Beach Whiskey, LLC, maker of a naturally flavored American whiskey, closed a $7.5m Series A financing round.
The company intends to use the funds for the launch of its inaugural portfolio of naturally flavored American whiskey in California, Florida and Hawaii initially, followed by other select markets, as well as to expand investments in brand marketing, in-store and bar promotions.
Founded in 2015 by J. Smoke Wallin (CEO), Billy Bush, Jake Owen, Gavin DeGraw, Ken Austin, Andrew McGinnis, Kenny Dichter and Andrew Kline, Beach Whiskey offers Bonfire Cinnamon™ (35% ABV / 70 proof) and Island Coconut™ (26% ABV / 52 proof), each 750 ml with a suggested retail price of $23.99.
The company had raised an initial seed round of $458k to fully capitalize the business at the beginning of 2016,
In addition to Wallin, Beach Whiskey’s board of directors includes:
– Billy Bush, co-founder and TV & Radio personality,
– Andrew McGinnis, co-founder and financial services entrepreneur,
– Kevin Reilly, president of TNT and TBS and Chief Creative Officer of Turner Entertainment, and
– Kevin Turner, COO of Microsoft and former CEO of Sam’s Club and CIO of Walmart.
The advisory board includes:
– Ken Austin, chairman & founder of Avión Tequila, co-founding investor
– Anthony Borquez, CEO & founder of Grab Games and USC professor, co-founding investor
– Rob Dyrdek, serial entrepreneur and pop-culture personality
– Gavin DeGraw, singer, songwriter, co-founding investor
– Kenny Dichter, CEO and founder of Wheels Up, co-founding investor
– Ben Hayes, golfer & financial services executive
– Andrew Kline, founder & CEO of Park Lane and former NFL player
– Jake Owen, singer, songwriter and country music star, co-founder, and
– David Porter, EVP of Microsoft Stores.
FinSMEs
26/05/2016