Craft Spirits Weekly
Welcome to the 54th issue of Craft Spirits Weekly , a service dedicated to bringing you the news most important to the craft spirits distiller. Check your inbox every Thursday to find a curated selection of articles and news pieces from the American Craft Spirits Association.
Spirits Growth Outpaces Total U.S. Alcohol Market
Total U.S. beverage alcohol consumption was down slightly last year, according to market tracker the IWSR, but distilled spirits continued their low-single-digit overall growth trend. Beer continued to pull the total alcohol market down, with a decline of about a half percentage point in total category volume. (The Drinkable Globe)
Constellation Buys Minority Stake in Copper & Kings
Constellation Brands has bought a minority stake in Kentucky-based spirits producer Copper & Kings American Brandy Co. (FoodBev Media)
Rabbit Hole Joins Kentucky Distillers' Association
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association announced that Rabbit Hole Distillery in downtown Louisville is the newest and 36 th  member of the non-profit trade group that unites and leads Kentucky’s signature bourbon and distilled spirits industry. (The Lane Report)
Indiana's 18th Street Brewery to Open Distillery
Indiana drinkers have a reason to raise a toast—the acclaimed 18th Street Brewery plans to open a distillery to make artisanal spirits. (NWI Times)
Distillery to Open at Site of Former Pennsylvania Bakery
If you're into science and technology and love to converse over a fine cocktail, Carnegie, Pa.'s Quantum Spirits might be your new favorite place to hang out. Self-proclaimed nerds-at-heart and owners Ryan and Sarah Kanto are set to open their distillery and tasting room in March in the former Steinmetz Bakery on East Main Street in Carnegie. (Trib Live)
Tree City Spirits Hopes to Be New Jersey's Answer to Grey Goose
It is quite the statement for a local vodka distillery to make right off the bat. But Richard Bentrewicz and Michael Maggio, founders of Tree City Spirits, believe this strongly in the pureness of their product. “We want to become the Grey Goose of New Jersey and beyond,” Bentrewicz said. (ROI-NJ)
Log Creek Gets County Approval for Alabama Distillery
The Conecuh Ridge Distillery won’t be the first distillery to locate in Alabama’s Pike County if everything remains according to plan for the owners of Log Creek Distillery and Farm. Daren Hooks says he and his wife, Angela, still have a long road to getting their product “Pike County White Lightning” on shelves, but the Pike County Commission’s approval of their license to manufacture spirits is one necessary step out of the way. The commission Monday unanimously approved the distillery’s request for a spirits manufacturing, warehouse and wholesale liquor license. (Troy Messenger)
California Wine Mogul Eyes Bay Area Distillery
If Dave Phinney has his way, Mare Island, once the largest naval base west of the Mississippi River, may soon become the Bay Area’s newest adult playground. Phinney is a winemaker—more accurately, a wine entrepreneur. He created mega-hit wine brands like the Prisoner and Orin Swift, both of which he has sold for hundreds of millions of dollars, and the Locations line of wines, which he still owns. But it’s spirits, not wine, that’s calling him to Mare Island, off the shore of Vallejo, where he’s building a distillery called Savage & Cooke. (San Francisco Chronicle)
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