Cardinal Spirits
Cardinal Spirits is a craft distillery in Bloomington, Indiana that produces and sells whiskey, rum, vodka, gin, brandy, amaro, liqueurs, and canned cocktails via D2C e-commerce (32 states), three-tier wholesale (13 states + DC), and an on-site tasting room/restaurant, with a side B2B co-packing service.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersBloomington, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Cardinal Spirits does
Cardinal Spirits is a craft distillery founded in 2013 in Bloomington, Indiana, producing a multi-category portfolio of American spirits including whiskey (Butcher's Bourbon, Four Grain Bourbon, Single Malt Straight Whiskey, Perry's Secret Stock, Cardinal Gold), rum (Tiki, Lake House Spiced, Blackstrap), vodka (including mission-driven Pride Voda), gin (Terra Botanical, Standard Dry), brandy (Creekbend, distilled from Catawba grapes sourced from neighboring Oliver Winery), amaro (La Boîte American Amaro), liqueurs (Bramble, Songbird Coffee, Valencia Triple Sec), and a growing line of canned ready-to-drink cocktails. The company operates a vertically integrated campus at 922 S. Morton St., Bloomington that combines production, a tasting room and distillery restaurant, a retail bottle store, and private event hosting, and it has recently expanded into a larger west-side Bloomington facility targeting 50,000 cases of annual output.
The company runs a hybrid go-to-market model spanning direct-to-consumer e-commerce (cardinalspirits.com, shipping to 32 U.S. states), three-tier wholesale distribution through state-specific beverage distributors across 13 states + DC (including Republic National, Momentum Beverage, Craft Beer Guild, Union Beer, Ajax Turner, and others), on-premise tasting room and restaurant sales in Bloomington, and a B2B contract bottling/co-packing service under the Cardinal Co-Packing brand (cardinalcopacking.com) that monetizes spare production capacity for third-party spirits brands. Pricing for bottles is quote-based rather than publicly listed, while D2C shipping is $6 per order plus $1 per item, gift cards are sold in $10-$100 denominations, and merchandise (hats $24-$28) supplements on-premise and online revenue.
Founder-led since 2013 by Adam Quirk (CEO), Jeff Wuslich (President), and Jason Katz (CFO), Cardinal Spirits was capitalized with $850K in founder equity plus a $700K German American loan in 2013, and received its first institutional angel investment in May 2023 ($50K from the IU Angel Network) to fund the move to its larger facility and scale canned cocktail and bourbon production. The business has accumulated sustained earned-media recognition across major national outlets (WSJ, NYT, Forbes, Bloomberg, Vogue, Wine Enthusiast, Saveur) and industry awards (Gold Medals including for Terra Botanical Gin), positioning it as a brand-recognized player within the U.S. craft-spirits category.
Cardinal Spirits firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cardinal Spirits
- Legal name
- Cardinal Spirits
- Website
- https://cardinalspirits.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cardinal Spirits is a craft distillery in Bloomington, Indiana that produces and sells whiskey, rum, vodka, gin, brandy, amaro, liqueurs, and canned cocktails via D2C e-commerce (32 states), three-tier wholesale (13 states + DC), and an on-site tasting room/restaurant, with a side B2B co-packing service.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cardinal Spirits industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Craft Distilled Spirits
- NAICS
- Distilleries (31214), Beer, Wine, and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (4248)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Spirits Distilling & Brands (CRADAIAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Beer, Wine & Spirits Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAIAA), Spirits Distillery Tours & Tastings (Whiskey, Rum, Gin, Vodka) (THAJAGAF)
Keywords
Where Cardinal Spirits is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bloomington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Cardinal Spirits business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Spirits Production & Sales (Whiskey, Gin, Rum, Vodka, Brandy, Amaro): Core revenue from producing and selling finished distilled spirits bottles across multiple SKUs; one-time hardware sales via wholesale three-tier distribution and D2C channels.
- Direct-to-Consumer E-commerce: Online bottle shop (cardinalspirits.com) shipping to 32 U.S. states, with $6 base + $1 per item shipping fees; supports gift cards ($10–$100) and merchandise like branded hats ($24–$28).
