Billionaire spirits empresario John Paul DeJoria is expanding his portfolio announcing today the purchase of Waterloo Gin for an undisclosed sum.
Created by Treaty Oak Distilling, one of the first craft distilleries in Texas, Waterloo Gin was launched in 2009, taking inspiration from Austin’s original name, Waterloo. The gin brand’s flagship No. 9 Gin is distilled with nine local botanicals including lavender, grapefruit, and pecan. The brand’s other expression Waterloo Antique Gin is aged like bourbon, spending two years in first-use medium char American white oak barrels. One of the first craft distilleries in Texas, Treaty Oak also produces whiskey and ready-to-drink cocktails.
“Waterloo is an extraordinarily high-quality, innovative and world-class spirit, a gin I’m certain that people will enjoy,” said DeJoria in a release. “I’m very honored for the opportunity to help grow this incredible brand, and share Waterloo Gin with more bartenders, retailers, and consumers all across the country.”
The purchase is separate from DeJoria’s investment in Round 2 Spirits, the Texas-based spirits company founded in partnership earlier this year with former Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits (SGWS) leadership. Round 2 Spirits acquired an existing operation – Whiskey Hollow Distillery, located roughly an hour north of Dallas – providing a large footprint to expand production. The company introduced Weber Ranch 1902 Vodka in May, a vodka distilled from 100% Blue Weber Agave, the source material for tequila.
In 1989 DeJoria and partner Martin Crowley founded Patrón, scaling the brand into a pioneer for premium-plus tequila in the 1990s.They sold it to Bacardi for $5.1 billion in 2018 shortly after Pernod Ricard bought out Avion Tequila and Diageo acquired George Clooney’s Casamigos. DeJoria is also known for co-founding the Paul Mitchell line of hair products
With Waterloo Gin, it appears DeJoria – who is based in Austin – is bullish on Texas spirits.
“John Paul DeJoria has a long history of investing in dynamic companies and brands, across a wide spectrum of industries,” said Waterloo Gin’s newly appointed CEO Justin Meigs. “JP sees tremendous potential in growing Waterloo Gin into a successful national brand.”
Meigs was previously an original member of the Empress Gin executive team that launched and grew the brand to over 260,000 annual case sales in five years, prior to the company’s sale to Milestone Brands in 2022. Now, he’ll oversee a “comprehensive refresh” of packaging and imagery for Waterloo, with expanded national distribution early next year. The recipe, production process, and brand name for Waterloo Gin will not change. The brand is currently available through Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) in Texas and Breakthru Beverage in Florida.
Waterloo sits in the ultra gin segment ($35+), where gin’s premiumization run seems to be the spirit’s only bright spot: the top end was the only segment to experience sales growth (+15.2%) in the 52-week period ending June 15 in off-premise outlets, according to NIQ.
“I’m incredibly excited about this new chapter for the Waterloo brand, now in the capable hands of John Paul DeJoria and his talented team of spirits industry veterans,” said Daniel Barnes, the founder of Treaty Oak, in a release. “Their deep industry experience and passion for cultivating and growing brands gives me great confidence that Waterloo Gin will continue to flourish and reach new consumers everywhere.”
A few other players are also betting on a coming ‘gin-aissance’ in the U.S. although many of them are hedging their bets on global offerings: this year Spirit of Gallo backed Mexico City’s Condesa Gin and Emma Watson’s Renais Gin entered the U.S. this summer.