US distillery forced to close over name change technicality

A US distillery in Vermont has been forced to halt operations ahead of the festive period due to a ‘glitch’ in the paperwork over a recent name change, according to the Caledonian Record.

St Johnsbury Distillery, Formerly Dunc’s Mill, has been issued with a cease and desist order.

St Johnsbury Distillery, whose owners purchased the distillery formerly known as Dunc’s Mill in November, was issued a cease and desist order from a federal agency last Friday after it changed the name of the business.

New owners Dan Hughes, Brendan Hughes and Brian Garvey were under the impression they could continue to operate under previous owner Duncan Holoday’s permits, however that ceased to be the case after they changed the name of the business.

The notice means the distillery cannot conduct any business at all and is unable to produce, sell or take part in events until new permits are approved.

Dan Hughes told the Caledonian Record: “Here we are, we’re sitting on all our Christmas orders and we can’t ship.”

Hughes added: “I guess my question is, if we are applying for permits and doing everything we can, why can’t we continue doing business? Nothing has changed but the name. If we didn’t apply for the permits or we did something wrong, I can understand a cease and desist …. financially, it’s devastating.”

St Johnsbury Distillery will remain closed until the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) signs off on the permit and lifts the cease and desist order.