Barrell Craft Spirits of Louisville, Kentucky, announced that it has officially launched its award-winning spirits portfolio in the United Kingdom. The original independent blender known for its unique, aged, cask strength whiskey, has selected Axiom Brands as its brand-building distribution partner for both on- and off-trade.
“We’re excited to partner with Axiom Brands—an independent company like Barrell Craft Spirits, which is both passionate about and deeply immersed in the U.K. drinks market,” said BCS founder Joe Beatrice. “We’re thrilled to have pioneered the movement to elevate the art of blending in the United States. The U.K. is a crucial distilled spirits market as we look to expand our distribution abroad.”
“We have a long-standing history in our team with the American whiskey category,” said Ian Bayliss, co-founder of Axiom Brands. “We are thrilled to welcome the most exciting new American whisky brand to come out of the U.S. right now into the Axiom portfolio and begin the journey of establishing Barrell Craft Spirits on all the best back bars and retail shelves across the U.K. for consumers and trade to explore.”
Founded in 2013, BCS selects and blends products that explore different distillation methods, barrels and aging environments. BCS’s extensive stocks of high-quality casks mean it can craft extraordinary blends that maximize the nuances of each ingredient. Creative finishes and a liberated approach to blending guides every product release.
The BCS cask-strength small-batch and single-barrel releases have quickly become an influencing force in American whiskey, picking up more than 150 awards from the world’s most prestigious distilled spirits publications and competitions. They include the “Chairman’s Trophy” and top score (97/100) in the American whisk(e)y category at the 2020 Ultimate Spirits Challenge for Barrell Dovetail American Whiskey; and several top awards at the annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition, including Best Bourbon and Best Small Batch Bourbon – both overall and within the 6-10-year category – for Barrell Bourbon Batch 021 (2020), “Best Small Batch Bourbon over 11 years old” for Barrell Bourbon Batch 018 (2019), and “Best Bourbon” and “Best Small Batch Bourbon” for Barrell Bourbon Batch 11 and “Best Over Proof Rum” for Batch 001 (2017).
The award-winning line of BCS releases are now sold in 49 US states, Australia, Canada, and the U.K.