LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One Kentuckian turned in his suit and tie for Hawaiian t-shirts when he left his career in banking to produce rum.

“I know my outfit doesn’t speak to it but used to actually be in banking,” said Paul Heintzman, who helped co-found Saltwater Woody. “For six years, I wore a suit and tie every day to work.

Heintzman had to make a tough call when his friends came to him for a career swap.

“It definitely was not an easy decision. I had a stable job and I had healthcare,” he said. “But, when my two co-founders approached me, I knew this was the right thing.”

The trio sought to create a rum made in Kentucky with natural fruit flavors. The rum is made at the Kentucky Artisan Distillery, which pumps out 250 cases at a time (1500 bottles). As a lifelong Kentuckian, Heintzman knew it would be a tall order to make rum popular in bourbon country.

“Everyone is like you’re so dumb, you’re crazy,” said Heintzman. “At the end of the day, it is such a proof of concept for us. In Kentucky, rum consumption is ranked 49th in the entire U.S. for rum consumption per person.”

But he isn’t letting that get in the way. He says that Saltwater Woody is the world’s first-ever liquor cut to proof by saltwater, which is made by themselves by combining sea salt with our water here in Kentucky. The salt decreases bitterness and enhances the flavors of the rum and fruit juice. Heintzman has had to use some of his banking skills to sell Kentuckians on rum.

“Hey we have such a great tasting product, that we are convincing Kentuckians who don’t drink rum to drink rum and that’s what we are seeing right now,” he said. “People are rethinking what rum is.”

He says that running a business during the pandemic has been tough but it’s forced them to come up with ways to reinvigorate the brand. During the pandemic, people have been buying from liquor stores first rather than bars and restaurants.

They’ve been using private events and social media to help keep their Kentucky rum flooring.

“It’s making us stronger. If we can get this success in the middle of a pandemic when everything opens up back they’ll be more success.”

The trio of friends is currently developing more flavors in addition to their white rum and their grapefruit rum. They get the distillate from Florida. The rum is pot distilled from Florida molasses.