Neace Ventures invests in Copper & Kings
US brandy producer Copper & Kings has secured backing from Neace Ventures, nearly a year after its sale by Constellation Brands.
Neace Ventures, a US private investment company, did not disclose the figure, which was described as a “strategic investment” to accelerate the brandy producer’s next phase of growth.
The firm’s support will include providing ‘capital, expertise and market relationships’ to boost momentum across priority markets.
Copper & Kings will be able to access Neace Ventures’ distribution network across retail, restaurant, hospitality, and on-premise accounts, as well as the firm’s ‘hands-on experience’ in scaling premium brands.
The brandy business was founded by married couple Joe and Lesley Heron in 2014. Its distillery is located in Louisville’s Butchertown neighbourhood and produces Bourbon barrel-aged brandy and brandy barrel-finished Bourbon.
Having been purchased outright by Constellation Brands in September 2020, Copper & Kings was sold to Kentucky-based Bourdon Spirits Company last August.
After the acquisition, Bourdon Spirits relaunched the core portfolio in November with a Six-Year American Brandy VSOP, Six-Year American Apple Brandy, and Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
Commenting on the investment, Bourdon Spirits founder and Copper & Kings CEO, Rob Bourdon, said: “John [Neace, founder of Neace Ventures] and his team see what we see. We’re building something that lasts.
“Since acquiring Copper & Kings last year, we’ve relaunched the core portfolio, restructured around consumer-friendly price points, tightened our distribution, grown wholesale 30%, and started showing up in the community in a real way.
“This investment lets us go faster without compromising how we do it.”
Bourdon Spirits has also concentrated the brand’s distribution from 42 states to six this year. The company said the move is intended to prioritise long-term growth over short-term self-presence, sharpening focus and deepening relationships with retailers.
Indiana was also cited as the company’s ‘newest priority market’ where Copper & Kings launched in late June.
“Great brands don’t grow by being everywhere. They grow by mattering somewhere,” added Neace Ventures founder, John Neace.
“Copper & Kings has one of the most authentic stories in American spirits – a Louisville brand reclaiming brandy as America’s original spirit, doing it with craft, and doing it with real conviction. That’s the kind of brand we invest in, and Rob is the kind of founder we bet on.”
In November 2024, Neace Ventures also backed Scottish spirits producer Gin Bothy, which plans to build a whisky distillery in Angus.
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