Texan distillery to permanently close
Artisan Distillery & Craft Bar in Texas will shut on 25 January after 13 years in operation due to “significant” production costs.
Artisan Craft Distillery, located at 402 Austin Street in downtown San Antonio, revealed on Instagram last month it would host a farewell party on Saturday 24 January and a final curtain call party the following day.
The distillery explained the reason for closure on Instagram on 29 December, citing the “accumulation of current economic and market changes” and “significant” production costs caused by tariffs.
It also warned of a “decrease of popularity of hand-crafted cocktails and microdistilleries/breweries”.
The statement on Instagram said it would close “after 13 years of distilling and creating excellent hand-crafted cocktails in San Antonio”.
The company’s debut product was Spike Vodka, before expanding the range to include Texas Pride Vodka, S&C Gin, Bexar Ridge Bourbon, Pecan Ridge whiskey, Chupacabra Juice Moonshine, and agave spirit Aguila.
Its tasting room served cocktails made with spirits produced on site, where it also operated a brewery.
In the days leading up to its closure, Artisan will continue to host Drag Bingo on Friday nights, Flash Laughs comedy nights on Saturday and a Hangover Drag Brunch on Sunday.
Texas is the fourth-largest US state for craft distilleries with 126 as of August 2025, according to the American Craft Spirits Association’s Craft Spirits Data Project. However, this is down from 177 craft distilleries in Texas, recorded in the year to August 2024.
The US craft spirits sector reached 12.7m cases last year (versus 13.5m in 2023) and US$7.58 billion in sales – a volume decrease of 6.1% and a value drop of 3.3%.
Texan-based Artisan is one of several craft distilleries to close its doors in the past year, including Oregon’s Rogue Ales & Spirits.
Meanwhile, A.M. Scott Distillery in Ohio recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with its debt totalling US$3.35 million.
In other Texan news, Austin-based Tito’s Handmade Vodka took a majority stake in Lalo Tequila last September, marking its first strategic acquisition.
That same month, Diageo temporarily ceased whiskey production at its Balcones distillery in Waco, Texas.
Related news
Manitoba sells $4.9m worth of US alcohol
