Bacardi, the largest privately held spirits company in the world, made an initial investment in Stillhouse in 2014 and has provided additional funding and strategic support to the company over the years. This acquisition now brings the brand fully into the Bacardi portfolio.
Stillhouse packages its products in stainless steel flasks to provide a one-of-a-kind and unbreakable format that “can go where glass can’t”. Its family of clear whiskeys have six expressions – original, apple crisp, peach tea, coconut, mint chip and spiced cherry. It also produces Black Bourbon (a whisky blend mellowed in small batch coffee beans) and Classic Vodka (which is filtered through sugar maple charcoal).
“We have always admired the Stillhouse brand for its innovation, disruption of categories, and marketing ingenuity,” says Bacardi, commenting on the acquisition. “We believe in the brand’s growth potential and are excited to continue the pioneering vision that the Founder set for Stillhouse.”
The brand will be housed in Bacardi’s North America business division, while Stillhouse founder and CEO Brad Beckerman will step away from the business to pursue other opportunities.
Beckerman has dismissed a prior lawsuit he brought against Bacardi and other parties (in March, Beckerman sued Bacardi Limited and others for $100m for 'extortion, fraud, financial malfeasance and more'), and no payment, settlement or concession of any kind was made by Bacardi or any other party.
The acquisition was consummated on the same terms proposed by Bacardi prior to the commencement of the litigation.