Apogee to buy Luca Mariano Distillery for $19.5m
Nevada-based wine and spirits firm Apogee 21 has won a bid to buy bankrupt Kentucky distillery Luca Mariano and signed a deal to acquire a Californian whiskey maker.
Luca Mariano Distillery (LMD) in Danville entered a court-supervised sale process in January 2026 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just months after opening.
Apogee 21, the parent company of A21 Wine & Spirits, is located in Henderson near Las Vegas. The firm disclosed that it has been selected as the successful bidder in the bankruptcy process for Luca Mariano Distillery.
The US$19.5 million deal includes LMD’s 529-acre distillery campus, production facilities, real estate, brand assets, and approximately 6,600 ageing Bourbon barrels.
LMD has accumulated a high level of debt, with liabilities estimated between US$10m and US$50m. LMD owes US$1.28m to Keystone Industrial for construction work.
To fund the purchase of LMD, Apogee 21 will aim to secure US$7m from a newly formed strategic investor group, with the rest through senior secured debt and other financing sources.
The Nevada-based company also intends to raise US$20m by selling shares through a Series D offering.
Furthermore, Apogee 21 has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to buy Rod & Hammer’s whiskey brand and its distillery in the Californian city of San Luis Obispo.
The deal also includes a canning line, whiskey inventory, tasting room, trademarks, and other brand assets.
Apogee 21 believes this acquisition would provide “access to valuable aged inventory” and established premium whiskey brands. It will also enable the company to make ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails for Rod and Hammer, as well as brands in A21’s portfolio like Monkey in Paradise Vodka.
Apogee 21’s portfolio also includes John Lee Hooker whiskey, Andale Tequila and Blue Nectar Tequila, and three wine brands.
Earlier this year, Apogee added the Noble Oak brand, which includes Bourbon and rye whiskey, to its portfolio. It acquired the brand’s parent company from Scottish spirits firm Edrington, owner of The Macallan.
As part of the Noble Oak transaction, the company acquired approximately 11,500 barrels of ageing whiskey inventory.
The company added that this deal boosts its presence in the American whiskey category while expanding its regional distillation and distribution network. It also creates new opportunities in direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, private barrel programmes and product development.
Last month, 1,800 cases of Noble Oak were stolen in Philadelphia, described as “one of the largest known Bourbon thefts in the region”.
Strategy targets spirits M&A
Apogee 21 says these deals provide the company with a permanent home for its spirits portfolio and turn the business into a “vertically integrated spirits platform with production, ageing, bottling, warehousing, tourism, and hospitality capabilities”.
The company noted that its business strategy focuses on five initiatives, including buying and growing premium spirits brands with “strong consumer appeal and scalable distribution opportunities”, as well as integrating production capabilities through acquisitions to “improve margins, create supply chain efficiencies, and support future product innovation”.
It also intends to expand DTC opportunities, private barrel programmes, hospitality experiences, and tourism initiatives, and use data, AI and digital marketing to improve operational efficiencies.
Lastly, through its purchase of barrel inventories and production sites, the company will “create additional revenue streams through bottling programmes, private label opportunities, barrel sales, and innovative asset monetisation initiatives”.
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