RNDC Bankruptcy: Chapter 11 Filing, Distributor Changes

Bardstown Bourbon Company released Victoria Pineapple Barrel Finish Whiskey, the debut entry in a new "Finishing Series," blending 10- and 11-year bourbon with 11-year rye finished 27 months in barrels that previously held pineapple rum, with fresh pineapple added during finishing (Shanken News Daily, July 27, 2026) [3].

The release is bottled at 53% ABV (106 proof), priced at $140, and limited to fewer than 350 nine-liter cases, sold exclusively in Kentucky [3].

Most rum-cask finishes run six to twelve months; a 27-month secondary maturation is unusually long, and it's a deliberate bet that the disclosed base-whiskey ages can carry the extended cask exposure without the tropical cask note burying the bourbon underneath.

Colorado's Old Elk Distillery, acquired by Ohio's Middle West Spirits in 2025, shipped its first major releases under the new ownership this week: a 10-Year-Old Straight Bourbon (51% corn, 34% malted barley, 15% rye, 52.5% ABV), a 10-Year-Old Straight Wheat Whiskey (96% wheat, 4% malted barley, 51.5% ABV), and a 10-Year-Old Wheated Bourbon (51% corn, 46% wheat, 3% malted barley, 52.5% ABV) [6].

All three carry an identical $69.99 MSRP and are available nationwide, plus at the Middle West Spirits distillery bottle store and Old Elk's online shop [6].

A full decade of age at $69.99 is a notably aggressive price point in the current market, where 10-year bourbons from major distilleries routinely run $90 to $150.

Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas opened its first-ever pre-sale window for Hye Rye Bourbon Whiskey on July 27, running through August 10 (Garrison Brothers pre-sale announcement, July 27, 2026) [11].

Buyers can reserve up to four bottles online at $99.99 each, plus applicable sales tax, but in-person pickup at the distillery is required, and that pickup is scheduled for October 2028 [11].

The whiskey is bottled at 98 proof from a mash bill of 52% South Texas corn, 37% organic rye, and 11% barley [11].

Hye Rye originally debuted in December 2020 in a 1,000-bottle run at the same $99.99 price, and has developed a following in Texas whiskey circles since [11].

The multi-year gap between reservation and pickup reflects Garrison Brothers' actual barrel-aging timeline rather than a marketing device — the whiskey being sold isn't distilled yet, or isn't mature yet, at the time of the pre-sale.

One camp argues this is mostly back-office noise — RNDC has been selling off markets for over a year, and the states affected already knew a transition was coming.

A more alarmed camp points to the speed of the Palm Bay reshuffle as evidence that store-level disruption could hit within weeks, not months, especially for brands whose distributor relationships aren't yet finalized.

RNDC's filing lists liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion against more than 100,000 creditors, with Proximo Spirits as the largest unsecured creditor at $94 million (RNDC bankruptcy filing, July 26, 2026) [15].

Palm Bay International confirmed replacement deals across 26 markets on July 28, with Southern Glazer's adding 15 states and Reyes Beverage Group taking 11, transitions completing by August 1 (Palm Bay International distribution announcement, July 28, 2026) [13].

The transition risk is real but narrow — it hits brands and states mid-handoff hardest, not the category broadly. A four-day window between the Palm Bay announcement and completed transitions is fast by wholesale standards, and readers in the affected 26 markets should expect some short-term shelf gaps before the new distributors fully stock in.

One camp is skeptical that a genuine decade of aging can be sold this cheap without a hidden compromise — thinner barrel selection, blended-in younger stock, or a new owner subsidizing price to build market share fast.

The other camp reads it as exactly what the current oversupply correction should produce: mature inventory finally pricing at what the market will bear rather than what allocation scarcity used to command.

Old Elk's 10-Year-Old Straight Bourbon, Straight Wheat Whiskey, and Wheated Bourbon each carry a confirmed $69.99 MSRP with published mash bills and proof, available nationwide following Middle West Spirits' 2025 acquisition of the distillery (Old Elk release specs, July 28–29, 2026) [14].

Published, specific mash bills for all three expressions cut against the "hidden compromise" theory — a distillery trying to disguise thin barrel stock typically doesn't disclose exact grain percentages down to the single point.

