Bourbon and Distillery News for June 6, 2025

From leadership shifts and brand collaborations to financial twists and National Bourbon Week festivities, here’s this week’s must-know bourbon and distillery news! In case you missed it, check out the latest edition of our Bourbon Releases News, and our Podcast, too!

Bourbon and Distillery News For June 6, 2025

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

• Sagamore Spirit 7 Year Cask Strength Rye Review
  Explore the bold and balanced flavors of this Maryland-distilled rye whiskey, aged 7 years and bottled at a robust 123 proof.
• Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Bourbon 2nd Edition Review (2025)
  The second edition of Heaven Hill’s Grain to Glass Bourbon highlights the distillery’s farm-to-bottle commitment with a unique small batch release.
• Oaklore Four Grain Bourbon Review
  Oaklore Distilling’s flagship Four Grain Bourbon delivers a balanced and flavorful pour, blending wheated and rye bourbon components which are re-barreled for secondary aging in North Carolina’s Piedmont region.
• Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond Spring 2025 9 Year Old Bourbon Review
  Heaven Hill’s latest Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond Decanter release—a 9-year-old bourbon—offers balanced, classic flavors in its signature packaging.
• High N’ Wicked Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Review
  Discover this high-rye Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, crafted with a 91% rye mash bill for a bold, complex flavor profile.

Bourbon and Distillery News For June 6, 2025

Our podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts or your favorite platform. You can also find it here. New episodes of our Bourbon News Podcast and Bourbon Releases podcasts are released every other Monday at 4am Eastern Time.

Bourbon and Distillery News For June 6, 2025

Bourbon and Distillery News

Lisa Wicker Joins Whiskey Thief Distilling as Director of Distilling

Lisa Wicker, formerly of Widow Jane Distillery, and more recently, Garrard County Distilling, has been appointed as the Director of Distilling at Whiskey Thief Distilling. She’s a great addition to the brand, and we wish her all the best! Whiskey Thief operates two locations: its original 127-acre farm distillery in Franklin County and a tasting room in Louisville’s NuLu neighborhood. Both venues offer guests the unique opportunity to sample and bottle bourbon directly from the barrel. For more information, visit whiskeythief.com.

Binder’s Stash and Willett Distillery Form Strategic Whiskey Partnership

This is an interesting one. Binder’s Stash, which is essentially an independent bottler rumored to have Willett bourbons under their label, “today announced a landmark strategic partnership with the iconic Willett Distillery“, according to the brands. “The partnership provides Binder’s Stash with unique access to Willett’s coveted inventory including experimental mashbills and limited barrels, fueling the brand’s mission to create deeply expressive, high-end whiskeys with unmatched provenance. In addition, Binder’s Stash will benefit from Willett’s state-of-the-art bottling operations and expansive distribution platform across domestic and global markets.” We’ll be looking forward to trying some of these whiskeys, one of these days. Read the full press release here.

Whiskey House of Kentucky Faces $1.65M Lien

According to the Lexington Herald Leader, Whiskey House of Kentucky, a state of the art distillery in Elizabethtown that opened in July 2024, is facing a $1.65 million lien filed by Buzick Construction for unpaid labor, materials, supplies and equipment. The lien, filed May 28 in Hardin County, comes as Whiskey House continues 24/7 production. According to the lien, Buzick also has a $6.3 million contract with the distillery for additional construction, and may be entitled to a lien securing that payment, too. CEO David Mandell expressed confidence that the matter will be resolved quickly, citing a long-standing working relationship with Buzick.

In a separate matter, Whiskey House has filed a lawsuit against Taj Mahal Barrels, claiming breach of contract over a bulk barrel purchase agreement and has filed a motion for default judgment for more than $5.1 million. Mandell noted the lien and lawsuit are unrelated and declined further comment on pending litigation.

For full details, see the original article from the Lexington Herald Leader.

Bourbon and Distillery News For June 6, 2025

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Bourbon and Distillery News For June 6, 2025

Luca Mariano Distillery Official Grand Opening

Luca Mariano Distillery in Danville, KY, announced their official Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of their “bourbon estate” for 4:00 PM on Friday June 13, 2025, according to an article on their Facebook page. The article also states that Luca Mariano is announcing a new partnership with Summit Investments of Denver, Co. The article goes on to say that “Summit Investments will serve as the company’s lender and strategic supporter of its growth in the bourbon industry.” The new facility will feature an 18-inch column still with a capacity of 18,000 barrels annually. The distillery also features what they are calling a “Torta A Tre” rick house, similar in design to Heaven Hill’s tiered Deatsville rickhouses. Tours will be available starting Friday June 13 and will be able to be booked at lucamariano.com. I’m looking forward to checking them out!

