Bourbon and Distillery News for December 12, 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the Bourbon Obsessed Bourbon and Distillery News! There’s quite a bit going on again this week, so let’s jump right in!

But First, Here’s What’s New on BourbonObsessed.com!

• Larrikin 7-Year-Old American Light Whiskey Review – 143.6 HAZMAT Proof!
  Larrikin Bourbon Co. steps into American Light Whiskey with a 7-year, single-barrel, cask-strength “HAZMAT” release bottled at a formidable 143.6 proof. So, what is this high proof Kentucky pour like? Read my full review to find out! or Watch my review on YouTube or Listen to the Podcast
• Jack Daniel’s Tanyard Hill Rye Review
  Jack Daniel’s Tanyard Hill Rye arrived as Jack’s newest Single Barrel Special Release, matured nearly ten years in one of the distillery’s oldest hilltop barrelhouses and bottled at barrel proofs ranging from 130.2 – 148.8 proof. My bottle came in at almost 146 proof! Curious how it drinks? Read my full review to find out!
• Two Stacks Double Irish Cream Liqueur Review
  Two Stacks Double Irish Cream showcases rich cream, noticeable but not overbearing whiskey, and pleasant balance—whether sipped neat or in an Irish Coffee. Want to learn more? Read our full review!
• Bardstown Bourbon Company Normandie Calvados Brandy Barrel Finish Bourbon Review
  Bardstown Bourbon Company’s latest Distillery Reserve release, Normandie, blends 12 and 13 year-old bourbons with Calvados and toasted-oak finishes. Curious how it tastes? Read my full review to find out!

Bourbon and Distillery News For December 12, 2025

Bourbon and Distillery News

The Ingram Distillery Will Launch Tours in 2026

The Ingram Distillery will open its grounds in Columbus, Kentucky to the public in April 2026, offering visitors access to the only floating barrelhouses in the country. Guests can explore the River Aging process through guided tours, including the Barge to Bottle Tour and the private Chartered Experience, which provides exclusive access to the distillery and a curated whiskey tasting for groups of up to ten people for $250 per group. The launch of these hospitality experiences continues an especially active year for The Ingram Distillery, which has released new whiskeys, expanded distribution, and now invites visitors to experience River Aging firsthand along the Mississippi River. Read the press release here.

Lofted Spirits Bottling Expansion

Lofted Spirits breaks ground on a 4,000 sq. ft. bottling facility expansion that will bring total capacity above 35 million bottles annually. The new high-speed, small-format line nearly doubles the current operation and will support a broad customer base across multiple distilled spirits categories. While the facility currently processes more than 10 million bottles per year, the addition of a high-capacity, high-speed, small format line will bring total capacity above 35 million bottles annually. With the expansion, Lofted Spirits’ capabilities include all sizes from 50mL to 1.75L with limitless customization for packages, closures and finishes. Lofted Spirits’ bottling operation currently employs 80 team members and expects to add an additional 5-6 roles as the facility scales. Construction is currently underway by Buzick Construction, and the expanded operation is expected to be fully operational early Q2 2026. Read the full press release here.

Maker’s Mark Becomes First Official Spirits Partner of Unrivaled

Maker’s Mark enters its first-ever sports league sponsorship as the first Official Spirits Partner of Unrivaled, the athlete-founded and player-owned women’s basketball league. As part of the multi-year partnership, Maker’s Mark will bring “the spirit of sport to life” at games in Miami and Philadelphia, offering brand experiences, specialty cocktails, and VIP activations. The partnership aligns with both brands’ missions of challenging convention and “making the unreasonable a reality.” This announcement comes ahead of Unrivaled’s 2026 season, featuring expanded arenas, new clubs, and broader national broadcast coverage. Read the full press release here.

Benson Valley Bourbon Joins the Kentucky Distillers’ Association

Benson Valley Bourbon has been welcomed as the newest member of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA). Located on historic grounds along Benson Creek in Frankfort, KY, the distillery uses the same limestone spring once used by the former Old Kennebec Distillery. Since reigniting operations this year, the distillery has produced more than 400 barrels with storage capacity planned for more than 14,000. Owner Russ Blakeley notes that each day is an opportunity to build upon the rich legacy of their historic grounds, while KDA President Eric Gregory celebrates their role in strengthening Kentucky’s bourbon community. Learn more at bensonvalleybourbon.com.

WhistlePig Whiskey Opens The Vault in Downtown Louisville

WhistlePig Whiskey transforms the original 1911 Louisville security bank into The WhistlePig Vault, an immersive destination featuring historic bank architecture, hands-on customization of collectible bottles, and rare whiskey tastings inside the original bank vault. Located between Whiskey Row and NuLu, the new brand home showcases WhistlePig’s full portfolio with marquee cocktail service, hosted tastings in the Mezzanine Blending Room, a pneumatic tube–delivered “Flying Pig” cocktail, and a restored vault displaying WhistlePig’s rarest bottles, including The Boss Hog collection. The Vault is located at 403 East Market Street between Whiskey Row and NuLu and is now open to the public.

For those who, like me, were wondering about a Kentucky outpost for the Vermont brand, these quotes clear things up a bit: “WhistlePig was founded 880 miles from the Bourbon heartland, but the early seeds were planted here in Kentucky. The Vault pays homage to our founding Distiller, Dave Pickerell, who got his start in the Bluegrass State before going off the grid to start the Rye Revolution in Vermont,” said WhistlePig CEO Charles Gibb. “Returning to Kentucky with The Vault is a full-circle moment for us.” Read the full press release here.

