Zebulon, N.C.-based Next Century Spirits has acquired a portfolio of brand assets from Grain & Barrel Spirits, anchored by Chicken Cock Whiskey — a heritage American whiskey label dating to 1856. The deal marks NCS's first foothold in Kentucky and adds four brands to a portfolio that already spans rum, vodka, tequila, gin, and whiskey.

The Portfolio Move

Beyond Chicken Cock's Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Kentucky Straight Rye, the acquired assets include Dixie Southern Vodka, Elvis Whiskey, and E.G. Booz — extending NCS's range across multiple spirits categories. Critically for on-premise operators and brand-experience strategy, the deal also transfers two Circa 1856 tasting-room destinations: one in Bardstown, long recognized as the Bourbon Capital of the World, and a second in Louisville's NuLu neighborhood that operates as both a sipping room and speakeasy. These physical venues represent a direct-to-consumer distribution channel that few craft-to-scale spirits companies control, giving NCS a retail and brand-building asset that goes well beyond liquid in a bottle.

Kentucky Presence, Board Depth

Grain & Barrel Founder and CEO Matti Anttila joins the NCS board, providing continuity for Chicken Cock's brand equity and trade relationships built over the past decade of revival. Damon DeSantis, a director of Celsius Holdings and INBP and former CEO of Rexall Sundown, also joins the board, adding investor and multi-industry operating experience. For buyers and distributors evaluating NCS as a growth partner, the board additions signal institutional seriousness alongside the portfolio expansion.

Anthony Moniello, CEO of Next Century Spirits, framed the acquisition as a strategic complement to the company's existing lineup — Blue Chair Bay Rum, Nue Vodka, Pocho Fino Tequila, and several whiskey expressions — rather than a pivot. The combined NCS portfolio now spans more than a dozen owned brands, with over 35 gold medals in industry competition and a three-time North Carolina Distillery of the Year recognition from the New York International Spirits Competition.

What This Signals for Operators

For on-premise buyers and beverage directors, this deal is worth tracking for two reasons. First, Chicken Cock has built credible premium positioning through limited releases and award-winning core expressions — the kind of storytelling that sells at the bar without heavy promotional support. Second, the Circa 1856 venues function as a proof-of-concept for experiential hospitality tied to a spirits brand, a model increasingly used by mid-tier distillers to drive trial, loyalty, and retail pull-through without relying entirely on distributor push.

For operators evaluating spirits procurement and premium whiskey placement, the NCS acquisition broadens a supplier that was already capable of private-label and bulk supply alongside its owned brands. That dual capability — house brands plus contract production — is a differentiator in a consolidating market.

In a category where American whiskey shelf space is competitive and buyer attention is finite, NCS is betting that authentic brand heritage combined with physical destination venues gives Chicken Cock a path that newer craft entrants cannot easily replicate. Operators building or refreshing whiskey programs should note that the brand's distribution footprint is likely to expand as NCS integrates the portfolio and leverages its existing sales infrastructure. For agencies and brand launch teams working on spirits and on-premise activation, the Circa 1856 model is a case study worth benchmarking.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.