spend all their time at the big-name distilleries. For travelers heading along I-24 between Nashville and points north and west, the distillery became one of the few craft stops in that corner of the state.
Its location also explains the Dark Fired name. Christian County and the surrounding region are known for dark-fired tobacco, and a smoked-corn whiskey ties the distillery to that local farming culture in a way few Kentucky whiskeys can claim. For a buyer, that kind of rooted, regional story is hard to build from scratch, and it comes included in the sale.
Who Might Be Interested
The likely bidders range widely. An established spirits company could add a working Kentucky production site and a set of existing brands. A first-time owner with capital could buy into the industry with a trained team and six months of guidance from the founders. Investors focused on the Buc-ee's corridor may value the land and the hospitality potential as much as the whiskey. The single-lot format means each of them has to bid on the full package.
How the Sale Works
The online auction opens December 7 and closes December 14. Qualified buyers who sign a non-disclosure agreement receive a full information package with financial and production details and can schedule a confidential tour of the site. Donald Snyder of Time and Tasks LLC is serving as business consultant on the transaction, and inquiries go to Bolinger Real Estate & Auction.
A Sign of Where Kentucky Craft Whiskey Stands
MB Roland belongs to the generation of Kentucky craft distilleries that opened before the bourbon boom reached full speed, and its founders are now among the first of that group to reach retirement and plan an exit. How the auction goes will be watched closely by other small producers wondering what their own businesses are worth in a cooler whiskey market.
Craft distilleries rarely change hands with this much included: real estate, aging inventory, recipes, nearly two dozen brands, distribution in 17 markets and a founder-led transition. Without a published price, the auction will set the value. Whoever wins it will inherit an 18-year head start in one of Kentucky's less crowded whiskey regions, and a Buc-ee's down the road.