Old Steelhouse Distillery Fills Their First Barrels

My friends at Old Steelhouse Distillery, which is housed on the grounds of the historic T.W. Samuels Distillery, have filled their first barrels! This historic event marks the first time in over 50 years that barrels were filled with new distillate on the site! Old Steelhouse has a small still on site, where they can distill from two to eleven gallons per batch, depending on the technique used. Therefore, it takes them quite a while to get enough distillate to fill two barrels, so this was a momentous occasion!

These first two barrels, which are char 2 medium toast constructed with 18-month seasoned staves, were made at the Independent Stave Company. They were filled with a 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley distillate. They will age on site, and be ready in 6 years or so! In the meantime, you can sample Old Steelhouse’s whiskeys (from their Blueprint Bourbon line – read my review of their second batch here), as well as enjoy cocktails, at their newly opened tasting room on 3rd Street in Bardstown!

Brown-Forman Reports First Half Fiscal 2026 Results

Brown-Forman Corporation reported financial results for the second quarter and first half of fiscal year 2026, ended October 31, 2025, with reported net sales of approximately $2.0 billion in the first six months, down about 4% compared with the prior year (flat on an organic basis), reported operating income down about 9%, and diluted earnings per share down about 13% to $0.83. Net sales declines were largely driven by the end of the Korbel relationship and the absence of the Sonoma-Cutrer transition services agreement, while gross margin expanded modestly. The Board authorized a $400 million share repurchase program and increased the quarterly cash dividend for the 42nd consecutive year.

Brand-level results showed net sales for “Whiskey” products, including the Jack Daniel’s family of brands, Woodford Reserve, and Old Forester, were flat (flat organic), with higher net sales of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Blackberry and Woodford Reserve offset by lower volumes of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey. Net sales in the United States decreased 9% (flat organic), driven by the end of the Korbel relationship and the absence of the Sonoma-Cutrer prior-year TSA, as well as lower volumes of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Herradura, and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey. These declines were partially offset by the launch of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Blackberry and higher net sales across the portfolio as a result of changes to their distributor relationship terms. Net sales in Canada decreased 62% (61% organic), presumably playing a role in these figures. Read the full press release here.

Some quick news from the TTB for my readers in the industry:

New Distilled Spirits Formula Tool From The TTB

The TTB has launched a new Distilled Spirits Formula Tool designed to help distillers and importers determine whether a formula approval is required before submitting their label application. The goal of this new tool is to make compliance easier and submissions more accurate so that distillers and importers can get TTB approval more quickly. Check it out here.

Now it’s time for a few articles about the current trends in alcohol consumption

And, as we thought, Gen Z actually does drink alcohol…

Are Americans Drinking Less? New IWSR Data Shared with Reuters

According to new data from IWSR (IWSR Drinks Market Analysis) shared with Reuters, Americans are drinking slightly less alcohol than a few years ago, but not dramatically less than in past decades. IWSR’s figures show that weekly drinks per U.S. adult have stayed between 10 and 12 since 1975 and are now at their lowest level since 1995, down about 1.1 servings per person per week from a recent peak of 11.5 drinks in 2021. This “servings per adult” measure averages consumption across all adults, including non-drinkers, rather than just those who drink.

IWSR notes that declines in alcohol volume appear steeper than declines in actual “drinks” because many consumers have shifted from higher-volume categories like beer to lower-volume categories such as spirits. Converting sales into weekly drinks per person better reflects this shift and suggests there has not yet been a historic break with past drinking patterns.

Separate IWSR survey data cited in the article show that the share of Gen Z respondents who report recently drinking has actually risen between 2023 and 2025, indicating they are not avoiding alcohol more than older generations. Analysts quoted by Reuters say other indicators, including how much of Gen Z’s income goes to alcohol, support the idea that economic pressures like inflation and high interest rates are a major factor in slightly lower drinking levels, rather than a broad generational move away from alcohol. Source: reuters.com/world/us/are-americans-drinking-less-new-data-says-yes-not-by-much-2025-12-04/

IWSR: Gen Z Interest in Month-Long Abstinence Is Stalling

New data shared by the IWSR from its Bevtrac survey (26,000+ respondents across 15 markets) shows that Gen Z legal-drinking-age drinkers are becoming less engaged with month-long abstinence. Globally, participation slipped from 30% to 28% year over year, and in the US it held essentially flat (32% to 31%). IWSR notes that “temporary abstinence appears to be less central to moderation strategies,” with consumers increasingly moderating by drinking less often or in smaller amounts rather than participating in Dry January or similar challenges.

In addition, Gen Z alcohol participation continues to normalize, with 74% reporting drinking in the past six months—up sharply from 66% in Spring 2023 and narrowing the gap with all adults to just 3%. Millennials, meanwhile, are beginning to moderate, showing their lowest participation rate ever recorded by Bevtrac and increasingly choosing to drink at home, a trend linked to affordability and shifting lifestyle stages.
Read the full press release from IWSR.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass Pappy Raffle

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass Pappy Raffle is now LIVE! This winter, their Pappy raffle tickets are just $25 for a chance to win a flight of five bottles of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon while supporting their mission. Buy your tickets now at this link. They are selling only 2,500 tickets and sales will close at noon ET on Thursday, December 18 before the live drawing at 3 pm that day.

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Bourbon and Distillery News For December 12, 2025

Well, that’s it! I hope you have enjoyed reading this week’s Bourbon and Distillery News! If you would like our newsletters delivered directly to your inbox, please sign up here. Our next New Bourbon Releases News will be published on Friday December 19. In addition, the podcast and YouTube versions of this newsletter will go live on Monday December 15. If you enjoy our content, I would greatly appreciate if you would follow us on Instagram and Facebook. I hope you have a great weekend! See you next time! Cheers!🥃

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!