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Proof Drinks co-founder James McDermott dies

James McDermott, co-founder of UK spirits distributor Proof Drinks and Cazcabel Tequila, has died at the age of 47.

Proof Drinks
McDermott co-founded Proof Drinks in 2010

Proof Drinks paid tribute to McDermott and his “tenacity and entrepreneurship”, which were “instrumental in establishing the company as the UK’s largest independent spirits distributor”, the company said.

McDermott created the company with Paul Ferguson in 2010, and together, the pair assembled a portfolio of brands that now includes Cazcabel, Lyre’s, Duppy Share, Finlandia, Ramsbury, Brockmans, Heaven Hill and Gruppo Montenegro.

Under McDermott’s leadership, the company has created a team of more than 60 staff and expanded into the Asia Pacific region with the launch of Proof Drinks Australia, which is led by Drew Doty.

McDermott is also the co-founder of Cazcabel Tequila, which reached 40,000 cases sold annually in four years and later went on to become the leading 100% agave Tequila in the UK on-trade.

Other brands that McDermott has built include Cut Rum and Blend liqueurs, which he co-founded under the Vamos Drinks Company.

Paul Ferguson, co-founder of Proof Drinks, said: “We are all deeply saddened by James’s passing. He was a true friend to so many, both within Proof and across the industry. We built Proof together from the ground-up, with our personal values driving the business forward; finding the people, brands and partners that believed in our vision and embodied how we felt about the industry we loved.

“It is heartbreaking to have lost James so suddenly, he will be so greatly missed by everyone.”

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