Barrel and cooperage inventory expansion
Buy oak barrels, char them, and lay down inventory for the long-aging products that drive your premium pricing.
Your Whiskey Spends Years in a Barrel. Your Capital Should Not Sit Idle.
Craft distilleries tie up serious capital in aging inventory and equipment. Get a flexible line of credit up to $1.5M with interest-only options so cash flow keeps moving while your product matures.
Built for the long aging curve of craft spirits.
Few industries have a tougher capital cycle than craft distilling. A bourbon program may require four to seven years of barrel aging before a single bottle ships. Gin and vodka have shorter cycles but demand expensive copper stills, federal TTB compliance, state distribution licensing, and increasingly competitive shelf placement. Meanwhile, you need to pay rent, keep the lights on, and grow brand visibility.
Commercial Capital Connect offers craft distilleries a line of credit up to $1.5 million designed for the aging-inventory reality. Draw capital to buy barrels, fund a bottling run, expand cooperage relationships, or front a national distribution push. Interest-only payment options keep your fixed cost low during the years before high-margin aged inventory hits the market.
Bottling lines and labeling equipment
Fund automated bottling, capping, and labeling lines to scale beyond hand-bottling without sacrificing margin.
TTB compliance and state licensing fees
Cover federal and multi-state licensing, bond requirements, and label approval costs as you expand distribution.
Distribution and on-premise placement
Fund sales reps, samples, bar buy-ins, and slotting fees that get your label on backbars and shelves.
Tasting room and cocktail bar buildout
Open or expand a tasting room. Direct-to-consumer sales at the still are the highest-margin channel in spirits.
Basic line of credit review criteria
These are baseline review items, not an approval, offer, or commitment to lend.
- Estimated Equifax score of 575 or higher
- Operating at least 30 days
- About $17,000+ in average monthly revenue
- Active commercial business location
- 0 to 2 active cash advances preferred
Why Commercial Capital Connect
CCC is a business finance marketplace, not a direct lender. One application can help compare potential options through a network of 75+ lending partners.
We get aging inventory
Your barrel inventory is a real asset. We do not punish you for product that has not yet hit the shelf.
Capital while your product matures
Interest-only options keep payments lean during the years before your aged stock generates revenue.
Pay off restrictive cash advances
Many distilleries get trapped in daily-debit MCAs. We can pay off up to two and replace them with a real LOC.
Same-day approvals
Quick decisioning so you can act on barrel buys, harvest windows, and time-sensitive distribution deals.
Distilleries funding FAQ
Do you finance distilleries that have not yet bottled their first product?
Possibly. If the business has been operational for at least 30 days under current ownership and has revenue from contract bottling, gin, vodka, or other unaged products averaging at least $17K per month, you may qualify even if your flagship aged product is still maturing.
Can I use the line to buy more barrels?
Yes. Barrel inventory, cooperage purchases, and warehouse expansion are common and well-suited uses for the line.
How does the interest-only feature work?
You pay interest only on the outstanding balance during the draw period. Principal can be paid down any time without penalty, giving you flexibility to align repayment with bottling and shipment cycles.
Do I need to be a certain size or volume?
No volume requirement specifically. We look at consistent monthly revenue of at least $17K, 30 days time in business, and 575 minimum Equifax score.
Can the line be used for state licensing across multiple states?
Yes. Multi-state licensing fees, bond requirements, and label approval are valid uses of working capital from the line.