The more plausible read is that Middle West Spirits is using its first major release under new ownership to establish Old Elk as a value play in a market still working through 2020-2023 overproduction.

One camp argues locking in $99.99 today against a multi-year wait is a clear win versus paying secondary-market premiums for the existing 2020 run, which has developed a following in Texas whiskey circles. A more cautious camp points out that two years is a long commitment with no guarantee the 2028 release matches the character of the original 1,000-bottle batch.

Garrison Brothers' pre-sale runs July 27 through August 10, capped at four bottles per customer at $99.99 each, with in-person pickup required at the Hye, Texas distillery in October 2028 — the same price as the original December 2020 debut run (Garrison Brothers pre-sale announcement, July 27, 2026) [13].

The price-lock argument holds up on the numbers — MSRP secured now protects against whatever secondary premium develops over the next two years on a bottle that's already built a cult following.

The real cost isn't financial, it's patience: this only makes sense for a reader who can commit to an in-person Texas pickup in 2028, not someone looking for a near-term bottle.

This is the distillery's first-ever pre-sale window for Hye Rye, a cult release that debuted in a 1,000-bottle run in 2020 at the same price point (Garrison Brothers pre-sale announcement, July 27, 2026) [19]. In-person pickup at the Texas distillery is required, which limits the field of realistic buyers and keeps this from being a pure flip play.

The grand prize is a six-bottle Pappy Van Winkle set, with additional tiers including a Weller vertical and a Blanton's letter set (Commonwealth Causes raffle listing, accessed July 27, 2026) [20]. Proceeds benefit a Kentucky charity rather than a retailer, and the drawing closes inside this window.

The 17-year national allocation window closes at the end of this week, leaving a narrow but still-open runway for readers who haven't yet registered for Campari Group's long-aged expression.

Middle West Spirits distillery bottle store and Old Elk's online bottle shop, plus nationwide retail

This is one of three first-major releases under new ownership by Middle West Spirits, all aged a full decade at identical pricing (Old Elk release announcement) [21]. A confirmed 10-year age statement at $69.99 with national availability is an unusually strong value proposition for the category right now.

A one-bottle-per-visitor walk-up limit with no lottery requirement keeps this an accessible first allocated-adjacent bottle for anyone stopping at the Heritage Center this week.

Old Elk Distillery's first major releases since Middle West Spirits' 2025 acquisition cleared to shelf this week: a 10-Year-Old Straight Bourbon (51% corn, 34% malted barley, 15% rye; 52.5% ABV), a 10-Year-Old Straight Wheat Whiskey (96% wheat, 4% malted barley; 51.5% ABV), and a 10-Year-Old Wheated Bourbon (51% corn, 46% wheat, 3% malted barley; 52.5% ABV), each priced identically at $69.99 (company release, accessed July 28-29, 2026) [29].

All three are distributed nationally, with additional availability at the Middle West Spirits distillery store and Old Elk's own online bottle shop [29].

Identical pricing across three distinct mash bills is a deliberate labeling choice — it puts the entire decision back on grain recipe rather than perceived rarity, and signals the new ownership wants the portfolio read as a mash-bill education set rather than a tiered release.

Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits' Bib & Tucker brand announced its first Bottled-in-Bond release on July 28: an 8-year-old, 100-proof, high-rye Tennessee bourbon distilled in a single 2018 season at Tennessee Distilling Group in Columbia, Tennessee, priced at $65 SRP and shipping nationally in September (Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits announcement, July 28, 2026) [28].

Deutsch Family CMO Dan Kleinman noted the brand grew 22% year-over-year in 2025, depleting 31,000 cases domestically [28].

Eight years against a four-year BiB floor is a meaningful age commitment for a brand built on small-batch positioning rather than long-aged marketing, and the single-season, single-distillery sourcing (Tennessee Distilling Group) gives the label the full BiB provenance chain rather than a blended claim.

Bardstown Bourbon Company's Victoria Pineapple Barrel Finish Whiskey — a blend of 10- and 11-year bourbon with 11-year rye, finished 27 months in pineapple rum casks with fresh pineapple added — is now on sale exclusively in Kentucky at $140 per bottle, bottled at 53% ABV (company announcement, accessed July 27-28, 2026) [27]. The release opens a new "Finishing Series" designation for the distillery.

