This Award-Winning Whiskey Distiller Just Filed for Bankruptcy—Here’s What We Know So Far

You may have noticed that a lot of long-standing restaurant chains have recently filed for bankruptcy. Hooters, Red Lobster and TGI Fridays all recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a way to restructure their businesses. This process, unlike the liquidation of assets that happens with Chapter 7 bankruptcy, gives businesses an opportunity to reorganize their debts and operations while creating a more stable future for the brand.

Restaurant chains aren’t the only businesses feeling the brunt of financial struggles. In the spirits world, craft producer Boston Harbor Distillery, who makes whiskey, rum. Gin, liqueurs and distilled beer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. The Dorchester, Massachusetts-based company filed its petition for protection on March 31 and listed $500,000 to $1 million in assets, as well as $1 million to $10 million in debts.

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Established in 2012 by Samuel Adams brewer and Boston Beer Company’s co-founder Rhonda Kallman, Boston Harbor Distillery currently takes up space in a historic Dorchester building that was built back in 1859. The building once housed a hot-forged horse nail maker who supplied both sides throughout the Civil War. And as time went by, the building would eventually be occupied by George Lawley & Son Shipyard and a Seymour’s Ice Cream factory respectively.

The bankruptcy filing lists Boston Harbor Distillery’s largest creditor as Cheers Investment LLC, of which the brand owes over $1 million of a personal investment. Other creditors listed in the filing include Northeast Bank, law firm Nutter McClennen & Fish and a slew of other companies in the beverage distribution world. Along with its flagship distillery, the company operates Boston Harbor Distillery’s cocktail lounge and restaurant at Logan International Airport’s International Terminal E. This venture is in partnership with SSP Travel America.

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While an official road map in terms of the reorganization of the business has yet to be made public, we do know that Boston Harbor Distillery is responsible for a large number of products. Putnam New England Whiskey, Demon Seed Whiskey, Lawley’s Small Batch Gin, Lawley’s New England Rum, Pre-Batched Craft Cocktails, Boston Harbor Cream & Coffee Liqueurs and Spirit of Boston Distilled Samuel Adams beer are all included in the lot.

Like many other businesses inside and outside of the beverage industry, the spirits distilling industry has faced its own mixed bag of setbacks dating back to the Covid-19 pandemic. And according to reports online, distillers have been experiencing decline in demand for alcohol and spirits after recovering from the pandemic.