The Acquisition
Next Century Spirits (NCS), the Zebulon, North Carolina-based distillery and brand-development company, has acquired a portfolio of brand assets from Grain & Barrel Spirits, headlined by Chicken Cock Whiskey, a heritage Kentucky brand with commercial roots dating to 1856. The transaction also transfers Dixie Southern Vodka, Elvis Whiskey, and E.G. Booz to NCS, materially broadening the company's SKU count across whiskey, vodka, and flavored spirits segments. The deal marks NCS's first direct foothold in Kentucky — the geographic and reputational heart of the American bourbon supply chain.
The acquired assets extend beyond liquid and intellectual property. NCS takes ownership of two Circa 1856 experiential venues: a flagship tasting-room destination in Bardstown — known widely as the Bourbon Capital of the World — and a sipping room and speakeasy format location in Louisville's NuLu neighborhood, opened in 2025. Both properties function as direct-to-consumer brand touchpoints, offering tastings, retail, and immersive brand experiences that can drive depletion velocity and support on-premise storytelling for wholesaler and distributor partners.
Portfolio & Route-to-Market Impact
For NCS, the acquisition layers four established Grain & Barrel brands onto an already broad owned portfolio that includes Blue Chair Bay Rum, Nue Vodka, Pocho Fino Tequila, Bear Fight American Whiskey, Creek Water American Whiskey, Henderson Whiskey, Numbskull Whiskey, Caddy Cocktails, and Calamity Gin. The combined lineup now spans rum, vodka, tequila, gin, RTD cocktails, and multiple whiskey expressions — a cross-category depth that strengthens NCS's negotiating position with distributors operating in the three-tier system and gives wholesaler partners a more compelling multi-brand programming conversation.
Chicken Cock, originally founded by James A. Miller in Paris, Kentucky, was revived in 2012 by Grain & Barrel founder and CEO Matti Anttila. The brand has since built a roster of award-winning Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Kentucky Straight Rye expressions alongside limited releases — positioning it as a premium-tier asset capable of supporting both on-premise menu placements and off-premise shelf sets. Anttila will join the NCS board following the transaction, providing continuity for distributor relationships and brand equity built over the past decade. Damon DeSantis, a director of Celsius Holdings and INBP and former CEO of Rexall Sundown, will also join the board, adding investor and governance experience across consumer categories.
What's Next
Anthony Moniello, CEO of Next Century Spirits, framed the acquisition as a strategic fit within a deliberate portfolio-building strategy. "Alongside Blue Chair Bay Rum, Nue Vodka, recently launched Pocho Fino Tequila, and the rest of our portfolio, it strengthens what we're building at NCS," Moniello said. NCS has earned more than 35 gold medals in industry competition and has been named North Carolina Distillery of the Year for three consecutive years by the New York International Spirits Competition — credentials that underpin co-pack and private-label business alongside its owned brands.
The deal arrives as American whiskey faces a nuanced demand environment: volume growth has moderated from its post-pandemic peak, but premium and heritage-positioned expressions continue to command shelf space and distributor attention at the expense of undifferentiated mid-tier SKUs. Chicken Cock's documented provenance — first international shipment out of Bourbon County, documented presence in Gilded Age social clubs and Prohibition-era venues — gives NCS a narrative that resonates in the premium off-premise and on-premise segments where authenticated heritage is a planogram differentiator. The Circa 1856 venues also provide a DTC revenue stream and experiential pipeline that can seed regional depletion momentum ahead of broader national distribution pushes. STS Capital Partners served as sell-side advisor on the transaction, with partner and managing director Smoke Wallin leading negotiations. For more coverage of spirits brand consolidation and distribution trends, see our reporting on spirits manufacturing and supply-chain deal activity.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
