Mexican tequila mogul Guillermo Sauza’s recent visit to South Africa was to explore the premium spirits market and also hark back to tastes from 150 years ago.

There is a sizeable community of tequila-drinkers in Africa. And so it was that Guillermo Sauza, the CEO of Tequila Fortaleza, visited South Africa recently to explore the connoisseur market.
Fortaleza, a small-batch, hand-crafted, 100% agave tequila from the town of Tequila in Jalisco in Mexico, was launched in South Africa over a year ago.
“It is such a beautiful country with so many resources and just great people. Everywhere I’ve gone so far, I’ve been very impressed with the markets here,” said Sauza during his visit.
The fifth generation tequila mogul and founder of Tequila Los Abuelos was here to observe and understand how the tequila market continues to expand, saying people still need to be educated about the different blends.
“There is a big community that likes tequila in Africa. We saw people enjoying it in the bars we went to. There is a bartender community that likes it… [But] I think that there is much education that needs to be done.”
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/entrepreneurs/2018/10/24/the-comedian-with-spirit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The Comedian With Spirit</a>
Sauza, who has been working at the distillery in Mexico since his early teens, has mastered the art of traditional methods used by the Sauza patriarchs. The small, family-owned distillery, located on the slopes of an extinct volcano amongst maturing blue agave plants, is where Sauza makes tequila using the same production methods employed by his forefathers.
“We make it like it was made by my great-great-grandfather 150 years ago. This is how all tequila was made 150 years ago but as the market demand increased, people changed to automated machinery which of course changes the tastes that are there. Making it the old way is a taste from a period of time that has been long gone,” said Sauza.
“A baked potato in the microwave is a lot faster but it doesn’t taste the same as the baked potato in the oven. The baked potato in the oven takes longer and that is just one piece of the component that you would say changes. Are we the tequila for the mass market? No we are not. We are the tequila when you have been drinking tequila for a while or a fine spirit and you want to try it. We are the tequila for the 5% -10% of the market; the connoisseur market that understands what they are drinking. Otherwise you don’t see the value proposition, you could go into a bar and you can buy a four-dollar shot or you can buy an eight-dollar shot. At some point in your life, you’ll say I am worth that eight-dollar shot, I am going to drink better and not rasp up my throat.”

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From Mexico To Africa

Global spirits giant Bacardi Limited will acquire Patrón Spirits International AG, maker of the popular Patrón tequila, at an enterprise value of $5.1 billion, the companies announced on Monday.
Bacardi, the world’s largest private spirits business, already owns 30% of Patrón, which it purchased in 2008. Industry insiders have long <a href="https://www.winespiritsdaily.com/publications_daily.php?id=370" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hypothesized</a> that it would eventually buy out the tequila maker in full.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2018. It will enable Bacardi to add an additional brand-name liquor to a roster that already includes Grey Goose vodka, Dewar’s scotch whiskey and a fleet of eponymous rums.
As part of the acquisition, Patrón cofounder <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/john-paul-dejoria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Paul DeJoria</a> — who is currently worth an estimated $3.4 billion, according to Forbes—will sell his 70% stake in the company. Because Bacardi’s purchase price includes the assumption of Patrón’s debt (which is not publicly disclosed), it’s not yet clear how DeJoria’s net worth will change once the deal is completed.
DeJoria launched Patrón in 1989 with cofounder Martin Crowley, who died in 2003. Following a prolonged legal battle, DeJoria bought out the Crowley estate’s stake in the company and became Patrón’s majority owner in 2008, the same year Bacardi first invested.
In Monday’s press <a href="https://www.bacardilimited.com/bacardi-acquire-patron-tequila/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release</a>, he reflected on his legacy at the business. “Today… we produce more than three million cases of distilled spirits annually that are enjoyed around the world. I am proud of what our entire organization has accomplished,” he said. DeJoria will remain with the firm as “an ambassador for Patrón in the role of Chairman Emeritus.”
Monday’s announcement marks another milestone in DeJoria’s stratospheric ascent in business. He once slept in his car and sold shampoo door-to-door before he teamed with Paul Mitchell in 1980 to create his first entrepreneurial smash success, John Paul Mitchell Systems, known for its Paul Mitchell hair products. That company has grown from a $700 initial investment into a cosmetics heavyweight with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/cover-story/2017/11/03/lessons-ideas-100-greatest-living-minds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Lessons And Ideas By The 100 Greatest Living Business Minds</a>
In September 2017, DeJoria was added to Forbes’ list of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds. In an essay published in the magazine as part of that issue, he credited much of his success to his application of the “Golden Rule”: “Treat and pay your staff exactly the way you&#8217;d want to be treated if you were in their place,“ he wrote. &#8211; Written by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Noah Kirsch</a>, FORBES STAFF

Tag: tequila

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From Mexico To Africa

Bacardi To Acquire Patron Tequila In $5.1 Billion Deal; Billionaire Owner Will Cash Out