Whisky News: Gallo to Buy Four Roses, Traveller's Super Bowl Sunday, Jeptha Traffic Rises

Traveller whiskey, the brand from Chris Stapleton and Buffalo Trace, will air a Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, joining the ranks of only a handful of whisky brands that have ever been on-screen for the big game—Crown Royal, Jack Daniel's, and Uncle Nearest being the others. But the big news this week is that Four Roses will join the portfolio of E&J Gallo, a move that surprised most observers. Meanwhile, Barrell Craft Spirits has become another company to dial back production with the decision to sell its Jeffersonville, Kentucky facility, where it had moved as part of a major expansion project back in 2023. Elsewhere, there's Jeptha Creed's rising visitor traffic, Christie's unusual Karuizawa cask auction, and more.

Traveller Takes To The Airwaves For Super Bowl

Traveller, the whiskey from Sazerac and country music superstar Chris Stapleton, will air a 30-second slot during the Super Bowl. Slated to appear shortly before the National Anthem, the commercial shows Stapleton at Buffalo Trace Distillery strumming the opening bars to the “Star-Spangled Banner,” an echo of his widely celebrated Super Bowl performance of the anthem back in 2023. It also teases a major line extension that’s coming soon. The full commercial can be viewed here. Tune into the Super Bowl this Sunday, February 8th, shortly before 6:30 p.m. to see the ad on game day. This news follows Traveller being named the first official whiskey of Major League Baseball.—Aubrey Thompson

Four Roses Has a New Owner

California’s E&J Gallo has agreed to acquire Four Roses Bourbon from Japanese group Kirin Holdings Co. for up to $775 million. The Financial Timeshad reported in October that Kirin was looking to raise as much as $1 billion from a sale of Four Roses, which it acquired in 2002.

Most people think of E&J Gallo as a wine company, and it is in fact the U.S. wine leader by a wide margin. But Gallo also has a significant presence in spirits through its Spirit of Gallo unit, whose portfolio is led by the High Noon RTD, now the largest-selling spirits brand in America, outpacing giants such as Tito’s vodka. In addition, Gallo’s New Amsterdam vodka ranks in the top 10 selling U.S. spirits and is the No.-3 selling vodka nationwide. Gallo also owns New Amsterdam gin and rum-based cream liqueur RumChata. As an importer, the company handles a robust higher-end spirits portfolio that includes Dalmore single malt scotch, Don Fulano tequila, and Condesa gin, among others.

The Four Roses deal significantly strengthens Gallo’s presence in American whiskey, which thus far has been limited to the Horse Soldier Bourbon brand, where it took a stake in 2022. Four Roses had a U.S. sales volume of 425,000 cases (5.1 million 750-ml. bottles) in 2024, out of 1 million cases (12 million bottles) in global sales. It has been showing roughly flat growth lately, but ranks among the leading super-premium bourbons in the U.S. and is in eighth place by volume among all bourbon brands worldwide.—David Fleming

Barrell Sells Jeffersontown Blending Facility

Kentucky-based Barrell Craft Spirits has sold its blending and bottling plant in the Louisville suburb of Jeffersontown. All blending will now be moved back to Barrell’s original base in Gilmore, about 15 miles to the west, which will receive equipment and technology upgrades. Ongoing work will not be disrupted, and the company confirmed that no jobs will be impacted by the move.

Barrell purchased the Jeffersontown property in 2021 and relocated its headquarters there in 2023 as part of a major $15 million expansion. The blending house had grown its revenues 106% from 2018–2022, and the new facility was meant to boost capacity fivefold with new bottling lines, larger blending tanks, and a dedicated blending lab. The 31,000-square-foot facility also had space for management, marketing, and a bottle shop. According to founder Joe Beatrice, the sale and production consolidation were done in response to the current downturn in the whiskey business.—Danny Brandon

Jeptha Creed Sees 28% Tourism Rise in 2025

Kentucky-based Jeptha Creed says it saw a 28% increase in visitors to its Shelbyville distillery last year. The company credits continued interest in grain-to-glass producers. The distillery features educational tours that walk through its production process, as well as tasting flights, cocktails, and food. Last March, the Estate Whiskey Alliance group—of which Jeptha is a member—launched a certification program for “estate whiskeys” that are mostly made from grains grown on distillery-owned land.—Danny Brandon

