Craft Spirits Weekly
Welcome to the 57th issue of Craft Spirits Weekly , a service dedicated to bringing you the news most important to the craft spirits distiller. Check your inbox every Thursday to find a curated selection of articles and news pieces from the American Craft Spirits Association.
Wilderness Trail to Release 1st Bourbon in Time for Kentucky Derby
After more than four years of waiting for Wilderness Trail Distillery’s bourbon, consumers will be able to quench their thirst for the Danville-based distillery’s first bourbon release on April 28, just prior the Kentucky Derby. (The Lane Report )  
Rabbit Hole Files Trademark Suit Against Colorado Distiller
Louisville, Ky.-based Rabbit Hole Spirits thinks a Fort Collins, Colo. distiller’s decision to imitate its trademark was a hair-brained idea. Rabbit Hole Spirits alleges Old Elk Distilleries pilfered its trademark leaping-rabbit image to confuse whiskey and gin lovers into buying its bourbon cream. The Kentucky distillery filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver. (Denver Post)
Detroit City Distillery Expanding Distribution
Detroit City Distillery is growing distribution and starting up an event venue as it aims to expand revenue streams in the new year. This month DCD opened The Whiskey Factory in its production site at the former Stroh's Ice Cream building on Gratiot Avenue. (Crain’s Detroit Business)
Dry Fork Fruit Distillery Moves Opening to Spring
It didn’t open at the end of 2017 as planned, but Dry Fork Fruit Distillery is still in the works to come to the River District this year. Vincent Puccio, a partner with the whiskey distillery, said he and William T. Willis plan to open the distillery, retail store and tasting room in the spring. (GoDanRiver.com)
Tucson Tasting Room to Sample Spirits from Across Arizona
The owners of Three Wells Distilling are about to make it easier to sample craft spirits produced across Arizona all in once place. Matthew Montgomery and Christopher Dudding are in the process of converting the space that once housed Perri Jewelers in downtown Tucson into an off-site tasting room that will not only serve their spirits, but craft-distilled products from all over the state. (Tucson.com)
Virginia Alcohol Equity Law Inches Forward
Virginia has 352 wineries, 262 breweries, and 62 distilleries. The state imposes no limits on how much oenophiles and cerevisaphiles may quaff when they visit a winery or brewery—that's up to the discretion of the folks dispensing the drinks. That is not the case for drinkers who enjoy stronger spirits. In the Cavalier Commonwealth, visitors to distilleries may imbibe a total of only 3 ounces of liquor in some combination of half-ounce tastings and 1½-ounce cocktails. (Reason)
Brooklyn-Based Brewer/Distiller Turns Beer Into Whiskey
Dave Kyrejko loves beer. He also loves whiskey and science. And that’s where the monster comes in. “Yep, it’s the two-headed monster,” Kyrejko says. “That’s the official name.” We’re standing inside Interboro Spirits and Ales, an airy warehouse-turned-craft-brewery in an industrial stretch of East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Arcane Distilling, Kyrejko’s micro-distilling venture, has been operating out of the space since June 2017, and at the heart of it is the monster: a towering, two-tiered vacuum still made up of bubbling glass orbs, coils, tubes, and metal odds and ends. It’s basically the coolest chemistry set you’ve ever seen. Why? Because it turns delicious craft beer into equally delicious craft whiskey. (VinePair)
Jeptha Creek Named Official Vodka of Kentucky Derby Festival
Jeptha Creed—a craft distillery located in Shelbyville, Ky., specializing in bourbon, whiskey, vodka and moonshine—has been announced as the official vodka of the 2018 Kentucky Derby Festival. (The Lane Report)
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