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Deutsch Family invests in Tequila brand

Redemption Whiskey owner Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits has moved into Tequila with the purchase of a ‘partial ownership stake’ in Cantera Negra for an undisclosed sum.

Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits
Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits has made its first move into Tequila

US firm Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits has entered into a joint venture with Two Sons Imports, owner of Cantera Negra Tequila.

As part of the deal, Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits has taken a stake in the brand and will become the exclusive global sales and marketing partner for the Tequila.

Peter Deutsch, CEO of Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, said: “Our partnership with Two Sons is the culmination of a four-year search for the right Tequila brand and the right partners.

“Cantera Negra represents a critical addition to our five-year strategy to help us scale our luxury spirits business by providing consumers with an exceptional quality Tequila option to choose instead of more mass-produced offerings.”

Available in 28 states, Cantera Negra is described as a ‘rapidly growing’ Tequila brand in the US. In the 12 months to September 2022, the brand shipped 20,000 cases.

Don Alberto Becherano established a proprietary method for making the Tequila more than four decades ago. The Becherano family then sold the brand to Two Sons Imports years later.

“When we first acquired the Cantera Negra brand, we knew that we would one day need to partner with a much larger company for the brand to reach its full potential,” said Two Sons Imports chairman Lance Gildner, who founded the company in 2015.

“We are thrilled with our partnership with Bill [Deutsch, chairman and founder] and [his son] Peter Deutsch. They are among the most professional and transparent partners we’ve met, and Deutsch Family is one of the fastest-growing wine and spirits companies in the US.”

Alberto and his son, Dan Becherano, continue to produce the Cantera Negra portfolio which includes a range of ultra-premium, sipping Tequilas.

The portfolio includes silver, reposado, añejo, and extra añejo Tequilas, and an agave-based coffee liqueur.

Cantera Negra Café is said to be one of the only coffee liqueurs made with 100% blue agave that is available in the US.

Cantera Negra, which means ‘black quarry’ in Spanish, takes its name from the black volcanic rock found in the soil of the agave fields of Jalisco, Mexico.

The Tequilas are rested in custom coal-fired barrels and the brand said it does not use additives.

According to an Impact Databank report cited by the brand, Tequila was the third-biggest spirits category in the US by volume and surpassed American whiskey in dollar terms last year.

The Tequila’s US$40-plus sector is expected to account for more than a quarter of the market in 2022 as it continues to grow much faster than the total spirits category, Impact data showed.

In addition to American whiskey brand Redemption, the Deutsch Wine & Spirits portfolio includes Bib & Tucker Bourbon, Canadian whisky Masterson’s Rye, Luksusowa Vodka and Gray Whale Gin.

The company was recently banned from selling Redemption Whiskey in its current packaging after Diageo was granted an injunction by a US court in a trademark battle. Diageo said Redemption infringes on the design of its Bulleit whiskey brand.

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