Rotten Little Bastard Distillery goes into liquidation
South Carolina-based Rotten Little Bastard Distillery has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy almost six years after opening.
Local residents Brian and Brigid Fackrell established Rotten Little Bastard Distillery in Beaufort in 2019, when they secured their spirits permit. The distillery, which opened in the summer of 2020 on the site of a former Kmart, produced whiskey, gin, vodka and rum.
However, the business voluntarily filed for Chapter 7 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina on 10 March.
The bankruptcy petition showed assets in the range of US$100,001-US$1 million with liabilities in the same range.
Among its debts owed are US$31,445 to the United Community Bank (SBA Loan) and US$11,156 to American Express.
In a statement on its website, Brigid said: “Brian and I have made the difficult decision to close Rotten Little Bastard Distillery. We would like to thank everyone who has worked with us, helped us, supported us and visited us in the past five and a half years. We will miss you.”
The co-founder noted that the distillery’s spirits can still be purchased across South Carolina liquor stores and through online distributors Cellar and Tipxy until supplies run out.
The statement continued: “Brian and I are not going anywhere, as Beaufort is our home. We are just moving on to the next experience.”
Rotten Little Bastard Distillery detailed the challenges it faced in a LinkedIn post last year when it celebrated the fifth anniversary of the sale of its first bottle in July 2020.
The post said: “None of this has been easy. Or cheap. It is hard to compete with larger companies who can sell their products for less. Shelf space in liquor stores is hard to get and hard to keep.
“We appreciate the stores who have taken a chance on us, and for you for buying our spirits and asking your local stores to carry Rotten Little Bastard.
“We don’t have big financial backers, just us and some family. Brian is still working full-time as an electrician. The pandemic put us behind, not being able to get out and sell, as well as changing our area tourism.”
According to the Craft Spirits Data Project (CSDP), the number of active craft distillers in the US fell to 2,282 as of August 2025, compared with 3,069 in the same month last year. Although the way the latest report calculates closures has changed, it is thought to be a double-digit drop year on year.
The sector reached 12.7 million 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%.
According to the latest CSDP, there were 29 craft distilleries in South Carolina as of August last year.
Meanwhile, US spirits sales declined by 2.2% in value last year, with only ready-to-drink cocktails in growth.
Related news
Bacardí debuts music-led campaign with Puerto Rican creatives
