Emory & Co., LLC served as financial advisor to Blue Run Spirits and its Board of Directors in its sale to Molson Coors Beverage Company. The transaction closed in August 2023. The terms were not disclosed.

Based in Georgetown, Kentucky, Blue Run is one of the whiskey industry’s most compelling new entrants since the brand’s launch in October 2020. The company has won numerous awards, including Best Small Batch Bourbon – 11 Years Old & Older and Best Single Barrel Bourbon – 11 Years Old & Older at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and most recently was awarded Best High Rye Bourbon at the 2023 New Orleans Spirits Competition. It has also gained international acclaim among whiskey experts and branding aficionados who laud Blue Run’s divergence from traditional industry norms, which Forbes has called “sneakerizing the bourbon industry,” with premium whiskies that generate intense interest with each release.

As Molson Coors’ first spirits acquisition, the addition of Blue Run boosts the company’s footprint in spirits as it continues to evolve from its storied history as a beer company and premiumize its portfolio. In tandem with the acquisition, Molson Coors has established Coors Spirits Co., an expansion of its existing spirits business, which will house Blue Run, Five Trail Blended American Whiskey, Barmen 1873 Bourbon and future innovation. This acquisition will more than double the size of Molson Coors’ spirits team, further supporting the company’s premiumization strategy.

Molson Coors entered the whiskey space with the 2021 launch of Five Trail Blended American Whiskey (which won double gold at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition) and the 2022 introduction of Barmen 1873 Bourbon.
Currently available in 31 states, Blue Run, with its trademark butterfly medallion on the bottle, can be found at retail and on-premise accounts in every region of the U.S and online. In March 2023, Blue Run announced plans to build a distillery in Kentucky.

Emory & Co. served as financial advisor to Blue Run Spirits and issued a fairness opinion.