Sazerac Purchases Strategic Interest in Bittermens

Mar 3, 2017 |

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAZERAC COMPANY PURCHASES
STRATEGIC INTEREST IN BITTERMENS, LLC

Current Owners to Stay on to Lead the Company

NEW ORLEANS, LA (March 3, 2017) One of the oldest producers of cocktail bitters in the United States is joining forces with the company that helped spearhead the modern bitters resurgence, as Sazerac purchases a strategic interest in Bittermens. The current owners, Avery and Janet Glasser will continue to lead the business and Sazerac will manage the sales, marketing, and distribution of all Bittermens brands.

Sazerac’s involvement in the bitters category dates back to the 1830s, when Antoine Amedie Peychaud, owner of a New Orleans apothecary on Royal Street, treated his friends to brandy toddies of his own recipe, including his “Peychaud’s Bitters,” made from a secret family recipe. This quaff would be the precursor to the classic Sazerac Cocktail.  Peychaud’s Bitters has lived on through the Sazerac Company’s rich and storied history some 180 years later.  Sazerac produces Peychaud’s Bitters along with Regans’ Orange Bitters at its Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco in 2007, Avery and Janet Glasser took a blend of cacao, citrus peel, chili peppers and other botanicals and created their first ever batch of bitters. These Xocolatl Mole Bitters created such a demand that eventually the Glassers launched America’s first contemporary bitters company, Bittermens.

“The synergy between Avery and Janet’s work in the contemporary cocktail scene combined with our historical roots made for a natural fit between Sazerac and Bittermens,” said Mark Brown, president and chief executive officer, the Sazerac Company.  “We are looking forward to meshing together the creativity of the Glassers with our team of marketing and sales experts to strengthen the overall bitters and cocktail modifiers category.

“We are thrilled to find a company whose vision, values and corporate culture so perfectly complements ours,” said Bittermens Co-Founder Avery Glasser. “The great things that we will be able to do as part of the Sazerac family feel limitless.”

The Sazerac/Bittermens purchase closed on Friday, March 3, 2017. The purchase price is not being disclosed.

 

About Bittermens

At the forefront of the modern modifiers movement is Bittermens. Founded by Avery and Janet Glasser after a bitters making event in 2007, Bittermens has grown to become one of America’s largest creators and suppliers of all natural, GMO Free, certified kosher cocktail bitters. In recent years, Bittermens’ portfolio has grown to include the Speed Craft line of all natural syrups, a series of bitter liqueurs, and DALA Spirits, their Icelandic-produced trio of New-Nordic Spirits. Joining The Sazerac Company in 2017, Bittermens is still managed by its founders out of its Portland, Oregon offices.

About the Sazerac Company

Sazerac is one of America’s oldest family owned, privately held distillers with operations in Louisiana, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, New Hampshire, Maryland, California, United Kingdom, France, Australia and Canada. For more information on Sazerac, please visit www.sazerac.com.     

Media Contacts
For Bittermens: Avery Glasser, avery@bittermens.com 646 810-9564
For Sazerac: Amy Preske, apreske@sazerac.com 502-696-5957

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