Barcardi, the family-owned maker of white rum has bought a minority stake in Teeling Whiskey.
The Irish whiskey distillery will reportedly continue to be run by its current owners and management team, and the company will remain 'independent and autonomous' from Bacardi.
As part of the deal, Teeling’s range of Irish whiskies will be distributed in the US by Bacardi from 1 September later this year, reported Irishtimes.ie.
It outlined that the US is the largest market for Irish whiskey with sales of more than 3.5 million (nine litre cases) in 2016.
Jack Teeling of Teeling Whiskey said: “The US market is by far the most important market for Irish whiskey and it is beginning to go through significant premiumisation. Given the size of the opportunity, when a chance came up to partner with Bacardi through their new national distribution partnership and unique route-to-market model with Southern Glazer’s, it was too good not to take.
“Joining forces with a partner of this calibre in the largest market for Irish whiskey is an important strategic development for us and is testament to what Teeling Whiskey has achieved over the past five years.”
© 2017 - Checkout Magazine by Donna Ahern
