It’s a mean-spirited epithet hurled at 1960s musicians who lend their music to luxury car commercials, art photographers who shoot weddings on the weekend, and craft distillers purchased by big spirits conglomerates: “sellout!” The flurry of small distiller buyouts has certainly caused consternation among some craft whiskey drinkers, but the acquisitions can bring big benefits, according to those who make the deals.
Emotions and loyalties run deep when it comes to what we eat and drink, says Tim Halloran, author of Romancing the Brand. Like discovering a band before it gets famous, drinking relatively unknown whiskies feels special and personal, explains Halloran. Longtime fans often fear that acquisitions will destroy that uniqueness. That feeling is often justified. “There’s a lot of examples of companies that have done a very poor job of taking over,” Halloran says. “But if the consumer can be reassured that the product is still going to be the special brand they know and love, then that’s important.”
Pernod Ricard, which acquired West Virginia-based Smooth Ambler Spirits in late 2016, has a simple formula for preserving a venture’s original ethos: keep the founders. “The worst thing that we could possibly do is exit the founder and the person who created the business that the entire story is built on,” says Jeff Agdern, Pernod Ricard USA’s senior vice president of new brand ventures. “Then what do you have left? You have a product without a soul.” Smooth Ambler co-founder, head distiller, and now CEO John Little emphasizes that the deal—which will triple capacity and help secure new whiskey for the distillery’s sourced Old Scout line—is mutually beneficial. “Some things had to change, and those things were going to change with or without a partnership,” he says. “I understand why people are always nervous about a business so-called ‘selling out,’ but this partnership will enable us to make better whiskey and to make it available to more people.”
Matt Hofmann, master distiller at Westland Distillery in Seattle, evaluated Rémy Cointreau’s history with the Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay before partnering with the French company. “Rémy Cointreau has an outstanding reputation and it’s proven by what they’ve done with Bruichladdich,” Hofmann says. “They purchased them in 2012, they kept everybody on, they expanded production, and Bruichladdich is still doing the amazing things they were doing before.” Westland’s vision—exploring Washington’s terroir and regionality by experimenting with local barley, local oak, and even local peat—will carry on and grow. “Any attempt to alter that would be devaluing the business that they just bought,” Hofmann says.
No distillery will remain unchanged by an acquisition. Bruichladdich founder Mark Reynier—who voted against Rémy Cointreau’s acquisition, left the company, and now runs the new Waterford Distillery in Ireland—fears that corporate ownership can dull any distillery’s unique character. “People say to me that Bruichladdich is not the same as it was, that the excitement isn’t there,” he says. “It needs to be a simpler product offering and of course the nuances just get lost. Quite often the distiller will find that his hands are tied.” Still, he can’t besmirch Rémy’s good intentions. “Rémy takes a very long-term view. It left a bitter feeling on a personal level, but for Bruichladdich, it couldn’t be in better hands.”
Reynier expects that industry consolidation will make life more difficult for independents, but he’s become more pragmatic. “You’ve got to believe in what you’re doing and do it to the best of your ability, then just see what happens,” he says. The tremendous proliferation of founder-driven distilleries with that ethos, both independent and corporate, ensures that craft whiskey will continue to push the boundaries for years to come.
It’s a Done Deal: Distillery Acquisitions and Partnerships
This list will be continuously updated as new acquisitions and other business partnerships occur.
WhistlePig Whiskey—Shoreham, Vermont
Sold a minority stake to Moët Hennessy in December 2020
Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co.—Fort Worth, Texas
Sold to Pernod Ricard in August 2019
Rabbit Hole Distillery—Louisville, Kentucky
Sold majority stake to Pernod Ricard in June 2019
Black Button Distilling—Rochester, New York
Sold minority stake to Constellation Brands in February 2019
Westward Whiskey—Portland, Oregon
Sold partial stake to Diageo’s Distill Ventures Unit in September 2019
Wyoming Whiskey—Kirby, Wyoming
Formed strategic partnership with Edrington Group in September 2018
Pendleton Whisky—Hood River, Oregon (sourced from Canada)
Sold to Becle, S.A.B. de C.V. (Cuervo) in December 2017
Yellow Rose Distilling—Houston, Texas
Sold equity stake to Spain’s Zamora Co. in November 2017
Masterson’s Rye and Bib & Tucker Bourbon—Sonoma, California (sourced)
Acquired by Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits in August 2017
Woodinville Whiskey Co.—Woodinville, Washington
Sold to Moët Hennessy in July 2017
Teeling Whiskey Co.—Dublin, Ireland
Sold minority stake to Bacardi Ltd. in 2017
Kentucky Owl—Bardstown, Kentucky (sourced)
Sold to SPI Group in January 2017
Bardstown Bourbon Co.—Bardstown, Kentucky
Sold minority stake to Constellation Brands in 2016
BenRiach Distillery Co.—Newbridge, Scotland
Sold to Brown-Forman Corp. in 2016
High West Distillery—Park City/Wanship, Utah
Sold to Constellation Brands in 2016
Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery—Nashville, Tennessee
Sold minority stake to Constellation Brands in 2016; Constellation subsequently acquired a majority stake in May 2019
Catoctin Creek—Purcellville, Virginia
Sold minority stake to Constellation Brands in 2016
Smooth Ambler Spirits—Maxwelton, West Virginia
Sold majority stake to Pernod Ricard in 2016
Westland Distillery—Seattle, Washington
Sold to Rémy Cointreau in 2016
Angel’s Envy—Louisville, Kentucky
Sold to Bacardi Ltd. in 2015
Witherspoon Distillery—Lewisville, Texas
Sold minority stake to Sazerac in 2015
Compass Box Whisky Co.—London
Sold minority stake to Bacardi Ltd. in 2014
Forty Creek Distillery—Grimsby, Ontario
Sold to Campari America in 2014
Limestone Branch Distillery—Lebanon, Kentucky
Sold 50% stake to Luxco in 2014; Luxco and its Bardstown, Kentucky distillery, Lux Row, were subsequently acquired by MGP in 2021
Bruichladdich Distillery—Islay, Scotland
Sold to Rémy Cointreau in 2012
Stranahan’s Distillery—Denver, Colorado
Sold to Proximo Spirits, the U.S. division of Becle, S.A.B. de C.V. (Cuervo), in December 2010
Tuthilltown Spirits—Gardiner, New York
Sold Hudson whiskey brand to William Grant & Sons in 2010, followed by the rest of the distillery in 2017
