Craft Spirits Weekly
Welcome to the 48th 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.
Golden Moon Featured in Time Magazine U.S. Spirits Export Piece
Stephen Gould, the founder and director of Colorado-based spirits company the Golden Moon Distillery is preparing his company for a $5 million transformation that would supercharge its output from a few thousand cases of liquor per year to over a quarter million. Business is booming across the U.S. for this kind of small-batch, locally sourced liquor. That includes drinkers outside the U.S., who are fast developing a taste for uniquely American spirits. (Time)
Indiana Distillery Produces State's First Agave Spirit
One thing you will never see in Indiana is local tequila. Tequila has Denomination of Origin. In other words, if it’s not from Mexico, you can't call it tequila. Most come from the Jalisco state and all are made from the blue agave plant. But Hard Truth Distilling Co. has an alternative. Distillers Bryan Smith and Cole Smith have made Indiana's first "agave spirit." (Indy Star)
Thieves Steal 1,800 Gallons of Vodka from Fog Shots Distillery
Investigators have released video footage of several alleged thieves accused of stealing 1,800 gallons of vodka from a downtown Los Angeles distillery. Police said the thieves broke into the Fog Shots vodka facility and took more than 9,000 bottles of alcohol worth nearly $280,000, the company's Art Gukasyan said. (CW39 LA)
R.I.'s Sons of Liberty to Release H.P. Lovecraft-Inspired Whiskey
The newest Narragansett Beer collaboration is with Rhode Island’s premier distillery and bears the name of Providence’s literary horror icon. Lovecraft Hop Flavored Whiskey will be released Dec. 1 by Sons of Liberty Beer & Spirits Company, the much-awarded South Kingstown distillery. This limited-edition whiskey was distilled from Narragansett’s I Am Providence Imperial Red Ale, which is part the brewery’s popular Lovecraft series. (Providence Journal)
Virginia Winery Opens Grape-Centric Dida's Distillery
With the soft opening of Dida’s this past month, and the official grand opening soon to be announced, Rappahannock Cellars becomes the first Virginia winery to capitalize on the state’s booming craft distilling industry, specializing solely in spirits made 100 percent from premium grapes produced on site. (Rappahannock News)  
Mississippi's First Legal Bourbon to Hit Shelves in Time for Holidays
Just in time for some holiday cheer, the first bourbon legally distilled in Mississippi will hit store shelves in the Magnolia State, Jackson television station WLBT reports. The station says David Rich opened Rich Grain in 2015 and that batches of his bourbon are now mature enough to be sold at stores. (The Times-Picayune)
KO Distilling Launches Bare Knuckle Bourbon
KO Distilling unveiled its third brown spirit, Bare Knuckle Straight Bourbon Whiskey, hand-crafted from local Virginia corn, wheat and malted barley. The bourbon is aged for two years in charred new American oak barrels sourced from a cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky. (BevNet)
Twisted Path to Open New Milwaukee Tasting Room Next Week
It was in late October that Twisted Path Distillery announced its plans for a new, expanded tasting room. Shortly after making the announcement, owner Brian Sammons said the new tasting room—slated to open Friday Dec. 8—would be “much more directly” a conduit for his experimental spirits and cocktails, with certain small-batch spirits created specifically for cocktails. (Milwaukee Mag)
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