Japan’s Kirin Holdings is looking to unload bourbon brand Four Roses for $1 billion, as part of a shift toward healthcare.
The owner of Fuji Japanese Whisky and New Belgium Brewing has been testing interest from potential buyers in recent weeks, with bids expected to roll in next month, the Financial Times reported.
The move comes as whiskey sales struggle at home and abroad: American whiskey sales declined 1.8% to $5.2 billion, in 2024, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). Pressure on American whiskey suppliers has further mounted after a rollercoaster year of new tariffs and negotiations that have at times entangled U.S. spirits, and particularly bourbon, in a trade war. American whiskey exports fell 13% in Q2 2025.
The Financial Times, citing “two people familiar with the matter,” noted that the whiskey brand “was likely to draw interest from strategic buyers, but some large drinks conglomerates might remain on the sidelines as they grappled with problems with their own product portfolios.”
The possible sale falls in line with a recent trend of major spirits groups offloading non-core assets, including whiskey brands.
Four Roses is produced in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Kirin acquired the business in 2002 and quickly re-established the brand as a premium bourbon company after a tumultuous period in the portfolios of other multi-national spirits companies. The bourbon brand generates about $70 million in adjusted earnings annually, according to sources cited by the Financial Times.
In addition to its whiskey, beer (New Belgium, Bell’s Brewery, Kirin Ichiban) and soft drink portfolios, Kirin has operated in the pharmaceutical sector since the 1980s and has accelerated its push into healthcare in recent years.