Former Blue Run Spirits Executive Sammy Halpern Joins Desolas Mezcal

Miami, Florida – After a successful exit with Blue Run Spirits, Sammy Halpern joins  Desolas Mezcal as the Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder. In this role, Halpern will ensure Desolas reaches new heights by managing operations in Mexico, along with all distribution channels throughout the USA, Canada and beyond. Additionally, Halpern will work alongside GG Mirvis, the CEO and co-founder of Desolas, to develop and execute all sales and marketing strategies. 

Before joining Desolas Mezcal, Halpern was a managing partner at Blue Run Spirits, acting as the Global Brand Director. Alongside Shaylyn Gammon and Trey Wade, he was instrumental in helping build Blue Run into the brand it is today. In this role, Halpern was responsible for a 39-state distribution sales expansion and producing $15 million in sales globally in year 3 of the brand's existence. Before his Blue Run Spirits tenure, Halpern was a portfolio manager for the famed Moet Hennessy where he was tasked with building Moet Hennessy’s portfolio of wines, spirits and champagnes in the Florida market. In tandem with brand-building capabilities, Halpern has a wealth of knowledge of sales and distribution, after working at Coastal Wine and Spirits a division of Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits under Gene Sullivan. 

“As I now move onwards into the agave world I plan to bring ideas and strategies I learned while building Blue Run. I wish nothing but the best to the founders and the current team with Blue Run Spirits and look forward to continuing my career with Desolas Mezcal,” said Halpern. “Desolas Mezcal is the ideal brand to sink my teeth into with the growth in the agave sector right now. I love the brand's approach to mezcal, focusing on the San Luis Potosi region offering a lighter less smoky taste profile mezcal. As consumers continue to educate themselves on all the types of agave that Mexico has to offer it's only a matter of time before the entire world knows about Desolas Mezcal” 

One of the highest-awarded mezcals on the market, Desolas recently won double gold at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and platinum at the  2024 L.A. Spirits Awards, adding to its impressive list of accolades. Additional awards include Mezcal of the Year at the 2023 Bartender Spirit Awards, a gold medal at Tales of the Cocktail, and a double gold at the 2023 New York World Spirits Competition.  Forbes recently called it “One of the World’s Best Mezcals.”

Launched in 2020, the non-smoky and female-founded spirit brand is inspired by traditional time-honored techniques of mezcal production, the artisanal process of crafting the agave spirit, the natural elements of the sun and the land, and a focus on the deliberate journey of creation and discovery. The premium spirit boasts a smooth and balanced flavor with notes of citrus, black pepper and an elegant finish of vanilla.

Featured in Forbes, People, InTouch, OK!, VinePair and more, Desolas has quickly become a spirits favorite in part due to its unique, non-smoky flavor profile. Desolas is distributed in New York, Florida, Georgia, Colorado, Texas and California and continues to expand into new markets.