Diageo is adding another brand to its roster. On Monday, the company announced it is acquiring Aviation gin from Ryan Reynolds and his partners at Davos Brands. The acquisition reportedly includes an initial payment of $335 million, along with an additional $275 million dependent on sales over the next decade.
“We are confident that Aviation American Gin will continue to shape and drive the growth of super premium gin in North America and we are looking forward to working with Ryan Reynolds and the Davos Brands team to accelerate future growth,” said Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes in a press release.
Aviation gin was first created in 2006 by Oregon-based House Spirits Distillery. Davos then acquired the brand in 2016. In September 2018, Reynolds invested in the New Western Dry Gin, bringing on a slew of humorous campaigns starring the Deadpool actor and other celebrity friends. In October 2019, VinePair rated Aviation as the top celebrity spirits brand.
Drawing upon VinePair Audience Insights, our “Year in Data” report covered gin’s recent boom earlier this year.
“[O]ur data predicted that gin’s moment had finally arrived stateside in 2018, when reader interest in gin and gin-related brands doubled from the first two quarters to the last two quarters. Within the spirits category in 2019, our readers’ interest in gin grew 30 percent year-over-year, eclipsing rum and scotch to become the fifth most popular spirit.”
According to Diageo’s press release, Aviation is the second-largest premium gin brand in the U.S., with sales growing by more than 100 percent in 2019.
With gin’s growing popularity, Reynolds and partners are sure to cash in on the lucrative deal.
