Constellation Brands Increases Investment in Tennessee Whiskey Maker Nelson’s Green Brier™ Distillery
May 02 2019 - 9:00AM
Constellation Brands Increases Investment in Tennessee Whiskey
Maker Nelson’s Green Brier™ Distillery
Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), a leading
beverage alcohol company, announced today it acquired a majority
stake in Nelson’s Green Brier™ Distillery, marking Constellation’s
first ventures investment to be fully integrated into the business.
Nelson’s Green Brier is a craft Tennessee whiskey distillery,
co-founded by brothers Andy and Charlie Nelson, that produces a
variety of award-winning offerings under the Belle Meade™ Bourbon
brand and is set to release a Tennessee Whiskey later this year.
The majority stake by Constellation allows for Nelson’s Green Brier
to continue to operate with its existing management team led by
Andy and Charlie Nelson, and its employees running the day-to-day
operations.
Through Constellation’s venture capital group,
an initial minority investment was made in Nelson’s Green Brier in
2016. After more than three years of collaborating, sharing
consumer insights, and gaining deeper knowledge of two of the top
trends in the spirits category – craft and whiskey – Constellation
further solidified its goal of broadening its higher-end spirits
portfolio by increasing its interest in the Nashville, Tenn. based
distillery.
“Our ventures group was created to identify
up-and-coming brands, and we’re excited about one of our first
ventures investments being folded into our portfolio,” said
Constellation’s President and Chief Executive Officer Bill
Newlands. “Whiskey is a red-hot category, and Tennessee whiskey
fills a white space for us. Once integrated into our wine and
spirits division and benefitting from our market reach, distributor
partnerships and consumer insights, we see Nelson’s Green Brier
scaling even further in the next few years.”
Originally established by Charles Nelson in
1860, Nelson’s Green Brier became one of the most successful
distilleries in the U.S. until 1909, when Prohibition became law in
Tennessee and the distillery was forced to close. Nearly 100 years
later, Charles’s great-great-great grandsons, Andy and Charlie
Nelson, rebuilt the distillery and began producing the soon-to-be
released Tennessee Whiskey using the original recipe Charles Nelson
used prior to Prohibition.
“Our family distillery was one of the largest
producers of whiskey and spirits in the country prior to
Prohibition,” said Charlie Nelson. “Ever since we revived the
company, our dream has been to return the Nelson’s Green Brier
profile to the national, and even international, marketplace. The
relationship we’ve enjoyed over the past several years with
Constellation has made it clear they’re the ideal partners to help
us achieve the kind of growth we’ve been moving toward all along,
while honoring the principles our customers have come to
appreciate.”
“We are so thankful for the community of
supporters and fans who have been with us since the beginning,”
said Andy Nelson. “One of the things that’s really attractive about
Constellation is that they understand the value we, as family
members and founders, have. Working together, we are committed to
taking Nelson’s Green Brier beyond our region.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Constellation
BrandsConstellation Brands (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), a
Fortune 500® company, is a leading international producer and
marketer of beer, wine and spirits with operations in the U.S.,
Mexico, New Zealand, Italy and Canada. Constellation is the No. 3
beer company in the U.S. with high-end, iconic imported beer brands
such as the Corona and Modelo brand families and Pacifico. Its
high-quality wine and spirits brands include the Robert Mondavi and
The Prisoner Wine Company brand families, Kim Crawford, Ruffino,
Meiomi and SVEDKA Vodka. The company’s portfolio also includes a
collection of highly-rated wine brands such as SIMI and Mount
Veeder Winery wine brands, High West Whiskey and Casa Noble
Tequila, as well as new wine innovations such as Cooper & Thief
and Spoken Barrel.
Based in Victor, N.Y., the company believes that
industry leadership involves a commitment to brand building, our
trade partners, the environment, our investors and to consumers
around the world who choose our products when celebrating big
moments or enjoying quiet ones. Since its founding in 1945,
Constellation’s ability to see, meet and stay ahead of shifting
consumer preferences and trends across total beverage alcohol has
fueled our success and made us the No. 1 growth contributor in
beverage alcohol in the U.S.
To learn more, follow us on Twitter @cbrands and visit
www.cbrands.com.
About Nelson’s Green Brier
DistilleryWith a proud history reaching back well over a
century, Nelson's Green Brier Distillery was revived in 2014 by
brothers Andy and Charlie Nelson, whose
great-great-great-grandfather's company was one of the largest
producers of Tennessee whiskey in the United States in the
pre-prohibition era. Now anchoring Nashville, Tennessee’s colorful
Marathon Village, the distillery offers a portfolio of award
winning small-batch Belle Meade
Bourbons, both in classic labels as well as
innovative varieties within the Special Cask Finish line of Cognac,
Sherry, and Madeira finishes, and the limited release Craftsman
Cask Collection. Their Tennessee Whiskey, developed from the
original family recipe, can be enjoyed in various age varieties
through the White Whiskey and First 108 labels. The highly
anticipated reincarnation of the family’s flagship spirit, the
four-year aged Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey will be
launched in 2019. Louisa’s Liqueur honors the Nelson’s
great-great-great grandmother, and is the first offering of their
line of liqueurs. The Nelson's hand-crafted products have received
praise from dozens of media outlets, and multiple Double Gold medal
accolades from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
To learn more, please visit
www.greenbrierdistillery.com, or Instagram at @NGBDistillery. For
specific questions on Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery please
contact Publicist Simone Rathle at simone@simoneink.com or
703-534-8100.
MEDIA CONTACTS |
|
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS |
Mike McGrew |
773-251-4934 |
michael.mcgrew@cbrands.com |
Patty Yahn-Urlaub |
585-678-7483 |
patty.yahn-urlaub@cbrands.com |
Amy Martin |
585-678-7141 |
amy.martin@cbrands.com |
Bob Czudak |
585-678-7170 |
bob.czudak@cbrands.com |
|
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|
Tom Conaway |
585-678-7503 |
thomas.conaway@cbrands.com |
A downloadable PDF copy of this news release enhanced with
multimedia links can be found
here: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/60bd449e-c3b6-4154-aa62-727c523aa9fa
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