Kings County Distillery said it expanded its distribution footprint to Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. with a partnership with Lanterna Distributors.

The agreement connects Kings County's most significant markets in the Northeast with the rest of the country. With this arrangement, Kings County is now available to retailers, bars, and restaurants throughout the mid-Atlantic, making Kings County's Award-winning whiskeys accessible in 30 states.

"America has become obsessed with bourbon, but so much American whiskey is made on column-stills in a commodity environment. Few distillers are making bourbon like it would have been made in the 1800s, even though branding would tell you otherwise. With this arrangement, Kings County is bringing its pot-stilled, grain-to-glass spirits to an important territory that completes our busiest Northeast corridor market—Lanterna is the best partner to see the interest for more authentic spirits and forged this important deal," said Kings County co-founder and distiller Colin Spoelman.

"Lanterna Distributors is honored to partner with Kings County Distillery in the Mid Atlantic," said Portfolio Manager Jack Wells. "We are thrilled to add a distillery of this caliber to our growing selection of incredible spirits producers."

Fresh off its "Distillery of the Year" award from the New Orleans Spirits Competition and Tales of the Cocktail, Kings County is poised to expand its flagship straight, peated, and blended bourbon, as well as more limited offerings like Empire Rye, Barrel Strength Bourbon and Bottled in Bond.

"It's a great time for us to be adding new markets," added Spoelman "Consumers have long been interested in our whiskeys but access has been limited by a 3-tier system that favors global corporations over small business—so we are thrilled to be available in our nation's capital and the surrounding territory.

"We are a genuinely small batch distillery, in an industry where many make the claim and few can back it up—and we believe this is something that should be accessible to everyone. With many distributors stagnating, we're delighted that Lanterna has the values, vision, and credibility to build our mutual long-term business in the mid-Atlantic."