InvestBev closes eight-figure debt financing with RD1 Spirits
What's the deal? InvestBevDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a private equity firm focused on the adult beverage sector, has closed an eight-figure debt financing agreement with Kentucky's RD1 SpiritsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
The capital will fund expansion and growth for the bourbon maker, founded by Mike Tetterton.
The deal came through InvestBev Credit, the firm's private credit arm.
Why now? InvestBev is leaning into bourbon while other investors pause, betting on operators as traditional lenders stay rigid or out of reach.
Its credit arm has deployed nearly $30 million in 2025, helping distilleries and barrel owners unlock the trapped value of aging inventory.
"We chose InvestBev Credit as the best solution for our company," Tetterton said. "They made the process easy and quick."
What could go wrong? Debt adds repayment pressure, and bourbon's long ageing cycles tie up capital for years before returns arrive.
A cooling category that has already pushed other investors to the sidelines could squeeze growth-stage distillers further.
The signal: RD1 sits at the early stage, where founder-led distillers are most exposed to the bourbon slowdown — making InvestBev's debt-led, inventory-backed approach a template for how specialist capital keeps craft operators growing while traditional lenders sit out the cycle.
Read more: Qubemark
