Mystery Buyer of Barrell Craft Spirits Facility Sued Over Bulk Canadian Whisky

It did not take long for the new owner of Barrell Craft Spirit’s state-of-the-art blending and bottling facility in Louisville to find itself embroiled in a lawsuit. And as a bonus, the lawsuit revealed the surprisingly low cost of Canadian Whisky.

Wyoming-based American Craft Bottling, LLC (“ACB”) bought Barrell’s facility in late January 2026 for $3,738,000.00, but since then, all media reports about the sale failed to provide any information about ACB.

What is American Craft Bottling?

Facts about ACB were not easy to find. It is a Wyoming LLC, but its filing does not list an actual place of business there. Its address, 30 N. Gould St. in Sheridan, Wyoming, is the address of a registered agent that local press has reported is connected with fraudulent or scam businesses. (https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/30-n-gould-st-businesses-blur-lines-of-what-it-means-to-be-a-sheridan/article_66d94fa4-ae8b-11ef-b606-7bad3d698a86.html).

Maybe showing a further disconnect with Wyoming, the executive who signed the deed for ACB didn’t sign in Wyoming; he signed in California. And other than being identified as the purchaser in the deed, ACB does not seem to have any connection with Kentucky, either.

Looking further, an entity related to ACB is the similarly-named American Craft Distillers, LLC (“ACD”). It has the same corporate information in Wyoming, and its principal address and mailing address are both the same as the registered agent—the 30 N. Gould address in Sheridan, but it is not registered with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

ACD does at least have a website: https://www.acdistillers.com/, but they did not respond to my inquiry through the website.

Even though ACB bought the property, it is ACD that claims to operate a business there. ACD claims that it “provides a comprehensive range of services throughout the spirits industry” and “specializes in contract manufacturing, research and development, regulatory compliance, and brand support.” ACD claims to have an inventory of aged whiskey in Kentucky and says that it can supply other spirits like gin, tequila, rum, and even grain neutral spirit.

Through common ownership or executives, ACB and ACD appear to be related to a company called Ethanol US LLC, which has distillery operations in Torrington, Wyoming. Another related entity appears to be LIBEX LLC, which was also organized by the same executive and listing the same address at 30 N. Gould. LIBEX, which has been dissolved, was a fund started in 2020 for investing in whiskey, which LIBEX touted as having a 10% annual growth potential.

Anderson County Distilling Company Files a New Lawsuit.

Selling whiskey barrels brings us back to the new lawsuit filed this week. Anderson County Distilling Company just sued troubled New York distiller Black Button Distilling (which was reportedly saved from bankruptcy last year by Kris Comstock-led Blackstar Company). But Anderson County also sued ACD, alleging that ACD acquired the assets of Black Button.

The lawsuit involves the alleged sale of 10 barrels of 25-year-old Canadian Whisky. Although obviously not as valuable as Kentucky Bourbon, the sale price might be the most shocking part of this story: a mere $1,200 per barrel. Anderson County alleges that it paid for the barrels but that defendants now refuse to deliver them.

What’s Next?

Remember, Complaints only present the plaintiff’s version of events and the defendants are expected to file their formal response in court in the coming weeks, where they will have the opportunity to tell their side of the story.

As with most civil lawsuits, this one will probably settle and we may never know the true result. But hopefully we will learn more about the mysterious owners from Wyoming.