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Anchor Distilling rebrands to Hotaling & Co

San Francisco-based distiller and importer Anchor Distilling Company has changed its name to Hotaling & Co after losing trademark rights to the ‘Anchor’ name.

San Francisco-based Anchor Distilling Company changes its name to Hotaling & Co

The company relinquished its rights to the name after Japan’s Sapporo Holdings Limited acquired the brewing arm of the firm, Anchor Brewing Company, in August last year.

Hotaling & Co takes its name from spirits dealer AP Hotaling, who proceeded to become the largest liquor wholesaler in the West Coast in the late 1800s. He also became known in San Francisco when his whiskey warehouse survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

The company released an aged expression of its Old Potrero rye whisky to commemorate Hotaling in 2006.

Hotaling & Co is also looking to move its corporate office, distillery and tasting room to a new location in San Francisco.

The firm also said that it would remain under the ownership of Berry Bros & Rudd, after the British wine and spirits merchant increased its stake in the US distiller last year.

“The Hotaling name pays tribute to our organisation’s past as it has been the name of our rarest and most sought-after expression of Old Potrero whiskey, Hotaling’s, and celebrates our connection with San Francisco,” said Dennis Carr, the company’s president and CEO.

The firm produces brands including Old Potrero rye whiskey and Junipero gin, and imports spirits such as Nikka and Hine Cognac. Its complete portfolio consists of nearly 400 spirits brands from around the world.

The original Anchor Distilling Company was established in 1993 by Fritz Maytag, who purchased Anchor Brewing in 1965. In 2014, the company doubled its production capacity to meet demand for Old Potrero.

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