Black Velvet Whisky

Constellation Brands' Form 8-K of November 1, 2019 records the completed sale of the Black Velvet Canadian Whisky business and its Lethbridge, Alberta production facility to Heaven Hill Brands for about US$274 million, and the August 2019 exhibit 99.1 announced the same deal. Heaven Hill's own terms page identifies the buyer as Heaven Hill Sales Co. d.b.a. Heaven Hill Brands, a Kentucky corporation, and its home page describes the company as family-owned, so all profit flows to a private US owner with no documented minority stake. Corporations Canada returns no federal corporation for Heaven Hill and no relevant Black Velvet entity, so the Canadian operating company is presumably an Alberta provincial corporation; the Alberta Corporate Registry could not be checked from this session.

• Constellation Brands, Inc. Form 8-K, November 1, 2019 filing “On November 1, 2019, Constellation Brands, Inc. (the "Company") completed the sale of its Black Velvet Canadian Whisky business to Heaven Hill Brands, together with the brand's associated production facility in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada”
• Exhibit 99.1 to Constellation Brands Form 8-K, August 12, 2019: Constellation Brands Evolves Spirits Portfolio filing “signed an agreement with Heaven Hill Brands to divest Black Velvet Canadian Whisky and the brand's associated production facility in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, along with a subset of Canadian whisky brands produced at that facility”
• Terms and Conditions | Heaven Hill Brands vendor_statement “provided by Heaven Hill Sales Co. d.b.a. Heaven Hill Brands, a Kentucky corporation”
• Home | Heaven Hill Brands vendor_statement “For nearly a century, Heaven Hill Brands has stood as a proud, family-owned house of brands.”
• Heaven Hill finalises Black Velvet whisky purchase - The Spirits Business press “Family-owned Heaven Hill Brands has completed its acquisition of Black Velvet Canadian whisky from Constellation Brands.”
• Search for a Federal Corporation - Corporations Canada registry “Searched for: Corporate name: Heaven Hill 0 results were found, 0 returned.”

The Constellation 8-K places the brand's production facility in Lethbridge, Alberta, Heaven Hill's brand page says Black Velvet is produced in Lethbridge, and The Spirits Business reported that the sale included all distilling, ageing, and bottling facilities there. The vendor's own site, which serves the US market, carries the label line that the whisky is imported and bottled by Black Velvet Import Co. in Bardstown, Kentucky, so some US-market bottling of Canadian-distilled whisky appears to happen in the US; the 0.1 US share is an estimate for that bottling step, since no revenue split is published and the whisky itself is entirely distilled and aged in Canada.

• Exhibit 99.1 to Constellation Brands Form 8-K, August 12, 2019: Constellation Brands Evolves Spirits Portfolio filing “the brand's associated production facility in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada”
• Brands Archive | Heaven Hill Brands vendor_statement “Black Velvet is a Canadian blended whisky produced in Lethbridge, Alberta (originally in Quebec) and bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV), and aged at least three years in ex-bourbon casks.”
• Black Velvet | Home vendor_statement “Imported and bottled by Black Velvet Import Co. Bardstown, KY”
• Heaven Hill finalises Black Velvet whisky purchase - The Spirits Business press “The acquisition includes all the distilling operations, ageing and bottling facilities, and the remaining portfolio of Canadian whisky brands owned by Constellation Brands”
• The CANADA List JSON feed, entry p0006595 Black Velvet directory “Owned by Heaven Hill Brands (USA). Produced in Lethbridge, Alberta. Grain bill of corn, rye, barley, mostly Canadian prairie-sourced. Distillation, maturation, and bottling are all in Canada.”

The only production site is the Lethbridge distillery, so the distilling, maturing, and bottling workforce is in Alberta, while brand management, marketing, and US sales sit with Heaven Hill in Bardstown, Kentucky, which the vendor's own site names as its address. Neither Heaven Hill nor the brand publishes a headcount by country, so the split is an estimate weighted to the plant.

• Black Velvet | Home vendor_statement “Black Velvet Import Co. Bardstown, KY”
• Constellation sells Black Velvet whisky to Heaven Hill - The Spirits Business press “Kentucky-based Heaven Hill for the sale of Black Velvet and its production facility in Lethbridge, Alberta”

The vendor's heritage page says the whisky is made from Canadian water and a grain bill of rye, barley, and corn, and The CANADA List describes the grain as mostly Canadian prairie-sourced. The same page says the spirit is aged in bourbon barrels, which by definition come from the US, so the US share is an estimate covering used bourbon casks and any imported corn; no supplier list is published.

• Black Velvet Whisky | Heritage vendor_statement “Black Velvet is crafted from a mix of high-quality grains, including rye, barley, and corn. The mash is then crafted and aged in bourbon barrels for up to eight years.”
• The CANADA List JSON feed, entry p0006595 Black Velvet directory “Grain bill of corn, rye, barley, mostly Canadian prairie-sourced.”