William Grant & Sons acquires Mexican distillery for Milagro Tequila as part of long-term investment plan
October 6, 2020: Global premium spirits business William Grant & Sons (WG&S) today announces its acquisition of a distillery in Mexico for its fast-growing Milagro Tequila brand, supporting the company’s strong momentum in the premium spirits segment.
Since 2015, Milagro has averaged double-digit annual growth in the U.S. market, reaching over 300,000 9L cases in annual sales, making it the country’s fifth largest premium tequila brand. This acquisition will protect the brand’s continued success, while opening up the opportunity for future innovation for the company.
Jonathan Yusen, WG&S President & Managing Director, Americas, said: “2020 has seen accelerated consumer interest in the premium tequila category, with Nielsen markets showing retail growth of over 30% over the last quarter alone, and with Milagro out-pacing the category with almost 50% retail growth.” Further demonstrating its commitment to the brand, WG&S has re-introduced its ultra-premium “Milagro Select” range with a bold, bright new look. Each bottle, engraved with a Blue Agave plant design, provides a modern sophistication to the traditional tequila cues and features a vibrant pop of color that stands out on any shelf.
Made from 100% blue agave from the Jalisco highlands and uniquely distilled using both pot and column stills to retain the vibrant flavor, Milagro is defined by its ultimate balance of fresh agave taste and exquisite smoothness. This distinctive taste earned the brand the Gold Medal at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a score of 92 out of 100 from the tasting panel at the 2020 Ultimate Spirits Challenge, reflecting WG&S’ continued commitment to liquid leadership across every category in which it competes.
Yusen continued, “Milagro has always been an exciting brand within our award-winning portfolio, and with this distillery it is now a clear long-term priority for our global business, alongside such iconic premium brands as Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch, Hendrick’s Gin and Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey. This acquisition allows us to manage our production more closely, ensuring the long-term quality and consistency of our Silver, Reposado and Añejo offerings, while bringing our innovation expertise to agave-based spirits.”
The Mexican distillery acquisition forms part of WG&S’s multi-million pound investment plan to build its brands globally and upgrade its infrastructure to support its growth ambitions.
Simon Hunt, William Grant & Sons Chief Executive, said: “One of the many benefits of our independent family ownership is that we have the freedom to make the right choices for our long-term success. We have spent the last two years working on this plan to acquire our own distillery in Mexico, and we’re delighted we have found the right option for our business.
He added: “We’re excited by this move to build a strong platform for further innovation that will help us take full advantage of global opportunities in the fast-growing premium tequila category. It demonstrates our commitment to investment in global growth despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.”
“The acquisition of the tequila distillery in Mexico and our recent decision to set up our own dedicated distribution business in Germany are two examples of our investment decisions at a difficult time for our people, our trade partners, our loyal brand fans and our industry.”
Over the last few years, WG&S has made a number of significant investments in its operations.
- In February 2020, the company announced plans to establish a wholly-owned distribution company in Germany to get closer to customers and continue building its world-renowned brands the William Grant & Sons way. William Grant & Sons Deutschland will be the newest wholly-owned business within the William Grant & Sons family, which includes the USA, UK, France, Australia, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Korea and Taiwan.
- The continued expansion of Glenfiddich Distillery, focusing on the protection and use of traditional craft and distilling practices to increase capacity.
- The opening, in 2018, of the Hendrick’s Gin distillery in Girvan, Scotland, to drive future innovation.
- The 2018 launch of Arete, WG&S’s new luxury packaging facility in Scotland, to focus on the business’s luxury portfolio.
- The acquisition, in 2017, of American whiskey distillery, Tuthilltown, home of Hudson Whiskey.
- Bringing WG&S’s malt, pot still and grain whiskey production back to Tullamore, Ireland, in 2017, as part an expansion plan to build two new state-of-the-art facilities enhancing our production capabilities and the scale of global operations.
Milagro Tequila was founded in 1998 by Danny Schneeweiss and Moy Guindi, 2 wide-eyed college friends who decided to take a chance and create a tequila that better reflected the hopeful spirit, endless positivity, and anything-is-possible creativity of Mexico City. Milagro Tequila is truly defined by its ultimate balance of fresh agave taste and exquisite smoothness and is made from 100% blue agave from the Jalisco Highlands, where the finest, sweetest blue agave in the world is cultivated. The Milagro Tequila range consists of six expressions, with Silver, Reposado and Añejo expressions of the Core and Select Barrel Reserve ranges respectively. All Milagro expressions are double-distilled and undergo a 36-hour slow roasting process in traditional brick ovens to extract all the nuances of the precious agave flavor. The unique distillation process uses both pot and column stills to retain the vibrant, mouth-watering flavors of agave and impart an exquisite smoothness that compares to the finest white spirits in the world. All Milagro Tequilas have an ABV of 40%, suggested pricing starts at $21.99 for the Core range and $39.99 for the Select Barrel Reserve range.
William Grant & Sons is an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded by William Grant in 1887. Today, the global premium spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distils some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch Whisky, including the world’s most-awarded single malt Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single malts and the world’s third largest blended Scotch, Grant’s®, as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick’s® Gin, Sailor Jerry®, Tullamore D.E.W.® Irish Whiskey, Monkey Shoulder® and Drambuie® .
Press office contact for William Grant & Sons: PNUK_WGS@porternovelli.co.uk
Press releases are generated outside of Spirited magazine and the information contained does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Spirited or its parent company, Sonoma Media Investments.