The 27-month finish window is long relative to standard six-to-twelve-month cask finishes, and the Kentucky-only footprint keeps volume tightly bounded regardless of production count.

Garrison Brothers Distillery opened its first-ever pre-sale window for Hye Rye Bourbon Whiskey on July 27, running through August 10, at 98 proof with a mash bill of 52% South Texas corn, 37% organic rye, and 11% barley, priced at $99.99 with a four-bottle limit per customer (Garrison Brothers, accessed July 27, 2026) [30].

In-person pickup is required at the Hye, Texas distillery, scheduled for October 2028 — a multi-year lead time between purchase and pickup. The label originally debuted in December 2020 in a 1,000-bottle run at the identical $99.99 price point [30].

Flat pricing across a nearly six-year gap between original release and this pre-sale is notable against broader category price inflation, and the multi-year pickup delay signals the batch being sold now is still aging.

Jos. A.

Magnus & Co. marked the 10th anniversary of its flagship Cigar Blend Bourbon on July 28 with a release blending Joseph Magnus Bourbon with 11- and 18-year-old whiskeys finished in Armagnac casks — the final expression master blender Nancy Fraley will create for the line after a decade shaping it (company announcement, July 28, 2026) [31].

Fraley applied Cognac and Armagnac blending techniques — structure-building, oxidation management, and "rancio" complexity — across the line's ten-year run [31].

A named final batch from a departing master blender is a genuine provenance marker on a label that has built its identity around Fraley's specific blending approach since 2016.

($420 − $340) ÷ $420 × 100 = 19.0% erosion

The prior-vintage Triumph floor is softening as the 2026 Triumph/Landmark pre-allocation cycle opens fresh supply into the same collector pool, pulling secondary demand toward the newer expression rather than the outgoing batch.

LINEAGE_NOTE: Wild Turkey's Master's Keep series began in 2015 under Jimmy and Eddie Russell as the brand's long-aged showcase line; Triumph, introduced as a higher-age-statement entry, inherited the Russell family's low-entry-proof production philosophy that defines Wild Turkey's house style across every tier.

($260 − $180) ÷ $260 × 100 = 30.8% erosion

Single-barrel-tier Taylor bottles are seeing the sharpest correction in the Buffalo Trace lineup this year, as broader distribution and steadier retail sightings reduce the scarcity premium that peaked during 2023-2024 allocation tightness. LINEAGE_NOTE: The E.H.

Taylor line is named for Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr., the architect of the 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Act; the Single Barrel BiB expression carries that legal legacy directly, bottled at the mandated 100 proof from a single distilling season at Buffalo Trace.

($75 − $58) ÷ $75 × 100 = 22.7% erosion

Heaven Hill's steady walk-up availability at the Bourbon Heritage Center and expanding retail presence have pushed this bottle's secondary premium down close to its MSRP, reflecting genuine supply catching up to demand rather than a quality reassessment.

LINEAGE_NOTE: Old Fitzgerald traces to the pre-Prohibition Stitzel-Weller wheated recipe lineage; Heaven Hill acquired the brand and its decanter-series identity in the 1990s, and the BiB standard release remains one of the most accessible wheated Bottled-in-Bond bourbons still in national distribution.

MGP Ingredients posted second-quarter 2026 results Wednesday morning that split cleanly down the middle: a real earnings beat sitting on top of a real revenue decline.

Revenue came in at $124.4 million against a $125.3 million estimate, a 14.5% drop from the same quarter last year, driven by continued softness in demand for aged and new-make whiskey distillate (MGP Ingredients Q2 2026 earnings release, July 29, 2026) [34].

Non-GAAP EPS landed at $0.72 against a $0.50 estimate, a 43.3% beat, and adjusted EBITDA came in at $27.61 million against a $23.54 million estimate, a 22.2% margin (MGP Ingredients Q2 2026 earnings release, July 29, 2026) [34].

The number that deserves the most scrutiny is free cash flow, which registered at -$52.18 million, compared to -$557,000 in the same quarter a year ago (MGP Ingredients Q2 2026 earnings release, July 29, 2026) [34].