- On-Premise Tasting Room & Restaurant Sales: Cocktail, flight, and bottle sales at the distillery tasting room and restaurant at 922 S Morton St, Bloomington, IN; drives foot traffic and brand experience.
- B2B Contract Bottling / Co-Packing: Cardinal Co-Packing division generates revenue by producing and bottling spirits for other brands on a fee-for-service basis, leveraging existing production capacity.
- Private Events & Catering: Hosted private events (weddings, corporate events, rehearsal dinners, distillery dinners) at the venue, often with catering partner The Cabin, generating event-based revenue.
- Merchandise & Gift Cards: Branded apparel (Whiskey Corduroy Hat $28, Cardinal Classic Hat $24) and physical/digital gift cards ($10, $25, $50, $75, $100 denominations) sold both online and on-premise.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Cards: $10, $25, $50, $75, $100 |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | D2C Shipping: $6 base + $1 per item |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Branded Merchandise (Hats $24–$28) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Cardinal Spirits product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cardinal Spirits is a craft distillery in Bloomington, Indiana that produces and sells a multi-category portfolio of award-winning spirits including whiskey, rum, vodka, gin, brandy, amaro, and liqueurs, plus ready-to-drink canned cocktails, using locally sourced ingredients such as Catawba grapes from neighboring Oliver Winery. The company sells through wholesale distributors in 13 states plus DC, ships direct to consumers in 32 states via its own e-commerce site, and operates an on-site tasting room, restaurant, and bottle shop. It also runs Cardinal Co-Packing, a B2B contract bottling service for third-party spirits brands.
Product overview
No product overview extractable: the aggregated source input did not contain resolvable source IDs (WX-prefixed identifiers) for any product or service description, so no product narrative or item list can be attributed and emitted.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Butcher's Bourbon: Distilled with local heirloom red corn, 120 proof straight bourbon whiskey product line.
- Four Grain Bourbon
- Single Malt Straight Whiskey
- Perry's Secret Stock
- Cardinal Gold
- Terra Botanical Gin
- Standard Dry Gin
- La Boîte American Amaro
- Tiki Rum
- Lake House Spiced Rum
- Blackstrap Rum
- Bramble
- Creekbend Brandy
- Songbird Coffee Liqueur
- Pride Voda
- Valencia Triple Sec
- Cardinal Spirits Canned Cocktails
- Cardinal Co-Packing
Products and services
- Whiskeys (Butcher's Bourbon, Four Grain Bourbon, Single Malt Straight Whiskey, Perry's Secret Stock, Cardinal Gold) Cardinal Spirits' whiskey portfolio of small-batch and limited bourbons and blended whiskeys made from local Heartland grains, sold via the distillery tasting room, three-tier wholesale distribution in 13 states + DC, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce shipping to 32 states.
- Rums (Tiki Rum, Lake House Spiced Rum, Blackstrap Rum) Craft rum portfolio featuring an award-winning light rum, a spice-forward spiced rum, and a blackstrap molasses rum aged in Cardinal Spirits' own brandy barrels, distributed via wholesale, D2C, and on-premise channels.
- Vodkas (Bramble, Pride Voda) Craft vodka line including a black-raspberry infused Bramble vodka and the mission-driven Pride Voda that donates 10% of proceeds to LGBTQ organizations, sold through wholesale, D2C, and tasting room channels.
- Gins (Terra Botanical Gin, Standard Dry Gin) Craft gin portfolio headlined by the award-winning, La Boête-co-developed Terra Botanical Gin (Gold Medal, featured in WSJ and NYT) and a classic juniper-forward Standard Dry Gin, sold wholesale, direct-to-consumer, and on-premise.
- La Boîte American Amaro Spiced amaro spirit co-developed with NYC-based La Boîte spice company, leveraging their specialty spice blends in the distillation recipe, sold through Cardinal Spirits' wholesale, D2C, and tasting room channels.
- Creekbend Brandy Regionally distinctive craft brandy distilled from Catawba grapes grown by neighboring Oliver Winery in Bloomington, Indiana, sold via wholesale, D2C, and tasting room.
