Damon Thayer kicks into high gear on his entrepreneurial pursuits after 22 years as a state Senator


If you’re wondering what Damon Thayer is doing with all his free time now that he has called an end to 22 years of service in the Kentucky legislature, hang on to your hat. He’s kicking into high gear.

Damon Thayer (Photo provided)

Thayer concluded his tenure in the Kentucky legislature as the longest-serving Majority Floor leader in Kentucky Senate history. He credits U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and the late Jim Bunning for encouraging him to run for the Senate in a special election in 2003. He was at the time vice chair of the Republican Party of Kentucky. He was sworn in at age 35.

He says he wanted to go out on top — and always focused on making Kentucky a better place to live, work, and raise a family.

He counts his primary legislative achievements in two ways.

On “collective accomplishments,” (that is what the legislature did on his watch that he is most proud of): cuts to the personal income tax and starting the road to ending it altogether.

On “personal accomplishments,” he is most proud of Sen. Bill 2 in 2013, reform of the public pension system. This was a “big puzzle” that was ultimately solved in a face-to-face meeting with Gov. Steve Beshear — just the two of them together — fitting the jigsaw pieces in place that protected state employees and put the pension system on a financially sustainable path. Today’s forecasts show “we were right,” he said.

Thayer describes himself as a fiscally-responsible, “old-fashioned Reagan conservative” who simply aimed to remove the “artificial barriers to free enterprise.”

He is circumspect about any future in politics, but is keeping all options open and won’t rule out the possibilities of elective office. But for now, he is beyond immersed in his private enterprise pursuits.

As a state Senator, he was a strong advocate for the horse and bourbon industries, two of Kentucky’s signature industries. He was only the eighth legislator to receive the 100 Proof Award from the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, the highest honor given by the Bourbon industry — and he ultimately received it four times. He also earned accolades from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce (MVP) and the Kentucky League of Cities (Big Hitter Award).

Andre Regard and Damon Thayer (Photo provided)

So he was poised for entrepreneurship — and is pursuing his interests with his characteristic fervor.

He owns and operates Thayer Communications & Consulting LLC (he is modest in not also laying claim — which would be legitimate — to the Reagan gift of communication) and Half Century Equine Ventures LLC, which acquires interests in racehorse partnerships.

He nurtured his horse racing interests in a pre-legislative life as an executive at the old Turfway Park, working with former owner Jerry Carroll. And developed his considerable marketing and communication skills there as well.

He has communication clients all across the county, and his horses race at all Kentucky racetracks, as well as tracks in California, Illinois, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. In 2020, one filly even competed at the prestigious Royal Ascot meet in England.

It was only a matter of time until Damon undertook his own venture into Kentucky’s signature Bourbon industry, which is where a good bit of his time and energy is invested today.

He and his long-time friend Andre Regard established a small-batch bourbon brand about seven years ago — as a hobby that, with thanks to a private equity offering, they are now growing in both production and distribution. Sales are quite strong in NKY, Thayer says.

It’s called the Kentucky Senator, which is aged at least six years (a Senator’s term, of course) and is in the “prestige pricing category.”

The Kentucky Senator brand was originally distilled and bottled by Crigler & Crigler in Covington then by Double Springs Distillers in Bardstown. Thayer and Regard, are intent on restoring the vintage Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey to its glory days.

Regard, a successful equine attorney and entrepreneur, who ran a thriving thoroughbred breeding farm in Bourbon County, lives on an historic property in Scott County. He is also a direct descendant of one of the founders of Old Grand-Dad Whiskey.

Their company has released five bottles so far – and each comes with a history lesson: Alben W. Barkley (who served from 1927-1949), William J. Deboe (who served from 1897-1903), John G. Carlisle (who helped pass the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897), John Sherman Cooper (elected in 1966), and John Brown (Kentucky’s first U.S. Senator in 1792).

Each of these releases were fewer than 1300 bottles. The back label of each release is a history of the Senator for whom the bottle is named.

Thayer reminds that there are 66 U.S. Senators in Kentucky’s history — so they have growing room.

“We spend a lot of time in bourbon distilleries,” Thayer said. “It’s a labor of love — but a serious undertaking as we focus on scaling up our business operations.”

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See a story in “Think American News” about Damon Thayer here.

See more about Kentucky Senator Bourbon here.


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