Yellowstone Bourbon Partners With Conservation Group To Help Grizzly Bears

Yellowstone Bourbon has partnered with Vital Ground Foundation, a conservation group that helps protect the habitats of grizzly bears and other wildlife. As part of the deal, Yellowstone will make significant contributions to the group’s One Landscape Initiative—a project that aims to protect over 7,500 acres of grizzly bear habitat. Yellowstone has been active in conservation efforts and since 2018 has also partnered with the National Parks Conservation Association, which is focussed on preserving U.S. national parks in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, including Yellowstone National Park.—Danny Brandon

Shortbarrel Bourbon Now Ships Nationally

Norcross, Georgia-based craft blender Shortbarrel has announced that its flagship bourbon is now available online and shipping to 47 states. The bourbon—which carries a suggested retail price of $40—is a blend of two mashbills, including a Wilderness Trail wheater and a Green River four-grain, which is bottled at 46% ABV. Bottles can also be found at retailers in Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas.—Danny Brandon

Ezra Brooks 80 Returns To The Bar in a New 1-Liter Bottle

Previously discontinued bourbon Ezra Brooks 80 Proof is coming back, exclusively for on-premise accounts nationwide, and packaged in a new 1-liter bottle. It’s keeping the same mashbill of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley. It was created to address the needs of on-premise operators for a large-format low-proof bourbon for mixing in Old Fashioneds and Manhattans.—Danny Brandon

International Beverage Opens U.S. Office

Scotland-based International Beverage, which owns scotch whisky brands AnCnoc, Balblair, and Old Pulteney as well as Cardrona New Zealand whisky, has opened a U.S. regional office in New York City. The unit will be managed by Peter Powell, who has been running the company’s business in the UK, France, and Germany. The International Beverage brands were previously imported by 375 Park Avenue Spirits. The new U.S. arm is looking to hire four people, including two sales ambassadors, a channel marketing manager, and an office/finance manager. International Beverage is owned by Bangkok-based Thai Beverage Public Company Ltd. (ThaiBev).—David Fleming

Karuizawa Cask Auction at Christie’s

Two casks of Japanese single malt distilled in 1999 will be auctioned in London on March 10^th. Both were distilled at Karuizawa Distillery, which shuttered in 2000, and contain enough whisky for approximately 420 bottles each. The casks are being sold from the private collection of Sukhinder Singh, co-owner of Elixir Distillers, owner of Tormore Distillery on Speyside and Portintruan Distillery on Islay, which is expected to open in 2026. Singh is one of the world’s leading whisky collectors and bought a number of the last casks of Karuizawa in 2012 when he owned spirits retailer The Whisky Exchange, which was sold to Pernod Ricard in 2021. He bottled many of them during a period when Karuizawa became highly collectible, with new releases eventually commanding thousands of dollars.—Jonny McCormick

BrewDog Distilling Closes

Scotland’s BrewDog Distilling announced in late January that it’s closing the distillery and ending production of its gin, vodka, tequila, and rum brands. The distillery also made single malt and grain whisky, and had been expected to release its first whisky this year. The company’s core beer side will continue operations. Wonderland Cocktails, its ready-to-drink brand produced by a third party, will continue. Two friends founded BrewDog in 2007 in northeastern Scotland. The brewing side expanded to include breweries in Australia, Germany, and Columbus, Ohio, as well as an international network of bars and taprooms. The company opened its distillery in 2016, and its gin and vodka brands were so successful that in 2022 the distillery increased capacity and moved into larger premises.—Jonny McCormick

Diageo Curtailing Visitor Hours at Glenkinchie, Caol Ila

Johnnie Walker is cutting visitor center hours at two of its scotch whisky distilleries. Following the announcement of the closure of its multi-million-dollar visitor center at Clynelish, the brand homes at Glenkinchie in the Lowlands and Caol Ila on Islay will offer tours only five days a week beginning in April. Visitor experiences at both distilleries recently had been upgraded as part of a $250 million investment by Diageo. Glenkinchie, Caol Ila, Clynelish, and Cardhu comprise the four “brand homes” of Johnnie Walker, as their whiskies make up substantial portions of the Johnnie Walker blend.—Jonny McCormick