Luca Mariano Distillery Faces Liens

Unfortunately, though, in spite of their grand opening, the distillery seems to be having some issues. The Lexington Herald Leader reports that Luca Mariano Distillery in Danville, Kentucky, is facing significant financial challenges. Multiple contractors have filed liens and a lawsuit totaling at least $3.8 million for unpaid construction work. Keystone Industrial, a construction contractor, has filed a lawsuit and a lien for nearly $1.3 million, alleging non-payment for completed work. Additionally, Doss & Horky, the general contractor, claims over $2 million in unpaid labor and materials and has filed a lien and a lawsuit. The contractors are asking the courts to foreclose on the property and sell it to satisfy the debts. Other liens have been filed against the distillery, as well. For details, see the original article form the Lexington Herald Leader.

Brown-Forman Sells Louisville Cooperage to Independent Stave Company

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that Brown-Forman has sold its recently closed Louisville cooperage to Independent Stave Company subsidiary Kentucky Cooperage Investments LLC for $13.66 million. The 16-acre facility, which opened in 1945 and formerly produced half of Brown-Forman’s barrels, ceased operations in April 2025 as part of the company’s global cost-cutting efforts. Independent Stave does not plan to restart production and intends to resell the property. The sale follows earlier transactions in which Brown-Forman divested other stave mills and cooperage assets to the Missouri-based barrel maker. Brown-Forman expects the cooperage closure to save $70–$80 million annually. Read the full article here.

Sazerac Launches New E-Commerce Platform

According to a recent announcement from the company, “Sazerac is launching Legacy de Forge, a new global e-commerce platform—now live at LegacydeForge.com. Powered by BlockBar and built on blockchain technology, Legacy de Forge offers collectors around the world direct access to some of Sazerac’s most discerning brands.” The site will sell whiskey through three channels: Auctions, First Come First Serve and While Supplies last. Legacy de Forge is powered by BlockBar, and an NFT (a digital token) is minted for each item on the site. The physical bottle is held in BlockBar’s storage facility. The token can either be held, redeemed for the bottle or sold. Learn more at legacydeforge.com.

RNDC to Exit California Market by September 2

VinePair is reporting that Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), the nation’s second-largest wine and spirits distributor, will withdraw entirely from California by September 2, 2025. The decision follows significant account losses and escalating challenges in the market. The move was confirmed by RNDC’s head of corporate communications, with the company pledging to meet its regulatory obligations and support affected employees during the transition. The Teamsters union, which represents approximately 500 RNDC sales staffers in California, is now working with members to navigate the impact of this development. Speculation continues regarding whether RNDC plans to sell off assets or position itself for acquisition. Details of this news story are still developing. Read the full article here.

Bourbon and Distillery News For June 6, 2025

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Bourbon and Distillery News For June 6, 2025

Competition Results

The 2025 ASCOT Awards medal winners and the winners/finalists in the Best in Category were recently announced. There are too many to list in this newsletter, but results can be found here. In other competition news, Forbes is reporting American Whiskey Double Gold Winners for the 2025 New York International Spirits Competition. Unfortunately, the full list of medal winners is not yet listed on the competition’s website, so stay tuned. You can read the Forbes article here.

Events

There are many events taking place next week for National Bourbon Week. To learn all about what is happening in Bardstown for the occasion, including the Mash Up being held on Friday, June 13, head on over to nationalbourbonweek.com! Also, it’s not too late to buy tickets for the Lexington Bourbon Society’s Commonwealth Bash, which takes place on Saturday June 7!

New Releases

New Releases will be covered in detail in our next newsletter. However, here are the ones we have so far:

• Old Forester President’s Choice Bourbon and Rye (read more)
• Old Fitzgerald 7 Year Bottled in Bond
• Oaklore Port Cask Finish Rye
• Fire and Flask Didymium Bourbon
• Lost Lantern Summer Series
• Kentucky Owl Batch 13 Bourbon
• RD1 Spirits Sister Cities
• 15 STARS Founder’s Reserve Rye
• Four Branches The Continental
• Bitcoin Bourbon From Heritage Distilling

Well, that’s it! I hope you have enjoyed 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 next Friday. 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!