Jason
Hardy
Having grown up in the South, Jason Hardy has been drinking whiskey off and on since he started teething. Since that time, he has spent countless hours fine tuning his appreciation for fine whiskies and other spirits. His desire to start a distillery was realized when he formed the NRV’s “Bourbon and Rye Drinking Society” (BARDS) in 2016 along with his friend and fellow whiskeyhead Jayson Hudson.
A 20+ year veteran of the banking industry, Jason’s role with J.H. BARDS Spirit Co. is as President and Finance Officer, with duties ranging from overseeing the company’s finances to overseeing the company’s disposal of trash. Using skills and strategies developed
as a commercial banker, Jason is responsible for plotting the company’s course and making sure funds are available to complete the journey.
A graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, Jason is married to Kara, his high school sweetheart. They live in Blacksburg with their sons Jackson and Nate, and dog Maggie, who keeps the family on their toes.
Jayson Hudson
Jayson Hudson is just an old head that’s been doing the restaurant thing for a while. One day behind the bar, he found a fellow whiskey head in Jason Hardy and the Bourbon and Rye Drinking Society (B.A.R.D.S.) was born.
As the Vice President and Operations Manager of J.H. Bards Spirit Co., Jayson is the resident bartender and whiskey specialist. He oversees the day-to-day operations, manages the tasting room, and pretty much whatever else needs to be done, while trying not to spend all of the money. Jayson has over 30 years in the hospitality
industry, working across a wide range of concepts in the Northern
Virginia, Denver, Colorado, and the Boston, Massachusetts areas. In 2017 he found his way back to his hometown of Blacksburg, Virginia, relaxing into a sweet bartending gig.
Jayson and his wife Amy are summer camp sweethearts, who both grew up in the New River Valley. Over the last three decades together they have traveled the world following Amy’s scientific adventurers. While they do not have any children, they have a happy little herd of far too many cats just to keep things interesting around the house.