Heritage Distilling Company, Inc. ("HDC" or "Heritage" or "The
Company"), a leading craft distiller of innovative premium brands,
today announced a landmark partnership with the Coquille Indian
Tribe to develop Oregon’s inaugural tribally-owned and operated
distillery on tribal land.
Both Heritage and Coquille-branded spirits will
be produced, bottled and sold at The Mill Casino-Hotel & RV
Park located on Coos Bay in North Bend, Oregon as well as the
casino’s several bars, restaurants and retail outlets. Revenue from
the distillery operations will be distributed to the Tribe, which
provides its 1,100 members with healthcare, education and services
in five Southern Oregon counties.
Led by Justin and Jennifer Stiefel since 2011,
Heritage is the most-awarded craft distillery in North America by
the American Distilling Institute for the past decade and is
recognized for its innovative brand family of premium whiskies,
gins, vodkas, rums and ready-to-drink cocktails. Beyond their
mastery of distilling, the Stiefels saw both an injustice done to
Native American indigenous communities and a mutually beneficial
economic opportunity to create national distribution for Heritage’s
portfolio of craft spirits. Together, they established the Tribal
Beverage Network (TBN), a first-of-its-kind partnership with Native
American Tribes to develop Heritage-branded distilleries, brands
and tasting rooms to serve patrons of tribal casinos and
entertainment venues.
“There is a huge economic opportunity to develop
a market that has been traditionally closed to the tribal
communities,” said Margaret Simpson, chief executive officer of
CEDCO, the Tribe’s venture arm that owns and operates The Mill
Casino-Hotel & RV Park. “Working with the Heritage team in
expanding Heritage brands and creating new brands that are both in
keeping with Oregon’s history as innovators in craft beer and wine,
as well as with the values of the Coquille Tribe, will be vital in
launching the distillery. Together with Heritage, we will establish
the proper foundation to not only fast track our project, but also
equip us with the tools to make Oregon’s first tribally-owned
distillery an ongoing success and a vital economic resource for our
community.”
Final approval of the project by the Oregon
Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) came during the commission’s
May 16th session. The historic achievement caps two years of work
and negotiations between the OLCC and the Tribe, with the
assistance of Heritage, to take one more step towards modernizing
Oregon’s liquor laws.
The distillery will be modeled after Heritage’s
industry-leading operations derived from its five distilleries and
tasting rooms across Washington and Oregon. As a TBN partner, the
Coquille-owned and operated destination will also offer several
amenities for patrons including a tasting room that features
Heritage spirits like Cocoa Bomb Chocolate Whiskey, Heritage Canned
Cocktails, Florescence Vodka, Stiefel’s Select Single Barrel and
Small Batch whiskeys, and Heritage’s latest Special Operations
Salute series which honors military and first responder
communities.
In addition to on-site tastings, the Coquille
distillery will also extend innovative membership programs
available to TBN partners: The Cask Club®, an annual
membership-based program that allows members to create and
customize spirits of their choice; and The Spirits Club®, a program
that provides members quarterly shipments of Heritage’s
award-winning spirits delivered directly to their door at a reduced
rate, as well as priority access to new, limited and seasonal
releases.
“We are thrilled and honored to be partnering
with the Coquille Indian Tribe and CEDCO to break ground on this
historic effort in Oregon,” said Jennifer Stiefel, president and
co-founder of Heritage Distilling. “As a woman leading in an
industry traditionally dominated by men, it’s exciting to
collaborate with strong female leadership in Coquille Chairwoman
Brenda Meade and CEDCO CEO Margaret Simpson. The Mill is the
perfect location for Heritage to expand its offerings given its
draw along the Oregon coast and its history as the timber capital
of the world. Aging premium whiskeys and rums requires time-honored
methods and maturation. It’s fitting that this site, once home to a
timber mill, will now craft high-quality spirits aged in wood for
consumers to enjoy. Heritage Distilling is proud to play a part in
the Coquille Tribe’s special story.”
TBN members can benefit from wholesale and
retail margins and tax capture. In addition, tribes entering this
industry can generate funds to support social and economic
initiatives, increase employment, diversify the skillsets of their
members and work with Heritage to create their brands to celebrate
the unique characteristics of a tribe or region.
The Coquille Tribe’s announcement follows on the
heels of a recent announcement by the Tonto Apache Tribe in Payson,
Arizona on its plans to open a Heritage Distilling branded location
in partnership with Heritage at the Mazatzal Hotel and Casino’s
newest development, Apache Corners. Until recently, an 1834 federal
law prohibited anyone from setting up a distillery on tribal land
for manufacturing “ardent spirits.” In large part due to Heritage
Distilling Company’s efforts, the antiquated Andrew Jackson-era law
was finally repealed by Congress in 2018, paving the way for the
Coquille Indian Tribe to pursue operation of a distillery on tribal
lands.
Heritage has several other tribes signed up
under its model with announcements for each location and tribal
partnership to be unveiled based on each tribe’s respective
timeline for development. For more information on Heritage
Distilling Company and the Tribal Beverage Network, visit
heritagedistilling.com.
About Heritage Distilling Company, Inc.Heritage
Distilling Company, Inc.®, currently a subsidiary of Heritage
Distilling Holding Company, Inc., was co-founded in 2011 by Justin
and Jennifer Stiefel and U.S. Army Veterans Drew and Sara
Kellerman. Heritage is among the premier independent craft spirits
distilleries in the United States offering a variety of whiskeys,
vodkas, gins and rums produced mainly from local, sustainably
sourced ingredients. Heritage is the most awarded craft distillery
in North America by the American Distilling Institute for the past
ten years out of more than 2,600 craft distilleries. To accelerate
its national wholesale distribution growth strategy, Heritage
founded the Tribal Beverage Network (TBN) to collaborate with
Native American tribes and develop Heritage-branded distilleries,
brands, and tasting rooms and to develop brands unique to the
tribes, to serve patrons of tribal casinos and entertainment
venues, creating compelling social and economic benefits for
participating tribal communities while allowing the tribes another
channel through which to exercise tribal sovereignty. Alongside the
Special Operations Salute series, HDC's remarkable lineup of
premium whiskies, gins, vodkas, rums, and ready-to-drink cocktails
includes acclaimed spirits such as Stiefel’s Select, Florescence (a
collaboration with celebrity chef Danielle Kartes), Cocoa Bomb
Chocolate Whiskey, Elk Rider®, BATCH NO. 12®, and the HDC series
featuring more than 20 naturally flavored vodkas, among others.
About the Coquille Indian TribeThe Coquille
Indian Tribe flourished in Oregon’s southwestern corner for
thousands of years, cherishing the bountiful forests, rivers and
beaches of a homeland encompassing more than 750,000 acres. In
1954, Congress declared the Coquille Tribe “terminated.” 35 years
later the Tribe was formally restored to federal recognition in
1989. Today the Tribe numbers more than 1,100 members and it has
regained more than 10,000 acres of ancestral homeland, proudly
managing the bulk of it as sustainable forest. The Tribe provides
education assistance, health care, elder services and (where
needed) housing assistance to its people, while contributing
substantially to the surrounding community’s economy. Its various
enterprises employ approximately 600 people, and its community fund
is the region’s leading local source of charitable grants.
Contacts |
The Mill CasinoMichael LaffeyMlaffey@themillcasino.com(541)
252-8251 |
Heritage Distilling Co.InvestorsScott
EcksteinHeritage@kcsa.com(212) 896-1210 |
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Heritage Distilling Co.MediaAnne DonohoeHeritage@kcsa.com(732)
620-0033 |