ASM Biweekly: Looking Westward & What does Bankruptcy Mean for a Small Distillery [Free]

The TLDR;

Here's what's happened the last couple weeks worth knowing about.

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• In response to job cuts, distillery workers for Diageo have declared that they are striking at the Cameronbridge distillery, putting stain on the supply of Johnnie Walker and Bell's whisky.
• President Trump's Canadian alcohol import ban goes into effect for all containers of four liters and smaller adding fuel to the raging fires of the trade war. Canadian producers that bottle within the United States are unaffected by the ban as totes of bulk spirits far surpass the size restriction.
• Diageo names Joanne Wilson as their new CFO leaning on her expertise in cost cutting measures.
• Seth Green launches Hellbent Cocktails entering the canned RTD space. The cocktail brand is inspired by a sketch idea thrown around the writers roomfor 'Robot Chicken' about a werewolf selling 80-proof moonshine hard seltzer.
• A federal judge has dismissed Patco's counterclaims in a three-year long trademark dispute with BuzzBallz.
• Distilled Spirits Council to Host 2027 Annual Conference March 15-17 in Washington, D.C.
• California Governor Gavin Newsom signs a bill extending cocktails to-go until 2029.
• Original Degenerate Distilling Company LLC in Easton, Pennsylvania delays their scheduled opening into mid-October as the owners welcome their second child.
• Fire breaks out at Glenns Creek Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. The distillery reports that all staff are unharmed and that they lost a few buildings. Glenns Creek is the historical site of Old Crow Distillery.

An original Artisan Spirit piece
Looking Westward: The Unraveling and Reweaving of House Spirits into Aqua Ardens

By George B. Catallo

Part 1: The Fall of the House of Spirit

“You already know who did well. By the way,” joked Thomas Mooney about House Spirits’ bankruptcy, “I love our attorneys, but they did really well.”

The Westward Whiskey journey spans more than two decades, marked equally by success and struggle. They made their home in Portland, Oregon as House Spirits, the creators of Aviation Gin, and early pioneers of the American single malt category. They achieved some of the highest of highs when selling Aviation gin and receiving generous minority investments from Diageo to rapidly expand with the intention of further acquisition of the whole company. They conversely experienced the lowest of lows when Diageo shifted their strategy and discontinued their investments, contributing to House Spirits eventual bankruptcy. Yet somehow for Westward, nothing has changed - except for everything. 

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