- Liqueurs and Specialty (Songbird Coffee Liqueur, Valencia Triple Sec) Craft liqueurs and specialty spirits including Songbird Coffee Liqueur (basis for the Songbird Spiked Cold Brew canned cocktail) and Valencia Triple Sec, a triple sec steeped with the zest of three varieties of oranges, distributed via wholesale, D2C, and tasting room.
- Cardinal Spirits Canned Cocktails Ready-to-drink canned cocktails produced on Cardinal Spirits' canning lines, including Bourbon Cream Soda, Bourbon Honey Lemonade, Bramble Mule, Double Vodka Soda, Florita Tequila Soda, Maui Mule, Songbird Spiked Cold Brew, and a Canned Cocktail Variety Pack, distributed via wholesale, D2C, and tasting room channels.
- Cardinal Co-Packing (Contract Bottling) B2B contract bottling and private-label production service for third-party spirits brands, including canning capability for ready-to-drink cocktails, monetizing spare capacity on Cardinal Spirits' distillation and bottling lines via cardinalcopacking.com.
- Distillery Tasting Room, Restaurant, and Bottle Shop On-premise distillery tasting room, restaurant, and bottle shop at 922 S. Morton St., Bloomington, IN, serving dine-in cocktails and food, distillery tours and tastings, carry-out bottles, cocktails, gifts, and private events including weddings and corporate gatherings.
- Private Events at the Distillery Venue Private event hosting at the Bloomington distillery tasting room and restaurant, including weddings, rehearsal dinners, corporate events, and distillery dinners, typically with catering provided by partner The Cabin.
Quantifiable outcome
- Plans to grow production output to 50,000 cases via new west-side Bloomington facility
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Cardinal Spirits
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cardinal Spirits technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Cardinal Spirits partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- La Boîte (NYC spice company)coreCo-development partner for Terra Botanical Gin and La Boîte American Amaro; the NYC-based spice company collaborated on botanical/spice blend formulations used in the distillation recipes.
- Oliver WinerycoreNeighboring Bloomington, Indiana winery that supplies locally-grown Catawba grapes used to produce Cardinal Spirits' Creekbend Brandy — a regional/local sourcing partnership that differentiates the brandy line.
- The Cabin (catering)minorLocal catering partner supporting Cardinal Spirits' private events, weddings, and rehearsal dinners held at the distillery tasting room and restaurant venue.
- Republic National Distributing CompanycoreMajor three-tier beverage distributor covering Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan for Cardinal Spirits wholesale distribution.
- Classic Beverage of Southern CaliforniaminorWholesale beverage distributor covering the Southern California market for Cardinal Spirits products.
- Craft Beer Guild Distributing of ConnecticutminorWholesale distributor serving the Connecticut market.
- Legends Distributing (Washington DC)minorWholesale distributor for the Washington DC market.
- Momentum Beverage Team (Illinois)minorWholesale distributor serving the Illinois market.
- Legends Limited, Inc. (Maryland)minorWholesale distributor serving the Maryland market.
- Craft Brewers Guild (Massachusetts – Boston)minorWholesale distributor serving the Boston, Massachusetts market.
- Seaboard Products (Massachusetts)minorWholesale distributor serving additional Massachusetts territories.
- L.Knife & Son (Massachusetts)minorWholesale distributor serving additional Massachusetts territories.
- Hunterdon Brewing Company, LLC (New Jersey)minorWholesale distributor serving the New Jersey market.
- Union Beer (New York – NYC)minorWholesale distributor serving the New York City market.
- Craft Beer Guild Distributing of New YorkminorWholesale distributor serving New York State (upstate) markets.
- Craft Beer Guild Distributing of Rhode IslandminorWholesale distributor serving the Rhode Island market.
- Ajax Turner (Tennessee)minorWholesale distributor serving the Tennessee market.
- Momentum Beverage (Wisconsin)minorWholesale distributor serving the Wisconsin market.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cardinal Spirits competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cutwater Spirits: San Diego-based craft distillery and pioneer of canned cocktails, with a broad spirits portfolio and strong D2C/retail presence. Comparable in multi-category spirits plus ready-to-drink canned cocktail strategy.
