Heritage Distilling’s product lineup includes brands including, Cocoa Bomb Chocolate Whiskey, Florescence Vodka and Stiefel’s Select Whiskey. Credit: Heritage Distilling.

Recently-listed US spirits producer Heritage Distilling Company has appointed two drinks industry stalwarts to board roles.

Former Starbucks COO Troy Alstead has joined the Heritage Distilling board of directors.

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He will be joined by Andrew Varga, already Heritage Distilling’s chief revenue officer and now a director.

Alstead brings over 20 years of senior leadership experience, having held multiple executive roles at Starbucks, including COO, CFO and chief administrative officer.

He is also on the board of companies including Levi Strauss & Co., Harley-Davidson, and Array Technologies.

Varga will continue leading the company’s business development as strategic consultant and chief revenue officer, the roles he assumed in April last year.

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His career includes executive positions at Brown-Forman Corporation and as chief marketing officer at Papa John’s International.

The appointments come as Heritage Distilling seeks “to accelerate [the] next stage of growth and innovation”.

Heritage Distilling Company CEO and co-founder Justin Stiefel said: “Troy’s extensive experience in scaling global brands and Andrew’s expertise in marketing and sales provide unparalleled leadership that will help us expand our footprint and deliver our innovative spirits to more consumers.

“Their appointments reflect our commitment to building a world-class team to support the next stage of our journey as a publicly traded company and a leader in the craft distilling industry.”

Founded in 2011 by Justin and Jennifer Stiefel, the group produces whiskey, vodka, gin and rum.

Its product line-up features brands such as Cocoa Bomb Chocolate Whiskey, Florescence Vodka and Stiefel’s Select Whiskey.

Heritage Distilling completed its initial public offering last month, issuing over 1.6m shares of common stock at $4.00 per share, generating gross proceeds of approximately $6.8m.

In February, Heritage Distilling announced the acquisition of 100% of Oregon-based local peer, Thinking Tree Spirits for an undisclosed sum.

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