4 days ago
Adventurous Stills get a rebrand after purchase by Utah's Outlaw Distillery
Utah-based Outlaw Distillery now owns Adventurous Stills, one of Arizona's only grain-to-bottle distilleries.
Why it matters: Outlaw Distillery will continue selling Adventurous Stills' longstanding products but under the Outlaw brand.
The big picture: Outlaw Distillery, based in the Salt Lake City area, recently finalized its purchase of Tempe's Adventurous Stills in what Outlaw's owner described as a six-figure deal.
Both distilleries have the same grain-to-glass ethos with an emphasis on local ingredients, and expanding made sense due to the potential synergy between the two operations, Outlaw owner Tyler Halstead told Axios.
Former Adventurous Stills owner Kelly Lattig said his company had been on the market for about a year and that he'd turned down a couple of offers but sold to Outlaw because of its similar philosophy.
State of play: With Arizona's more favorable liquor laws, the Tempe side of the company will be more consumer-facing and distribution-oriented, while the company's Utah operations will become a "production powerhouse," Halstead said.
The Utah distillery has already tripled production capacity in anticipation of the increased demand in Arizona, where it started selling its products this year.
Tempe will also continue to be an "innovation hub" and maintain Adventurous Stills' ethos of small-batch creativity.
Flashback: Halstead toured Adventurous Stills three years ago, and in 2024 he decided it was time to expand.
He entered into an initial agreement with Lattig in October and helped oversee construction last year after a fire temporarily shut down Adventurous Stills.
Zoom in: Adventurous Stills products like Peralta Bourbon and Lost Dutchman rye will continue under the Outlaw name.
Halstead said Peralta is his favorite Adventurous offering and is what originally made him think "there's something special about this place."
Outlaw will continue Adventurous Stills' limited special releases and will experiment more after moving some of its equipment from Utah to Arizona.
Adventurous products will also be available in Utah, though only at Outlaw's distillery, not in Utah's state-run liquor stores.
Between the lines: Some products will have differences depending on the state. Halstead said Outlaw's best-selling product, Honey Bourbon Whiskey, uses an Arizona desert blossom wildflower honey "to get that Arizona character." It will continue to use local honey for the Utah version.