- Short Path Distillery: Everett, MA craft distillery producing whiskey, gin, rum, and vodka with a tasting room and contract bottling services. Directly comparable multi-category and co-packing business mix.
- Tuthilltown Spirits (Hudson Whiskey): Gardiner, NY craft distillery producing whiskeys, gin, and other spirits with a tasting room and contract production capabilities. Comparable in craft multi-category, destination-tasting-room, and co-packing business mix.
- St. George Spirits: Alameda, CA craft distillery producing gin, vodka, whiskey, and liqueurs with a tasting room and contract bottling. Comparable in multi-category craft portfolio and on-site co-packing/contract services.
- New Riff Distilling: Independent craft distillery in Newport, KY producing a multi-category portfolio of bourbon, rye, gin, and other spirits with its own tasting room and three-tier distribution. Closely comparable in scale, category breadth, and go-to-market mix to Cardinal Spirits.
- FEW Spirits: Evanston, IL-based craft distillery producing whiskey, gin, vodka, and bourbon with a tasting room and growing distribution footprint. Comparable multi-category craft model and Midwest positioning.
- Koval Distillery: Chicago-based craft distillery with a broad organic-grain spirits portfolio (whiskey, gin, liqueurs) and tasting room retail. Similar independent, multi-category, tasting-room-driven craft model.
- Copper & Kings American Brandy: Louisville, KY craft distillery focused on American brandy and other aged spirits with a destination tasting room and bar. Comparable craft distillery + on-premise tasting-room model with award-driven branding.
Broad incumbents
- WhistlePig: Vermont-based rye whiskey brand with a destination farm distillery, premium positioning, and far larger national distribution. Comparable craft-distillery-plus-destination-experience model, but at materially greater scale.
- Tito's Handmade Vodka: Texas-based craft vodka brand that scaled from a single Austin distillery to national leadership. Relevant as a benchmark for how a craft distillery brand can scale from a founder-led, single-site origin to nationwide distribution.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cardinal Spirits social profiles
Digital presenceCardinal Spirits financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cardinal Spirits leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Cardinal Spirits subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Cardinal Spirits funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cardinal Spirits M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cardinal Spirits
What does Cardinal Spirits do?
Cardinal Spirits is a craft distillery in Bloomington, Indiana that produces and sells a multi-category portfolio of award-winning spirits including whiskey, rum, vodka, gin, brandy, amaro, and liqueurs, plus ready-to-drink canned cocktails, using locally sourced ingredients such as Catawba grapes from neighboring Oliver Winery. The company sells through wholesale distributors in 13 states plus DC, ships direct to consumers in 32 states via its own e-commerce site, and operates an on-site tasting room, restaurant, and bottle shop. It also runs Cardinal Co-Packing, a B2B contract bottling service for third-party spirits brands.
Is Cardinal Spirits a public or private company?
Cardinal Spirits is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cardinal Spirits founded?
Cardinal Spirits was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cardinal Spirits based?
Cardinal Spirits is headquartered in Bloomington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cardinal Spirits make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Spirits Production & Sales (Whiskey, Gin, Rum, Vodka, Brandy, Amaro) is the primary driver. The others are direct-to-Consumer E-commerce, on-Premise Tasting Room & Restaurant Sales, B2B Contract Bottling / Co-Packing, private Events & Catering and merchandise & Gift Cards.
Who are Cardinal Spirits's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cutwater Spirits, Short Path Distillery, Tuthilltown Spirits (Hudson Whiskey), St. George Spirits, New Riff Distilling, FEW Spirits, Koval Distillery and Copper & Kings American Brandy. Broad incumbents are WhistlePig and Tito's Handmade Vodka.
Does Cardinal Spirits have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cardinal Spirits.
What industry is Cardinal Spirits in?
Cardinal Spirits's product category is Craft Distilled Spirits. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADAIAC, Spirits Distilling & Brands, with a secondary code of CRAOAIAA, Beer, Wine & Spirits Wholesale Distribution. Its NAICS code is 31214 and its SIC code is 5180.