Major Kentucky bourbon maker quietly targets high-profile, shuttered distillery
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- Judge will hear motion to substitute Truist as loan holder Friday.
- Truist assigned loan rights to Tom Collins Distilling LLC owned by Sazerac.
- Garrard County Distilling opened Jan 2024, faces liens, contractor suit and $27M debt.
A spirits giant that owns several major Kentucky brands, including Buffalo Trace, Blanton’s and Weller, has moved to acquire a high-profile, shuttered Kentucky distillery.
According to court filings in receivership proceedings for Garrard County Distilling, a company named Tom Collins Distilling LLC bought the majority of the debt owed by Garrard County, which closed and entered into a receivership in April 2025.
The Kentucky Secretary of State’s website does not have a listing for a Tom Collins Distilling, but a spokesperson for Sazerac confirmed the New Orleans-based company owns Tom Collins Distilling.
“As a privately owned company, we cannot divulge further information,” Sazerac said in a statement.
The filings are related to a crucial March 6 hearing for Garrard County Distilling. Truist Bank, the main creditor of the shuttered distillery, is asking to substitute Tom Collins as plaintiff.
The bank filed the motion last Friday, saying that on Feb. 11, Truist sold, assigned and transferred all of its right, title and interest in the loan to Tom Collins Distilling LLC of 10101 Linn Station Road, Suite 400, in Louisville, which is home to Sazerac’s Kentucky headquarters.
The purchase price was not disclosed; Truist alleged in filing last April that the All Nations, the parent of Garrard Distilling, owed the bank more than $26 million in loans.
What’s next in Garrard Distilling receivership?
The motion is scheduled to be heard at 9 a.m. Friday by Judge Hunter Daugherty in Garrard Circuit Court.
Garrard County Distilling opened in January 2024 and was sued by general contractor Doss & Horky and more than $2.5 million in liens were placed on the property for unpaid debts and taxes.
But the biggest debt was to Truist, which is now in the hands of Sazerac.
Besides Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Sazerac also owns the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown and the Glenmore Distillery in Owensboro. The company also has announced a $1 billion expansion in new production and aging facilities in Campbellsville and Laurel County.
The newly built, 50,000-square-foot distillery sits on 210 acres about 30 minutes south of Lexington with 18 fermenters and three rickhouses.
Garrard County Distilling planned to produce bourbon and other whiskeys on contract for sale, as well as their own branded products, but there was turmoil behind the scenes.
Master distiller Lisa Wicker was fired less than two weeks after the company announced her hiring. And company founder Ray Franklin left in 2023.
Garrard County Distilling was one of several high-profile whiskey companies that ended up in receivership or bankruptcy in the last year, including:
- Uncle Nearest, in a receivership in Tennessee, apparently insolvent and owing $200 million in debt;
- Luca Mariano, Danville, Ky., distillery in bankruptcy in Michigan, owing $34 million with bids to purchase it due in March;
- Kentucky Owl, and Stoli U.S.A., in bankruptcy in Texas where trustees are being appointed.
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 4:54 PM.