That's a swing of more than $51 million in the wrong direction inside twelve months, and it's the clearest evidence yet that MGP's Distilling Solutions segment — the bulk contract-distillate business that supplies dozens of NDP brands on shelves nationally — is absorbing real inventory carrying costs while demand for new-make and aged distillate stays soft.

Despite the miss on the top line and the cash flow swing, MGP reconfirmed full-year guidance at approximately $490 million revenue midpoint, $1.65 adjusted EPS midpoint, and $94 million EBITDA midpoint (MGP Ingredients Q2 2026 earnings release, July 29, 2026) [34].

The stock traded up 2.5% to $19.18 immediately following the release, suggesting the market read the EPS beat and reconfirmed guidance as the more decision-relevant signals (Zacks Investment Research earnings coverage, July 29, 2026) [35].

The results landed the same week MGP announced four senior commercial and finance hires pulled from Pernod Ricard, Diageo, and Brown-Forman — a staffing move that reads as MGP shoring up commercial execution heading into a stretch where its bulk-distillate customer base is visibly pulling back on orders (MGP Ingredients personnel announcement, July 28, 2026) [36].

Republic National Distributing Company and affiliated entities filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on July 26 in the U.S.

Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, seeking to sell off remaining distribution markets and wind down operations that can't be sold (RNDC Chapter 11 filing, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, July 26, 2026) [32].

The filing lists liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion against more than 100,000 creditors, with Proximo Spirits as the largest unsecured creditor at $94 million and Delicato Family Wines second at $14 million (RNDC Chapter 11 court filing, July 26, 2026) [32].

This is the final chapter of a breakup that's been running for roughly a year.

RNDC carried more than $11 billion in revenue as recently as 2024 before selling off individual markets piece by piece to Reyes Beverage Group, Martignetti, Breakthru, Quality Brands, Columbia Distributing, and Manhattan Beverage.

National Distributing Company (Georgia and New Mexico) and joint ventures in New York, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky are excluded from this filing — only the Alaska joint venture is included, meaning the bankruptcy is cleaning up what's left after the more valuable territories were already sold (RNDC Chapter 11 filing details, July 26, 2026) [33].

The three-tier consequence landed within 48 hours: Palm Bay International announced replacement distribution deals across 26 markets on July 28 as a direct result of RNDC's wind-down.

Southern Glazer's picks up 15 new states on top of its existing six-market partnership with Palm Bay, and Reyes Beverage Group takes on 11 markets, with all transitions completing by August 1 (Palm Bay International distribution announcement, July 28, 2026) [33].

Colorado's Old Elk Distillery released its first major products under new ownership this week: a 10-Year-Old Straight Bourbon, a 10-Year-Old Straight Wheat Whiskey, and a 10-Year-Old Wheated Bourbon, all priced identically at $69.99 (Old Elk release announcement, July 28, 2026) [39].

The bourbon runs 51% corn, 34% malted barley, 15% rye at 52.5% ABV; the wheat whiskey runs 96% wheat, 4% malted barley at 51.5% ABV; the wheated bourbon runs 51% corn, 46% wheat, 3% malted barley at 52.5% ABV (Old Elk release announcement, July 28, 2026) [39].

The identical pricing across three distinct mash bills is the specs story here — Old Elk isn't tiering its debut lineup under Middle West Spirits by perceived rarity or age, it's pricing all three at the same $69.99 despite meaningfully different grain recipes.

All three are available nationwide as well as at Middle West Spirits' distillery bottle store and Old Elk's online shop (Old Elk release announcement, July 28, 2026) [39].

Four Roses, now under E. & J.

Gallo Winery ownership following its April 2026 acquisition from Kirin Holdings, expanded a 100-proof expression to bars and restaurants nationwide on July 27 — developed specifically in response to bartender feedback requesting a bigger, cocktail-forward bourbon (Four Roses on-premise rollout announcement, July 27, 2026) [40].

The bottling is on-premise exclusive: it will not appear on retail shelves, only in bar and restaurant pours.

It's priced at $29.99 SRP for 750ml and $32.99 for 1L when purchased by the accounts carrying it (Four Roses on-premise rollout announcement, July 27, 2026) [40].

