Collier & McKeel sale of brands

The owners of the Tennessee Distilling Company and the Collier and McKeel Whiskey brand excitedly shared the news of the sale of their beloved brands. Collier and McKeel are crafted just a stone's throw away from the Tennessee State Capitol in the vibrant city of Nashville, Tennessee, within their very own dedicated distillery.

“Finding the right partner to carry on this historical legacy of these brands was hugely important to me,” Mike Williams, President of Tennessee Distilling Company, said. “I really wanted to find a partner that could take Collier & McKeel forward and carry on the Tennessee tradition of this company”.

In the 1790s, following the Whiskey Rebellion, President Washington dispatched troops to Pennsylvania to quell an uprising of whiskey makers who were protesting against a new federal tax. Fearing similar repercussions, distillers from various states decided to relocate westward. Among them were William Collier and James McKeel, who migrated to Tennessee from Virginia and North Carolina, bringing with them the age-old tradition of handcrafting sour mash whiskey passed down from their Scottish and Irish ancestors.

Darek Bell, owner of the award-winning Corsair Distillery, commenting on the sale, said, “In a time when there are so many knock-off whiskeys made in Indiana with a Tennessee-sounding label, it is great to have an authentic ‘getting your hands’ dirty distiller like Collier and Mckeel in Nashville. They are making authentic spirits true to Tennessee’s great spirits heritage. This deal should be no surprise as Collier and McKeel make great whiskey crafted right here in Nashville”.

We are excited to announce that full integration of the two companies will occur over the next few months. As the transaction is between privately-held companies, specific details will not be disclosed. Brindiamo Group played a key role as the exclusive advisor in facilitating this transaction.

Brindiamo Group is a consultancy firm dedicated exclusively to the global wine and spirits industry with offices in the USA and in Europe.