Sazerac master distiller John Lunn started his distilling career at George Dickel in 2004 and since then has had a hand in progressing many Tennessee whiskey brands.
It’s with heavy hearts that we report the passing of John Lunn, master distiller at Sazerac’s A&J Bond Distillery in Tennessee, on March 30. A Tennessee native, Lunn had a long tenure in Tennessee whiskey, getting his start at George Dickel in 2004. He made Dickel whiskeys for 11 years before moving to Avery Trail Distillery in northeastern Tennessee in 2015. At Avery Trail, Lunn was responsible for the historic Popcorn Sutton brand, though this was ultimately short-lived as Sazerac purchased the distillery—but not the Popcorn Sutton brand—in late 2016.
Thus Lunn’s career at Sazerac began, and he was given free rein over the company’s Tennessee whiskey production. That’s how the yet-to-be-released A&J Bond came about; in 2017, Sazerac modified the distillery to enable the Lincoln County process, and Lunn worked with distiller Allisa Henley—who had previously worked alongside him at Dickel and Avery Trail—to create a new Tennessee whiskey mashbill for Sazerac. The A&J Bond identity, signifying the long-running partnership between Allisa and John, was ultimately created, and its whiskeys have been maturing since 2017. Sazerac is currently preparing for the release of the first of these whiskeys, the oldest of which will be 6 years old come July.
According to Sazerac, funeral arrangements for Lunn are still pending at this time. In a statement, the company said, “John’s legacy will live on in the marvelous whiskeys that he and Allisa have created.”