Master Distiller Brent Elliott framed the higher proof as an amplification rather than a departure from house style: "By increasing the proof, these key attributes are not lost…simply magnified" (Brent Elliott, Master Distiller, Four Roses, on-premise rollout announcement, July 27, 2026) [40].

Four Roses builds its bourbons from two mash bills and five proprietary yeast strains across ten recipes, and the 100-proof expression draws on that same recipe architecture at a higher entry strength than the standard 80-proof bottling (Four Roses on-premise rollout announcement, July 27, 2026) [40].

Palm Bay International's July 28 announcement of replacement distribution across 26 markets is the clearest specs-level look yet at what an RNDC exit actually costs a brand in transition time.

Southern Glazer's absorbs 15 new states on top of its existing six-market Palm Bay partnership, and Reyes Beverage Group takes 11 markets, with the full transition completing by August 1 — a four-day window from announcement to completion (Palm Bay International distribution announcement, July 28, 2026) [33].

That compressed timeline matters because distribution changes typically carry weeks of overlap to avoid shelf gaps; a four-day transition suggests Palm Bay had these replacement arrangements substantially negotiated before RNDC's filing became public, likely during the year RNDC spent selling off markets piecemeal to Reyes Beverage Group, Martignetti, Breakthru, Quality Brands, Columbia Distributing, and Manhattan Beverage (RNDC Chapter 11 filing details, July 26, 2026) [33].

Loveland, Colorado's Root Shoot Spirits released a peach-brandy-cask-finished American single malt whiskey this week, built from a 4-year-old base spirit distilled entirely from malted barley grown and malted on the distillery's own farm (Root Shoot Spirits release announcement, July 28, 2026) [44].

The finishing casks previously held peach brandy from Peach Street Distillers, made from Colorado's Palisade peaches — a regional agricultural ingredient tying two Colorado producers together in a single release.

The whiskey is bottled at 49% ABV, priced at $70, and limited to 480 bottles, available exclusively in Colorado at launch with online sales to follow where legally permitted (Root Shoot Spirits release announcement, July 28, 2026) [44].

Root Shoot's farm-to-bottle model — growing and malting its own barley rather than sourcing grain — sets it apart from most craft single malt producers, who typically buy malted barley from third-party maltsters even when they distill in-house.

Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, Texas opened its first-ever online pre-sale for Hye Rye Bourbon Whiskey on July 27, running through August 10 (Garrison Brothers pre-sale announcement, July 27, 2026) [42].

Buyers can reserve up to four bottles online at $99.99 each, plus applicable sales tax, but must pick up bottles in person at the Hye, Texas distillery — currently scheduled for October 2028 (Garrison Brothers pre-sale announcement, July 27, 2026) [42].

The bourbon runs 98 proof on a mash bill of 52% South Texas corn, 37% organic rye, and 11% barley.

The release originally debuted in December 2020 as a 1,000-bottle run at the same $99.99 price point (Garrison Brothers pre-sale announcement, July 27, 2026) [42].

Bib & Tucker, the Tennessee-focused small-batch brand owned by Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, announced its first Bottled-in-Bond release on July 28 — an 8-year-old, 100-proof high-rye bourbon distilled in a single season in spring 2018, priced at $65 SRP and arriving nationally in September (Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits Bib & Tucker announcement, July 28, 2026) [38].

At 8 years, the release is aged double the BiB's 4-year legal minimum, and it was distilled at Tennessee Distilling Group in Columbia, Tennessee.

Deutsch Family CMO Dan Kleinman said the brand depleted 31,000 cases in the U.S. in 2025, 22% growth year-over-year (Dan Kleinman, CMO, Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, Bib & Tucker announcement, July 28, 2026) [38].

Colorado and Texas both surfaced ingredient-and-timeline stories this window that emphasize control over raw inputs — Root Shoot's own-grown barley and Garrison Brothers' multi-year pre-sale commitment both signal craft producers building longer, more vertically integrated production pipelines rather than chasing faster turnaround.

Tennessee's Bib & Tucker entry shows a large owned-brand portfolio (Deutsch Family) using an existing single-season barrel stock to move upmarket into the BiB tier, a lower-risk way to add credibility without a new distillery investment.