A little more than five years after selling Patrón Tequila for $5.1 billion, billionaire John Paul DeJoria is back in the alcohol business with a new target: gin.
DeJoria, also the founder of Paul Mitchell hair care, is preparing for an aggressive national expansion of Waterloo Gin, the premium Texas-based spirits brand he bought for an undisclosed amount in 2024. The brand plans to enter more than 20 states by the end of the first quarter of 2026, before going national by the end of the year.
“[It’s an] aggressive goal, but we think we have the brand to do it, the backing, the ownership group and our leadership team to get us to the promised land very quickly,” Bob MacNevin, Waterloo chief sales officer, told reporters.
Although alcohol consumption in the U.S. has reached an all-time low, pockets of opportunity remain for the super-premium spirits sector. Premium gin is expected to climb 3% between 2023 and 2028, according to IWSR. Super-premium and ultra-premium options are set to increase by 10% and 12%, respectively.
Gin is also seeing a renaissance at bars and other establishments as savory cocktails such as negronis come back in fashion. The alcohol was the only major spirit in the U.S. to post on-premise growth last year, MacNevin said, outpacing tequila, whiskey and vodka.
Spirit makers have found success targeting younger consumers with boutique gin brands and innovative flavors, ISWR said, two trends Waterloo hopes to play up with its national expansion. Waterloo recently underwent an extensive packaging refresh. It also debuted a new Prickly Pear & Rose flavor.
“Younger consumers, millennials and Gen Z are drinking less, but they’re drinking better, prior to prioritizing quality over quantity,” MacNevin said
Waterloo is also positioning itself as different from European gin makers through its focus on botanicals. Unlike a London dry, the brand doesn’t lead with juniper berry as its key component, instead leaning into floral and citrus notes including Texas grapefruit or Texas lavender.
MacNevin said Waterloo represents one of the few innovators within the gin category during the last five years. In addition to its prickly pear flavor, Waterloo also has a standard gin and a barrel-aged gin, which is aged for two years in American white oak barrels for an herbal complexity.
As Waterloo continues its expansion, the brand is also pushing consumers to rethink their relationship with gin. For many, the drink is associated with dusty gin and tonics or its ethanol-heavy taste.
“These younger folks that are just getting into gin right now have no clue how bad gin used to be,” MacNevin said. “We’re different. There’s nothing quite like the prickly pear and rose or the barrel-aged products in the marketplace today.”
Sarah Zimmerman
2025-11-03 16:27:00