Raleigh-based Lonerider Spirits, sister brand of Lonerider Brewing, has poured $745,000 of an equity round targeted at $3.5 million into its operations, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Twenty-two people invested in the round so far.
Lonerider Spirits launched in May, but was announced in mid-July. It is marketing a 90-proof sherry cask-finished bourbon whiskey. It is available in bars, restaurants and ABC stores across North Carolina and sells for $39.95 per 750ml bottle. Lonerider bottles the whisky in Durham.
The company says the whiskey will eventually be released in the eight other states where Lonerider Brewing is already available. A second spirit is expected next year. It has disclosed plans to create additional unique whiskies from several of its popular beer recipes, including Sweet Josie Brown Ale.
Chris Mielke, with a background in large project planning and distilled spirits production, formerly vice president of business development at Lonerider Brewing Co., was named president. Mielke, a former blogger for Southern Distilling News, visited more than 50 distilleries to talk with them about their growth strategies and key lessons learned when doing research for Lonerider Spirits.
Its parent company, Lonerider Brewery, opened in Raleigh in 2009 and sells a variety of craft beers, including the ales, “Shotgun Betty,” “Sweet Josie,” and “Hoppy Ki Yay,” and the coming “Black Cheery DeadEye Jack Porter.” Its beers and ales are distributed in nine states and it is considered among the top 150 breweries in the United States.
Lonerider Brewery was an Inc. 5000 and a CED top 25 winner.
When Lonerider Spirits launched in July, Sumit Vohra, its chair and Lonerider Brewery CEO said in a statement that “The whiskey market was the logical next step for us, given our love of craft beer, craft spirits, and current consumption trends for premium products. Lonerider Spirits is unique in that we can leverage the brand halo and distribution system built by the Lonerider brewery over nine years to immediately scale to today’s demand for high-quality craft-distilled products.”
