Skip to main content

Casamigos Tequila Sale Fetches $1 billion for George Clooney and Company

It’s not everyday a tequila brand is sold for $1 billion, especially one started by a celebrity like Casamigos.

Last month, however, alcohol giant Diageo bought Casamigos, the startup tequila brand built first as a hobby in Mexico by George Clooney and his buddies Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman, for $1 billion.

Recommended Videos

The deal includes $700 million in cash and $300 million in bonuses if Casamigos reaches sales goals. The founders will also remain on board to help guide the future, according to multiple reports, as they still taste every batch.

“We created Casamigos Tequila four years ago for us to drink personally and selling it for $1 billion is something we never could have imagined,” Gerber said. “We remain committed to our brand and look forward to our future with Diageo and continuing our work with our dedicated and passionate Casamigos team.”

In reality, four years ago the brand was started because Clooney and Gerber were told they had start a commercial brand when the distiller they worked with in Jalisco for a private tequila told them they were drinking too much. The pair had sought a distiller to make their own tequila after sharing so much of it at their neighboring vacation homes, a complex called Casamigos.

Casamigos Tequila george clooney
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Their tequila is supposedly one they can drink all day without a hangover and meant to be served straight or on the rocks, without a burn. Casamigos has three tequilas: blanco, anejo and reposado.

The quality of the liquid in the simple bottle is represented by the number of awards it has taken home from a variety of international competitions.

Casamigos is expected to sell more than 170,000 cases this year, a figure growing quickly for the small company. The speedy growth by the brand and the fact tequila sales grew 7.4 percent last year attracted Diageo, which also brands such as Johnnie Walker Scotch, Guinness and the tequila brand Don Julio.

It’s not the first, or last, start-up spirit acquisition with companies like Diageo, Brown-Forman, Remy Cointreau, Pernod Ricard and Constellation Brand on the hunt for the next hot brand. Last year, Constellation acquired High West Distillery for $160 million and this spring Pernod Ricard bought whiskey producer Smooth Ambler.

Now, Diageo expects to continue Casamigos’ growth, not just in the United States, but across the globe.

“It supports our strategy to focus on the high-growth super-premium-and-above segments of the category,” Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes said of the deal. “With the global strength of Diageo, we expect to expand the reach of Casamigos to markets beyond the U.S. to capitalize on the significant international potential of the brand.”

Pat Evans
Pat Evans is a writer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, focusing on food and beer, spirits, business, and sports. His full…
What is a lawnmower beer? The perfect summer drink, explained
What is a lawnmower beer?
Cheers beer bottles with sun in the background

Summer has officially begun for those living in the Northern Hemisphere. Regardless of where you live, this means seemingly endless sunny days, warm (to downright hot) temperatures, and possibly uncomfortable humidity guaranteed to make you sweat through your clothes at least once a week. Fear not. It's also the season of the lawnmower beer.

In my years of writing about alcohol (and mowing my fair share of lawns), I've imbibed an awful lot of lawnmower beers. This brings us to one crucial question: What is a lawnmower beer?
What is a lawnmower beer?

Read more
This new gadget makes smooth cold brew in just 15 minutes—no fridge required
Dash's Brew2Go is the cold brew maker everyone needs
Dash Brew2Go

If you ask me, cold brew coffee is the drink of every summer. Making cold brew at home is now even easier with the launch of Dash's new Brew2Go Portable Cold Brew System -- a compact, countertop gadget that delivers smooth, delicious cold brew in under 15 minutes. Unlike other methods of cold brew that require overnight refrigeration, this gadget streamlines the process, delivering bold cold brew in a flash. As coffee drinkers seek new ways to brew cafe favorites at home, products like the new Dash Brew2Go are quickly becoming fan-favorites for cold coffee lovers who want to save money, time, and effort (or who fail to plan to make overnight cold brew recipes).

With no more waiting overnight or long coffee shop lines, the new Dash Brew2Go could quickly become the go-to for making cold brew coffee at home. This innovative device allows coffee drinkers to brew up to 1.5 cups of cold brew coffee right from their countertop. Designed with convenience in mind, Brew2Go features one-touch brewing, a reusable filter, and a built-in travel cup with lid and silicone straw—perfect for your desk, beach bag, or morning commute.

Read more
Country singer Dierks Bentley is releasing a new, limited-release bourbon
Launched to coincide with his new album, Dierks Bentley is releasing a new whiskey
Whiskey glass

Dierks Bentley is a country music star. He also launched his own whiskey brand, ROW 94, in September 2024 in collaboration with the historic Green River Distilling Co. in Owensboro, Kentucky. Recently, the brand announced the release of a new, limited-release bourbon.
ROW 94 Broken Branches

Named for his new album, it was made in partnership with Lofted Custom Spirits at the Green River Distilling Co. It begins with a mash bill of 70% Kentucky-grown corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted and row barley. It's matured for at least five years in new, level 4 charred American oak barrels using "Branch Aging" with fire-toasted oak staves seasoned for up to twenty-four months.

Read more