LANCASTER, Ky. — Kentucky’s bourbon business is booming, and it’s inspiring others to get in on the action. A group of friends in Central Kentucky is hoping to bring a distillery to their hometown of Lancaster.

What You Need To Know

  • Aaron Floyd and Antonio Santago want to open DAAD Distilling in Lancaster

  • The dads hope to distill their own bourbon but also make the distillery a family friendly educational experience 

  • Their goal is to spread the message and importance of being an involved dad 

  • If all goes as planned, DAAD Distilling would open in 2025

Four men have made it their goal to open a distillery in Lancaster in Garrard County, hoping to bring more tourism economy to the city, but perhaps more importantly, spread a message of being an involved father.

Aaron Floyd and Antonio Santago are both fathers and lovers of bourbon. It’s why they and two other dads started D.A.A.D. Distilling in April 2023.

“We wanted to use something that was lucrative and had history and great heritage in the state of Kentucky,” Floyd said.

The central Kentuckians and two of their behind-the-scenes partners dream of opening a distillery in Lancaster, a place they come to get away from city life.

“Garrard County is a place where we come to free our minds. We came to the nature preserves here. It’s very peaceful and relaxing,” Floyd said.

Santago, a father of five, and Floyd, a father of a girl, want to show people the importance of being an involved dad through their experience in non-traditional education. It’s why their distillery will be family-friendly.

“We’re just trying to change the percentage of negative fathers out there and trying to separate ourselves from the deadbeat father and let people know that there are actual dads out there and dads that care about their kids and provide for the kids, be there for the kids,” Santago said.

It’s in the infancy stages, but Floyd has big plans for the property, which they plan to open on a piece of land formerly owned by a prominent KKK leader in the area.

“We really had a strong gravitational pull to that area and we wanted to really just reshape the area and change the ties to that particular area,” Floyd said.

The group of dads hopes to start micro-distilling soon. They are accepting private donations and are seeking investors for their larger goal.

“We want to be able to do more for the children as well as for the families and the communities, give back to city services as well as just be a pillar within the community and show what dads are capable of doing,” Floyd said.

Ideally, if all goes as planned, DAAD Distilling will open in 2025.

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