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Alicia Swanger, wife of Charleston Sweet Grass Vodka owner Jarrod Swanger, holds a bottle of the company’s liquor that is no longer being produced.
Amidst a family tragedy, Jarrod Swanger continued trying to convince investors that he had a plan to save his once-promising, now shuttered spirit brand and company — Charleston’s Sweet Grass Vodka.
Starting June 30, Swanger sent text messages to investors reassuring them. A new CEO would be coming aboard in his “absence,” the message stated.
That “absence” was likely a reference to the passing of his 13-month-old son, who died the day before the texts were sent promising new leadership for Sweet Grass Vodka.
The alleged change of leadership comes as 22 investors and one lender have accused Swanger of failing to return upwards of $7 million they collectively invested or lent for Sweet Grass operations since 2020.
The June 30 text message, shared with The Post and Courier by several investors, said that two men formerly associated with the company are “stepping in while I am out in my time of absence. They are reaching out to everyone this week,” Swanger said.
“Yes they are still going forward with items and the articles are just things we did not respond to because we have no time for it and we are trying to get things restructured and moving forward,” he continued. He was apparently referencing recent reports by The Post and Courier that broke news about the downfall of Sweet Grass Vodka and the sale of Swanger’s Mount Pleasant home.
The two men mentioned in the article asked not to be named as they have served Swanger with cease-and-desist letters in recent months, requesting him to stop using their names in connection with the company they no longer associate with. Another request was sent last week following a text message from Swanger.
Both men informed The Post and Courier that they are neither taking over Sweet Grass Vodka nor Swanger’s debts, and clarified they have not had any discussions with Swanger regarding this matter.
An attorney representing Swanger asked that the media refrain from contacting him.
The Swanger family “is making no comment as they grieve and process the truly greatest loss of their lives,” attorney Mary Grace W. Maybank said in a statement dated July 3. “This beyond tragic loss is extremely private and personal to the Swanger family. The Swangers would appreciate nothing more than continued privacy out of respect for their beloved son.”
On June 29, Swanger’s infant son died from complications after being found unresponsive in the swimming pool at the family’s former house in Mount Pleasant, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office reported.
Mount Pleasant police responded to the Snee Farm home the evening of June 11 following a call that a baby had fallen into the backyard pool.
On June 21, the Swangers sold the house for $1.7 million.
To move Sweet Grass Vodka forward, Swanger would need to make whole more than 20 investors and creditors in the United States and Canada.
The house sale chipped away at some of what is reportedly owed.
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Mark Hodge, an investor from Florence who was one of the first people to stake money in Sweet Grass Vodka, was one of those who received the June 30 text from Swanger.
At this point, “I can’t believe anything that I hear from Jarrod,” he said.
Hodge invested $100,000 in November 2022. He also brought in three others for a combined investment of $425,000.
Brian Mahon, a Lowcountry physician who invested in 2022, said he hasn’t received any communication about an alleged new CEO.
“I’ve never once in the past two years gotten any official update on the company’s health formally via letter or email,” he said.
Other investors who have come forward in the last few weeks include another Florence resident who invested $150,000 and a Mount Pleasant resident who said he handed Swanger $75,000 cash in March.
In October, the Mount Pleasant investor attended a Sweet Grass Vodka bash at Wild Dunes. He said he recalled thinking: If someone as well known as actor Jeremy Renner had become involved with the company, what could go wrong?
Two-time Oscar nominee Renner came on board last summer as a celebrity face of the company. Swanger portrayed Renner as a co-owner. Renner was promised $1 million and equity in the company, a source familiar with the deal previously told The Post and Courier. Renner months ago began distancing himself from the brand and Swanger.
With promises that the Mount Pleasant investor’s money would quadruple within one year, Swanger again approached the man a month later asking for more money. He balked.
At that point, Swanger already faced three lawsuits accusing him of defaulting on payments on loans. His company was delinquent in paying rent and about to be terminated from the lease for Sweetgrass Lounge, his bar and production facility at The Refinery, located at 1640 Meeting Street Road. He owed some employees upwards of five weeks in back pay and was paying them piecemeal via Apple Cash, according to texts between the workers and Swanger, and seen by The Post and Courier.
Swanger lost his liquor license on March 5 for not paying S.C. income taxes for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, records show.
In addition, Swanger was charged twice with driving under the influence in 2022 and his driver’s license was suspended for not paying car insurance, according to Isle of Palms police.
Signs have been posted for weeks around his former Snee Farm community, noting Swanger is still driving and to alert local police if anyone saw him behind the wheel.
With the new texts about an interim CEO apparently unfounded, Hodge said any hope for recovery is dwindling by the day.
“I am not at all optimistic that I will ever see one dime,” he said.
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Jarrod Swanger, owner of Sweet Grass Vodka, has sent out unfounded messages claiming two men will step in and take over operations as his debt surmounts into the millions. Read moreAfter a family tragedy and millions in debt, Sweet Grass Vodka owner claims new CEO to take over
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