Payson, Ariz. and Gig Harbor, Wash., Aug. 3, 2023 (Globe Newswire) — Heritage Distilling Company, Inc. (“HDC” or “Heritage”), a leading craft distillery with innovative premium brands, today announced We partnered with the Tonto Apache Tribe to develop a distillery and tasting room adjacent to the Motherzal Hotel & Casino. The distillery produces and offers both Heritage’s award-winning portfolio of spirits and Tonto Apache’s proprietary brands, crafted to reflect tribal flavors and local regions.

Co-founded by Justin Stiffel and Jennifer Stiffel in 2011, Heritage has been the most awarded craft distillery in North America over the past decade by the American Distilling Association and is an innovative producer of premium whiskey, gin and vodka. known for its family of brands. , rum and ready-to-drink cocktails. Beyond their mastery of distilling and blending, the co-founders created a mutually beneficial economy that creates a national distribution of the heritage portfolio of award-winning craft spirits with the injustices done to Native American indigenous communities. I recognized both of the opportunities. Together, they have launched a first-of-its-kind partnership with a Native American tribe, the Tribal Beverage Network ( TBN) was established.

“We spent a good deal of time with the Heritage team and toured their facility in the Pacific Northwest. We are thrilled to partner with them to open a tribal-owned distillery, leveraging their experience, expertise and top-tier reputation in the craft spirits sector. We do,” said tribal president Calvin Johnson. “We will be the first heritage distillery in the Southwest and will not only serve our current patrons, but also the next generation of patrons who will come to the Motherzal Hotel & Casino and the newly developed Apache Corners at this new distillery. We are happy to provide amenities.”

Heritage’s industry-leading operations stem from two distilleries and five tasting rooms across Washington and Oregon, in addition to a branded presence affiliated with the Cheharis Indian Tribe at the Talking Cedar Facility in Rochester, Washington. doing. As a TBN partner, the destination, owned and operated by Tonto Apache, offers a range of drinks including Cocoa Bomb Chocolate Whiskey, Heritage Canned Cocktails and Florescens Vodka (in partnership with celebrity chef Daniel Cartes & Rustic). It will offer several amenities for patrons, including a tasting room featuring heritage spirits. Joyful Food), Stiefels Select Single Barrel and Small Batch Whiskeys, Special Forces Whiskeys and more.

In addition to on-site tastings, Tonto Apache Distillery will also expand HDC’s innovative membership program available to TBN partners. The Spirits Club® is a program that delivers Heritage’s award-winning spirits directly to their homes at discounted rates to members on a quarterly basis, while also providing priority access to new, exclusive and seasonal releases.

“The production and sale of spirits is the next major source of economic growth for the tribes, as more than 524 tribal casinos operate alongside hotels, golf courses, arenas, resorts and retail spaces selling adult beverages. , the manufacture of spirits and spirits is the next logical extension of that development.Outdated laws from the time of Andrew Jackson kept the tribe out of the spirits industry for 184 years.Now they are in a growth cycle. You will be ready to join an industry that has entered the market,” said Justin Stifel, co-founder of Heritage. “With these industries becoming unviable in the next few years, fuel and tobacco taxes dropping, and the need to attract new patrons to casinos as consumers shift their habits from beer and wine to spirits, Tribal “The Beverage Network’s goal is to help tribes grow,” improving their local economy so they can offset that change. “

TBN offers compelling economics to participating tribes by tapping into consumer captive demand in casinos, hotels, resorts, convenience stores, golf courses and other entertainment venues on tribal trust lands. Members can benefit from wholesale and retail margins, tax collection and more. Additionally, tribes entering this industry can generate funds to support social and economic endeavors. increase employment. Diversify member skill sets. And we work with Heritage to create unique brands that celebrate the unique characteristics of tribes and regions.

“Apache Corners is a multi-year community and economic planning initiative by the Tonto Apache Tribal Nation,” said Johnson. We focused on whether an economic opportunity exists: approximately 75 acres of the reservation will be used to build the future Tonto Apache economy, and we are the first brand partner in this development effort with Heritage We are thrilled to announce the Distilling.”

The Tonto Apache are the second Native Indian group to announce their participation in the Tribal Drinking Network. The first member is the Cheharis tribe, who worked with Heritage in 2018 to successfully lobby Congress to lift the ban on distilleries in India. Chehari distillery and TBN’s first member, Talking Cedar opened in Washington State in 2020, making it the first tribal-owned distillery in the United States and the first licensed in an Indian country since 1834. became a distillery. Several other tribes are registered in the Heritage. Based on that model, announcements for each location and tribe partnership will be made based on each tribe’s respective development schedule. Learn more about Heritage Distilling Company and Tribal Beverage Network below. Heritage Distillation.com.

About Heritage Distilling Company, Inc.
Heritage Distilling Company, Inc.®, now a subsidiary of Heritage Distilling Holding Company, Inc., was founded in 2011 by Justin Stiffel and Jennifer Stiffel. Heritage is America’s premier independent craft spirits distillery offering a range of whiskeys, vodkas, gins and rums made primarily from locally sourced, sustainable ingredients. Heritage is the craft distillery that has received the most awards from the American Distillery Association among over 2,600 craft distilleries in North America over the past decade. To accelerate its nationwide wholesale distribution growth strategy, Heritage established the Tribal Beverage Network (TBN) to work with Native American tribes to develop heritage-branded distilleries, brands and tasting rooms, and to promote the tribes’ growth. The tribe has developed its own brand to serve its regular customers. This provides attractive social and economic benefits to participating tribal communities, while providing another channel for tribes to exercise their tribal sovereignty.

About the Tonto Apache

The Tonto Apache Nation borders the town of Payson (originally named Tegosk, Yellow Water Place) in northwest Gila County, about 150 miles northeast of Phoenix, Arizona and 160 miles southeast of Flagstaff, Arizona. . At 85 acres, it is the smallest land base reservation in Arizona.

The total population of the Tonto Apache Reservation is about 140, of whom 110 are registered tribal members. 102 members live on the reservation (Tonto Apache, 1994). His one-third of tribal members are under the age of 16 (BIA, Indians, Arizona, 1994).

The Tonto Apaches are direct descendants of the Tontos, who lived near Payson long before the arrival of the Anglos. The large Rio Verde Reserve near Camp Verde was established in 1871 for the Tonto and Yavapai Indians. In 1875 the reserve was dissolved and was forcibly transferred to the San Carlos Apache Reserve. After twenty years of exile, some of the Tontos gradually returned to Payson, finding that white settlers had occupied much of their land. A bill is currently pending that would give them trusteeship over the land on which they reside.

Members of the tribe are well known in the art world for their fine beadwork and basketry, which have achieved national recognition and can be purchased on the reservation.

About the Apache Corners Initiative

Apache Corners has been managed for several years by aLocal Solutions on behalf of the Tonto Apache Nation. In addition to the recently announced Heritage Distilling Company location, the Apache Corners masterplan includes a grocery store, a new healthcare clinic, restaurants, a new convenience store, manufacturing and distribution space, office space, and an expansion of the Mother Tsar Casino & Hotel. Included accommodation and amenities. in Payson, Arizona. When all development is complete, he expects the total investment in the project to be close to $100 million. For more information, please visit www.apachecorners.com/.