AJ Bond Distillery set to debut its first Tennessee whiskey in summer 2026
Nearly ten years after acquiring the Newport, Tennessee distillery once associated with the Popcorn Sutton brand, spirits giant Sazerac is preparing to introduce its first official Tennessee whiskey from the site, now renamed AJ Bond Distillery. The inaugural release is expected to arrive in summer 2026, marking a significant milestone for a project that has been quietly developing for nearly a decade.
The distillery’s identity was shaped by two figures deeply rooted in Tennessee whiskey culture: master distiller John Lunn and master blender Allisa Henley. Their collaboration inspired the distillery’s name, with the initials “AJ” referencing their first names. Both began their careers in the industry at Cascade Hollow Distilling Co., producer of George Dickel, before eventually joining the Newport operation—formerly Avery’s Trail Distillery—where they were tasked with building a new whiskey program after Sazerac acquired the facility.
A project built over years of development
Following the acquisition, Sazerac allowed Lunn and Henley considerable freedom to design the distillery’s long-term production approach. The pair spent several years experimenting with mash bills, distillation techniques and maturation strategies while gradually building a house style that would distinguish AJ Bond within the wider Tennessee whiskey landscape.
Production at the site began in 2017, using a pair of 2,500-gallon pot stills and a 1,500-gallon still, which were modified to accommodate the Lincoln County Process, the charcoal filtration method traditionally associated with Tennessee whiskey. This filtration technique—where newly distilled spirit is slowly passed through sugar-maple charcoal before entering the barrel—is considered a defining element of the category.
To expand capacity, the distillery installed a column still in 2021, allowing the blending team to combine distillates from both pot and column still production. According to Henley, this dual-distillation approach will remain central to the distillery’s style going forward.
Honouring the legacy of John Lunn
The development of the brand was deeply affected by the unexpected death of John Lunn in 2023, leaving Henley to complete the project they had built together. The two had worked side by side for nearly two decades, first at Cascade Hollow and later in Newport.
Henley has said the upcoming release will remain closely tied to the original vision they created as partners. Many of the production decisions—from grain sourcing to filtration and maturation—were agreed upon jointly during the early years of the project.
Tennessee identity at the centre of the whiskey
Although Sazerac has not disclosed the exact mash bill for the inaugural bottling, Henley confirmed that the distillery is sourcing corn from a farm near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, while rye and malted barley are supplied from northern growers.
The maturation program also emphasizes local identity. Barrels are being made with Tennessee oak, a choice intended to reinforce the regional character of the whiskey. While the first bottling will not carry an official age statement, Henley indicated that much of the liquid in the blend will be between eight and nine years old, reflecting the distillery’s earliest production runs.
Rather than tying future releases to strict age declarations, the distillery plans to bottle according to flavour profile, allowing blending flexibility as the stock matures.
A new player in the Tennessee whiskey category
When released, AJ Bond will join a Tennessee whiskey sector currently dominated by a handful of large producers such as Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel, alongside a growing number of craft distilleries.
In terms of production scale, Henley describes AJ Bond as sitting somewhere between the two: larger than most craft operations but operating at roughly half the production capacity of Cascade Hollow.
Sazerac also holds long-term plans for expansion. The company owns 55 acres in Murfreesboro, where it hopes eventually to develop a larger distillery campus with warehouses and a visitor center. For now, however, the focus remains on launching the first bottling and establishing the brand.
A symbolic return for Sazerac
The upcoming release carries a certain historical symmetry for Sazerac. Although the company has never previously owned a Tennessee whiskey distillery, Buffalo Trace—another Sazerac property—produced whiskey using the George Dickel recipe in the years following Prohibition, when Tennessee laws prevented Dickel from operating in its home state.
With AJ Bond’s debut, Sazerac will finally introduce its own whiskey produced entirely within Tennessee, closing a circle that stretches back nearly a century.
