Campari, the Italian spirits firm, has announced it has taken a majority stake in the spirits firms Licorera Ancho Reyes and Casa Montelobos, respectively the owners of the “super premium” spicy liqueur Ancho Reyes and mezcal Montelobo, for $35.7 million.
Ancho Reyes is described as a natural and authentic liqueur made from ancho and poblano chiles cultivated in the volcano-enriched soils of Puebla, Mexico, and is said to offer an ideal fit to mixology as a foundation for innovative cocktails. Montelobos, meanwhile, is claimed to be an artisanal mezcal in which “a successful expression of respect for tradition” is “combined with desire for experimentation”.
In 2018, the core market for Ancho Reyes and Montelobos was the USA, with combined sales of the two brands amounting to around $7 million.
Commenting on the launch, Campari CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz said: “We are very pleased to enrich our offering with two super premium brands, Ancho Reyes spicy liqueur and Montelobos mezcal: they give us the opportunity to add a unique and versatile liqueur with a strong international potential, riding the very positive mixology trend, as well as to enter the premium and high performing mezcal category”.
Source: Campari