Former Patrón executives launch spirits venture
The founder of Patrón Tequila, John Paul DeJoria, has reunited with the brand’s former leadership team and a former executive of Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits to launch a new Texas-based spirits company.
Round 2 Spirits has been created by DeJoria, former Patrón chief exec, Ed Brown, former chief marketing officer of Patrón and Grey Goose, Lee Applbaum, former president international and chief operating officer of Patrón, Dave Wilson, and former chief operating officer of SGWS, Brad Vassar.
The newly launched company will focus on the development of new spirits brands.
“We had an amazing run together, Ed Brown built a world-class team at Patrón and led that brand into the history books as one of the most successful spirits in the entire beverage alcohol industry,” said DeJoria, who founded Patrón in 1989.
“Along the way, all of us became very close and trusted friends, and we just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to work together again, for a round two.”
Also joining the leadership team at Round 2 Spirits is Antonio Rodriguez, the former production director at Patrón Tequila in Mexico.
“In addition to our founding partners, we’ve brought together a team of top industry talent who all share a commitment to building high-quality, world-class artisanal spirits,” said Applbaum.
“Our goal is to leverage our collective experience to identify scalable consumer opportunities for innovative products that aren’t being addressed by today’s brands. We’re looking at trends across the spirits marketplace to develop and build brands that capture consumers’ imagination and create memorable, shared experiences.”
Round 2 Spirits launch its debut product nationally later this year.