EDITOR ' S NOTE

Writing this editorial well ahead of time , I ’ m considering the recent news that Stoli Group USA and its Kentucky Owl brand have both declared bankruptcy .

To be clear , the global Stoli Group , located in Luxembourg , is financially solvent . The bankruptcy — which by the time you read this will be old news — only affects the two subsidiaries mentioned above , both based in the U . S .

On one hand , Stoli Group USA suffered a crippling cyber attack that basically wiped out their ERP ( enterprise resource planning ) platform and operational systems . With that digital asset down , the company for months ran its sprawling business manually — an almost-impossible task in our modern economy . Imagine losing your own digital software . Truly a nightmare .

On the other hand , the Kentucky Owl problem . This brand is emblematic of several issues now hampering American whiskey : too many high-end releases priced too high . Walk into most beverage alcohol retailers these days and you will likely see several Kentucky Owl bottles in the $ 100− $ 150 range , collecting dust and / or offered at a discount .

So is Kentucky Owl a victim of the hack ? Or an isolated case of a brand gone bad ? Worse , is it a canary in the coal mine for the broader whiskey industry ?

Bourbon social media , always an active place , has been abuzz with speculation about the bankruptcy . Most industry folks want to point to the middle explanation from the previous paragraph . They argue that Stoli bought the brand in a particularly frothy time for whiskey , circa 2017 , and then continued preimmunizing too much and distributing too far , instead of refining Kentucky Owl into a better-known product with a better-defined market . These commentators are likely correct on all counts .

However , Kentucky Owl ’ s problems come as the brand reportedly has 26,000 barrels of whiskey aging at Bardstown Bourbon Company . One could call that mismanagement , and one could also call it a glut . The two are not mutually exclusive .

We all know demand for whiskey has slowed . Just look at all those single barrel picks sitting on store shelves — including established brands that once sold out in days . Or former unicorn bottles ( I won ’ t name names ) that now last longer on the retail floor as well . Saturated market ? Overproduction ? Sign of a slowdown , or a momentary blip before greater growth ahead ?

Again , most industry folks want to say the latter . But between Kentucky Owl , store picks and other troubling signs , there sure have been a lot of blips lately .

Beverage Group Vice President Jeremy Nedelka Tel : 763-383-4413 email : jnedelka @ epgacceleration . com

Editor , Off-Premise Kyle Swartz Tel : 763-383-4447 email : kswartz @ epgacceleration . com

Trade Managing Editor Krystina Skibo Tel : 763-383-4419 email : kskibo @ epgacceleration . com

Contributing Editors Melissa Dowling , Marnie Old , Tom Shay

National Account Director Debbie Rittenberg Tel : 763-383-4455 email : drittenberg @ epgacceleration . com

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Associate Managing Art Director Nicole Siewert

Senior Product Manager , Data & Insights Marina Velez Tel : 763-383-4453 email : mvelez @ epgacceleration . com

List Rental Kris Grauer email : kgrauer @ npsmediagroup . com Tel : 203-822-7933

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Kyle Swartz Editor , Off-Premise

Beverage Dynamics is published by EPG Brand Acceleration Editorial and executive offices at 7760 France Avenue South , Suite 810 , Bloomington , MN 55435 .

4 Beverage Dynamics • Spring 2025 www . beveragedynamics . com