Bacardi buys St-Germain elderflower liqueur

Bacardi has acquired premium elderflower liqueur brand St-Germain, and plans to roll it out on an international scale.

Bacardi has paid an undisclosed sum for French elderflower liqueur brand St-Germain

St-Germain elderflower liqueur was launched six years ago in France by The Cooper Spirits Company. Its founder Robert Cooper will continue to work with Bacardi as brand guardian and spokesperson as the brand builds on its existing presence in the US and other global markets.

Barry Kabalkin, vice chairman of Bacardi, said he expected St-Germain to become an iconic product amongst its portfolio of international brands.

“St-Germain is set to follow other successful Bacardi acquisitions of cutting-edge brands—Grey Goose super-premium vodka, Bombay Sapphire gin and Patròn tequila, in which Bacardi owns a significant minority stake,” he said.

“We are thrilled to add St-Germain to our highly focused portfolio of iconic brands and honored to be working with Rob Cooper who is one of the industry’s most successful innovators.”

As part of his new role, Cooper will continue to head bartender support program L’Equipe St-Germain .

“Bartenders and mixologists are true artists and have been incredibly supportive and gracious to spend time with me to learn about my vision behind St-Germain,” he said.

“Bacardi understands the critical importance and stature of mixologists in the spirits industry and will further develop the initiatives we have started. With the resources of Bacardi, this is really exciting.

“With Bacardi’s help, St-Germain can now become a truly international brand. That’s something that would have been difficult for me to achieve as a small, creative brand-building company.”

St-Germain recently revealed the launch of a US$1,000 ‘modern-vintage’ bicycle designed to carry a bottle of the liqueur.