Brown-Forman Corporation, a family company that owns Jack Daniel's American whiskey, among other major brands, has acquired the Gin Mare gin brand, made in Vilanova i la Geltrú by MG Distilleries. Following the completion of the transaction, which has been under wraps for nearly a year, Brown-Forman will add Gin Mare and Gin Mare Capri to its product portfolio.
Brown-Forman brands employ some 5,200 people worldwide and its products are sold in more than 170 countries. The company also owns brands such as Finlandia vodka, BenRiach malt whiskey or Herradura or El Jimador tequilas.
Neither Brown-Forman, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, nor MG Distilleries have wanted to reveal the amount of an agreement signed under confidentiality early yesterday morning. The president of Distilleries MG, Manel Giró, yesterday expressed his satisfaction at closing an operation that could lead to great growth for Gin Mare in the United States, where until now it had not been very present. Distilleries MG will continue to make its gin in the capital of Garraf for at least the next ten years. The intention is to maintain the facilities in Vilanova i la Geltrú.
In the last year, MG invoiced 60 million euros, with three million bottles of Gin Mare, and a growth of 20% compared to 2019. This year, the company expects to invoice 25% more. The president of Distilleries MG highlighted yesterday the merit of a Catalan gin that has been ranked among the five most expensive in the world. According to Giró, his success in just a decade is unprecedented in Spain. Only two years after its launch in 2010, they had already multiplied their sales by five. In 2011, it sold 120,000 bottles of Gin Mare and ten years later it already reached 2.5 million units, at a price of 37 euros.
