Sun King buys Hotel Tango spirits assets, opens eighth Indiana taproom

Sun King Brewing’s latest move raises a bigger question than who owns Hotel Tango’s spirits portfolio now: why is one of Indiana’s best-known breweries buying whiskey assets while opening its eighth taproom at the same time? The answer seems to be scale, access and a sharper push beyond beer, with Sun King positioning itself as a multi-beverage company rather than a brewery that only sells pints.

The company said in an April 28 announcement that it acquired intellectual property rights to Hotel Tango Whiskey’s entire spirits portfolio. Sun King framed the deal as a way to create new opportunities in product innovation, distribution and retail partnerships, giving the brand more room to stretch into spirits while backing that ambition with a larger physical footprint in the state. Clay Robinson, Sun King’s co-CEO, said the move joins strong brands with shared operational capabilities, while Hotel Tango interim CEO Eddie DeSalle argued that organic growth is getting harder and that brands need to think carefully about competitive advantage and distribution leverage to last.

The transaction also lands at a moment of transition for Hotel Tango, which was founded in 2014 in Indianapolis by Travis Barnes and Hilary Barnes. The brand built its following around military-themed branding, bourbon and its Shmallow whiskey, and additional reporting has described it as one of Indiana’s first microdistilleries and the nation’s first combat-disabled, veteran-owned distillery. Earlier reporting also said Black Dog Brewing’s majority owners had already bought Hotel Tango’s Fletcher Place tasting room and event center businesses, setting up the venue shift that now accompanies the asset sale.

The Hotel Tango tasting room at 702 Virginia Avenue will become a second Black Dog Brewing Company location that still serves Hotel Tango spirits and craft cocktails. That keeps the hospitality side of the brand alive even as the ownership structure changes, and it suggests Sun King sees value not just in the bottles, but in the brand’s place in Indianapolis drinking culture.

At the same time, Sun King opened its newest taproom and restaurant in Westfield on April 24 at The Union at Grand Junction Plaza, 133 S. Union St. The two-level space gives the company a family-friendly first floor and a 21-plus upstairs lounge, adding another all-ages touchpoint with beer, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic options. It is Sun King’s eighth Indiana taproom, and it reflects a company that has been building outward since it started distilling in 2018 at its Carmel Tap Room and Distillery before moving those operations to its downtown Indianapolis campus, now spread across three buildings.

Taken together, the Hotel Tango acquisition and the Westfield opening show where regional craft is headed in Indiana: fewer clean lines between brewery, distillery and restaurant, and more emphasis on owning the places where people drink, not just the brands in the glass.