News Briefs: Kentucky Bourbon Trail's Tech Upgrade, Redwood Empire's Whisky University & More

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail has a new web page that enhances and simplifies your travel plans in Bourbon Country by calculating the details for you. In California, Redwood Empire is making the most of its new headquarters on Mare Island in Vallejo, across the bay from San Francisco, with the establishment of a "Whiskey University," a learning center at the distillery. Elsewhere, Washington's Woodinville Whiskey has a new bottle design that features an age statement for the core brand, Glenfiddich gets a packaging refresh, and there are more cutbacks in Scotland as Laphroaig and Bowmore combine their production teams.

Planning a Trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Just Got Easier

The Kentucky Distillers’ Association has launched a new page on its website that allows you to customize your trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Not that it was a difficult trip to plan before, but with 68 destinations in 6 regions, it was certainly overwhelming. That problem has been solved with the new Build Your Own Bourbon Trail planner.

Simply visit the page, create an account, and start creating your itinerary. Specify the number of days you’ll be visiting, then drag and drop desired destinations to your planner. The planner will identify approximate travel times between each of your selected stops. If you need to make changes to your itinerary, you can edit, add, or delete destinations at any time. After you’ve identified all of your stops, you can view your personal tour in map view. When the plan is final, you can click on the details under “view trip” and make reservations directly on each stop’s website. The page also offers suggested routes for one and two-day visits.

For those traveling with a club, a group of friends, or extended family, you can share the trip you’ve built with your fellow travelers. Simply make your trip public, and they will receive the itinerary via email. The trip builder is free to use, and multiple trips can be built.

Redwood Empire Has A New “Whiskey University” At Its Mare Island Location

California distiller Redwood Empire, which this month celebrates the one-year anniversary of its new distillery, bar, and tasting room on Mare Island in Vallejo, has launched the Redwood Empire Whiskey University at the site. The educational program will feature a slate of classes and sessions, with a wider goal of turning Mare Island into a major whiskey destination.

The university is led by master blender Lauren Patz, and currently offers five 90-minute classes. Topics include whiskey fundamentals, bourbon and rye standards of identity, barrels and maturation, and the art and history of blending. The curriculum is aimed at both enthusiasts and professionals. The Mare Island distillery’s guided tours and tastings cover curated flight experiences with optional pairings, masterclasses tied to new product launches, blind tastings, and blending seminars. There’s also a craft cocktail program at its bar, which offers a whisky-friendly food menu.

Redwood Empire plans to further expand its educational footprint at the Mare Island location in the future, with additional Whiskey University sessions scheduled throughout the year, on topics including grain selection, distillation, blending, and aging. Some of the details can be found here.

The distillery has also significantly expanded its production capacity, a move that will enable it to quadruple output over the coming years.—David Fleming

Woodinville Rolls Out Bottles For Core Brands, And Adds An Age Statement

Washington-based Woodinville Whiskey Co. is giving its bottles a makeover. The new bottles have a similar square shape to the original design, but feature a rough-cut glass surface on the lower half that Woodinville says represents the wild temperature swings in Quincy, Washington, the center part of the state, where Woodinville’s whiskey is aged. Going forward, Woodinville’s flagship bourbon and rye will also carry a 6 year old age statement for the first time. The distillery has released a number of whiskeys that are age-stated, including an 8 year old and a 9 year old, but the core brand has not been age-stated until now.—Danny Brandon

Glenfiddich Gets a Fresh Look

William Grant & Sons has given Speyside single malt Glenfiddich a new look. The redesign, which takes inspiration from the Glenfiddich bottles of the 1960s, keeps the brand’s iconic stag front and center, though now it’s flanked by the numerals 1887, the distillery’s founding year. Also new is the typography; a more modern sans-serif font adorns the label, as does an updated Grant family crest. It’ll be a few more months until the new packaging appears on shelves, as it’s scheduled for a Father’s Day debut.—Julia Higgins

Bowmore and Laphroaig to Consolidate Production Teams

Suntory Global Spirits confirmed that its two Islay distilleries, Bowmore and Laphroaig, are merging their production teams into a single unit. Distillation will continue at both distilleries, but going forward, production will be carried out by a single team of people on a seasonal basis. There haven’t been any layoffs, but Suntory is offering a voluntary redundancy program for workers affected by the shift. The visitor centers are not impacted by the change, and will remain open.

According to Suntory, the consolidation is supposed to adjust production levels to meet long-term consumer demand for both brands. That seems to be a reasonable concern, as both Laphroaig and Bowmore have seen sales decline in recent years amid a cooling whisky market. Laphroaig has been in steady decline in the U.S. since 2021, ending 2024 at 55,000 cases, a 13% decline from the previous year, according to our research arm Impact Databank. The brand is estimated to have lost an additional 9.8% for 2025, according to Nielsen. At 6,000 cases, Bowmore is the smaller of the two labels in the U.S. It too has been trending downward, with an estimated 21.3% loss for 2025, according to Nielsen.

Suntory’s American whiskey holdings have also engaged in similar production shifts. In late December, the company announced that it would take Jim Beam’s main Clermont distillery offline for the entirety of 2026, effectively halting distillation but maintaining other operations like warehousing and bottling. The outpost is expected to undergo “site enhancements” in the meantime, but Suntory confirmed that the main goal was to adjust production to meet current demands.—Danny Brandon

Catoctin Creek Signs New York Distribution Deal with PM Spirits

Virginia-based Catoctin Creek has tapped PM Spirits to handle its distribution in New York. The deal initially covers a handful of spirits, including Roundstone Rye 80, Roundstone Rye Cask Proof, Hot Honey rye, applejack, and peach brandy. The focus of the partnership will be on the distillery’s whiskeys, with the goal of expanding the availability of its flagship Roundstone Rye while also giving on and off-premise operators access to its more limited releases.

Founded in 2011, PM Spirits is a distributor focused on craft spirits with a specialization in brandy. The company is split into two units: one focuses on national distribution and a separate one that focuses solely on the New York market, the latter of which Catoctin Creek is now partnered with. Its New York portfolio leans heavily on cognac, armagnac, rum, and calvados, but it also handles a few whisky brands, including Dad’s Hat, Dark Arts, Found North, Natterjack, Blackadder, Amrut, and others.—Danny Brandon

Still Austin Announces Strategic Partnership With FERO

Texas craft producer Still Austin has entered into a partnership with FERO (formerly known as Ferovinum Inc.), a platform that helps drinks companies with funding and supply-chain technology. The deal has provided $20 million of working capital to Still Austin, with the option to scale that figure to $30 million or more over time. This partnership comes at a time of growth for the distillery, which saw a remarkable 45% volume increase last year to just under 101,000 cases (north of 1.2 million bottles) in the U.S. The extra capital will support the distillery as it expands its production and aging capacities.—Danny Brandon

Spirit Releases

Hendrick’s Gin has unveiled its first permanent expression in nine years. The newcomer, called Another Hendrick’s, is infused with orange blossom and cacao alongside the brand’s signature rose and cucumber. It’s bottled at 44% ABV like the original, and is presented in a striking white bottle with a suggested retail price of $35.—Danny Brandon