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…