Brown-Forman has finalised the acquisition of the Diplomático Rum brand and related assets from the Spanish Destillers United Group SL. The news coincides with the brand being ranked first on Drinks International Magazine’s top trending rums in the world and fourth bestselling rum brand in the world’s best bars, as sampled by the magazine for its annual brand report.
Drinks Magazine said that Diplomático Rum’s top trending spot is “normally an omen for progression in the bestselling list”, although it is in fierce contest with Diageo’s Guatemalan Zacapa.
“These two sweethearts of the rum world may be more supporting cast than protagonists in most bars (both were bestsellers in less than 5 per cent of those polled) but they are present among bars’ top three rums in 20 per cent of our sample,” the report says.
Meanwhile, Bacardi topped bestselling list for the fifth year running.
Lawson Whiting, President and CEO, Brown-Forman. “Today, we’re pleased to officially welcome more than 100 new employees to Brown-Forman as we close on our acquisition of the Diplomático Rum family of brands, and add the No 1 super-premium and ultra-premium rum to our portfolio.”
As part of the acquisition, Brown-Forman added an aging, bottling, and shipping production facility located in Panama to the company. Destillers United Group SL will continue to produce and age the unique, carefully-crafted, and complex Diplomático Rum in their original distillery at the foot of the Andes mountains.
