Brown-Forman is set to take full control of the Country Cocktails flavoured malt beverage (FMB) extension of Jack Daniel’s in the US from partner Pabst Brewing Co.
The five-year arrangement, which has covered the supply, sales, marketing and distribution of Brown-Forman’s FMBs will come to an end on 7 July. The mutually agreed arrangement will see Brown-Forman “oversee the supply chain and commercial operations for these brands, aligning them with the company’s broader strategic focus on the ready-to-drink category”.
Having commenced in 2021 with the four-strong Country Cocktails line, which includes the Black Jack Cola (above), Downhome Punch, Lynchburg Lemonade and Southern Peach variants, Texas-headquartered Pabst had also held rights to develop new FMBs, “which led to the introduction of Jack Daniel’s Bolder, Jack Daniel’s Hard Tea and El Jimador Spiked Bebidas”, Brown-Forman said.
Since then, the American whiskey giant has expanded its presence in RTDs with the co-branded Jack & Coca-Cola SKU, which was bolstered to include a lower-strength, larger-can format last month.
“We have enjoyed working with the talented team at Pabst over the last few years to drive growth and innovation across our FMB portfolio,” said Brown-Forman’s MD of the US & Canada, Robinson Brown. “Moving forward, bringing these brands in-house allows us to take greater control of our ready-to-drink strategy during a period of increased consumer demand.
“By centralising our efforts, we are better positioned to accelerate the portfolio’s momentum and maximise its future impact.”
FMBs are also widely classified as RTDs, being malt-based alcoholic premixes rather than spirit-based.
Brown-Forman is scheduled to report its results from fiscal Q3 – to the end of January – on Wednesday (4 March). For the first half of the current financial year, group sales sat at US$1.96bn, a flat showing versus the corresponding six months in 2024-5.
