By Abigail Summerville
NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - Spirits company Sazerac has agreed to invest in canned cocktail brand SIPMARGS, which counts social media influencer Alix Earle as an investor, as the Buffalo Trace Bourbon maker continues to pursue Gen Z consumers, the company told Reuters on Wednesday.
Sazerac and SIPMARGS, which makes sparkling margaritas, have entered into an exclusive distribution relationship. The size of Sazerac’s investment could not be learned.
Sazerac last month announced
an investment in Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila brand, and it has made several acquisitions in the growing ready-to-drink (RTD) category including BuzzBallz, known for its spherical bottles, and Dirty Shirley.
The American spirits group has also been pursuing its Louisville, Kentucky neighbor Brown-Forman. Privately held Sazerac last month offered to buy the Jack Daniel’s maker for around $15 billion but its bid was rejected on Tuesday. Brown-Forman and France’s Pernod-Ricard had been in merger talks that have since ended.
Founded in 2020, SIPMARGS raised $3 million in 2025 from investors including Earle and venture capital firm Palm Tree Crew, co-founded by musician Kygo.
The 25-year-old Earle, who has roughly 8.5 million TikTok followers, has also invested in other beverage brands like Poppi and GORGIE.
“We’ve built an incredibly engaged community around SIPMARGS, but partnering with Sazerac gives us the infrastructure and distribution power to reach consumers on a completely different level,” Earle said in a statement to Reuters. “It allows us to expand nationally, grow faster, and compete alongside some of the biggest names in the beverage industry while still staying true to what makes us special.”
Sazerac traces its roots back to the 1850s and is owned by the Goldring family. It generates over $6 billion of annual net sales and has over 500 brands including Svedka Vodka and Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey.
The company has a long track record of dealmaking, acquiring around 60 brands in the last decade.
(Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York, editing by Echo Wang and Cynthia Osterman)
