After years of limited visibility following the death of founder George Racz, The Las Vegas Distillery is entering a new chapter — defined by a revitalized tasting room and a growing presence on liquor store shelves and behind bars across the Las Vegas Valley.
Rebooting The Brand
The distillery, located in Henderson’s Booze District, was an early pioneer in Nevada’s craft spirits movement. Racz played a central role in changing state law to allow distilleries to sell bottles directly to consumers, helping establish a legal framework that enabled the district to exist. After his death, the business passed to his wife before being sold to new ownership in 2022.
Much of the public-facing transformation has been visible for some time. The distillery renovated its tasting room into a polished space blending classic Las Vegas imagery with live music, cocktails, and food — a destination designed to appeal equally to tourists and locals. That phase, however, was only the beginning.
“The first phase was really about getting the distillery operational again and opening the tasting room to the public,” said Cody Fredrickson, who oversees tasting room operations and distribution. “Now that we’ve been open for a while and gotten feedback on the spirits, the next phase is distribution.”
After rebuilding production and refining its portfolio, The Las Vegas Distillery’s spirits are now appearing in select liquor stores, bars, and restaurants — many of them among the valley’s most respected cocktail programs.
World-Class Spirits
A key part of that reset was the hiring of veteran distiller Jonny VerPlanck, who joined the company after years running and consulting on distilling projects across the U.S. and abroad. Verplanck told the Food and Loathing podcast that when he arrived, the operation required significant investment before it could support serious production.
“I was pitched a turnkey distillery, but when I walked in, a lot of things had been neglected for years,” VerPlanck said. “So the first priority was maintenance — replacing equipment, adding fermentation tanks, cooling systems, rebuilding the mill — and getting everything ready to actually make spirits at a high level.”
Just as important was a philosophical shift. “I shoot for world-class spirits,” Verplanck said. “That meant all new recipes and essentially an all-new lineup.”
Today, that lineup includes vodka and gin made from the same base, multiple rums — including white, spiced, dark, and overproof expressions — a coffee liqueur, a straight bourbon, and additional spirits aging in barrels, including American single malt and agave-based projects.
Bringing It To The Bars
While the tasting room remains an important part of the brand, it is no longer the endpoint. Instead, it serves as a showcase for what the distillery is now producing at scale.
“The tasting room let us reconnect with people and show them what we’re about,” Fredrickson said. “Distribution is how we take that next step.”
And with production stabilized, distribution has followed. According to Fredrickson, the distillery is now working with both on-premise and off-premise partners, tailoring placements to fit each program.
“People are picking and choosing what makes sense for them,” he said. “Some bars want the bourbon, others want the vodka, gin, or rum. That’s exactly how we want it.”
Verplanck emphasized that flexibility was intentional. “Our spirits are made with premium ingredients, but they’re designed to be used,” he said. “Some work great in cocktails, some you might want to sip. We want them in the hands of bartenders who know how to treat them.”
Those bartenders include teams at places like Jive Turkey, Main St. Provisions, Esther’s Kitchen, Dustland, Craft Creamery, and other respected venues that have begun incorporating the spirits into their programs. Fredrickson said working directly with bar teams is a major focus.
“It’s not just dropping off bottles,” he said. “It’s collaborating on how the spirits should be served and supporting the creativity of the people using them.”
Over the coming months, the company plans to continue expanding its footprint throughout the valley, focusing on accounts that value quality and craftsmanship. After a long reset, The Las Vegas Distillery’s spirits are finally making their way out into the city they were created to serve.
Hear the full interview with Cody Fredrickson and Jonny Verplanck on the January 16 episode of the Food and Loathing podcast.
