Bacardi buys Patron as spirit industry heats up, 'Bar Rescue' host Jon Taffer says
Bacardi is buying Patron for $5 billion dollars and 'Bar Rescue' host Jon Taffer on Thursday said it makes financial sense.
"These brands perform in two places, on-premise in bars and restaurants or off-premise, in liquor stores where it's consumed at other places," Taffer told the FOX Business' Stuart Varney on "Varney & Co."
Taffer said special extensions to the brand including special reserves, special ages and small batch additions will allow Bacardi to expand on the Patron brand and create additional revenue.
"Bacardi owns Grey Goose Vodka, Dewar’s Scotch and now Patron Tequila. It really rounds out their portfolio," he added.
Taffer said spirits are very popular and pointed out how distilleries and consumers are interested in popular brands.
"What's interesting is distilleries and brands most Americans have heard of... are selling for hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars now. The spirit industry is hot and there's a lot of dollars spent on brands, but keep in mind these brands last a long, long time," he said.
So what are consumers drinking? Taffer said vodka has taken a hit, while whiskey is "huge." He also pointed out how millennials are drinking less beer and consuming more wine."Right now the weak spot seems to be on the beer side," he added.
When Varney asked Taffer what the next big spirit drink will be he replied; "I think the trend of flavored spirits... the pendulum is swinging back to high quality, not a 5 minute cocktail."