About Us -
The Beginning of a Friendship
First and foremost, Steve Akley and Jim Fasnacht are bourbon fans. They love drinking bourbon, talking about bourbon and learning about bourbon's process, people and history. Their friends are fellow bourbon fans. It literally might be all they know.
If you love bourbon, the ABV Barrel Shop is going to be place you want to come to. Not only will we have great bottles for sale, we'll be talking about bourbon as well.
Steve
In terms of what each owner brings to this endeavor, Steve has owned his own media company since 2016. It's called the ABV Network (abvnetwork.com), and his company focuses exclusively on bourbon.
Between his podcasts, blogs, movies, newsletter, eMagazine, live events and whiskey tastings, Steve has met, and worked with hundreds of distillery owners. These relationships give him access to barrels like no one else. The ABV Barrel shop will be bringing in barrel picks from companies that have never even offered barrel picks before based on his relationship with these companies.
Jim
Jim has spent his entire career working retail. The past few decades he has been in management running large box retail stores. His most recent job was managing the largest liquor retailer in the State of Missouri and running the company's barrel program in its four St. Louis metro locations. In his last year on the job, the company moved over 100 barrel picks through the market.
Steve and Jim will put their combined skills together to ensure you are getting the best picks in the industry and have a fun experience every time you make a visit.
The Team
In Memory of Jim Fasnacht, 2/18/70 - 5/6/24
Sadly, on May 6, 2024, Jim Fasnacht, our Co-Founder and friend passed away. Jim left a lasting legacy at the ABV Barrel Shop, not only for his role in starting the company, but also by the fact he built everything in the shop… literally… from the bar, to the barrel stave and Booker’s walls, to the register bay and merchandise fixtures. His blood, sweat, tears and passion built the ABV Barrel Shop, and that stays with the company forever. We will miss Jim each and every day, but we know the greatest way to honor his legacy is by continuing to move forward and build our company, while always remembering Jim’s role in creating it.