Sazerac, the privately held spirits group best known for Buffalo Trace Bourbon, has agreed to invest in SIPMARGS and will handle exclusive distribution of the canned sparkling margarita brand, the company said on Wednesday. SIPMARGS lists social media personality Alix Earle as an investor.
The firms did not disclose the financial terms of Sazerac's stake. The investment and distribution arrangement are part of Sazerac's ongoing efforts to court Gen Z consumers, the company said.
Sazerac has been active in the ready-to-drink, or RTD, segment. In recent weeks the company announced a separate investment in Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila. Over the past several years it has also acquired RTD and branded beverage assets including BuzzBallz, known for its spherical bottles, and Dirty Shirley.
Alongside those moves, Sazerac has pursued a much larger strategic play - a bid to acquire Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel's. The offer, reported last month at roughly $15 billion, was rejected on Tuesday. Brown-Forman and France's Pernod-Ricard had been in merger discussions that later ended.
Details on SIPMARGS' background were included in corporate information provided with the announcement. The brand was founded in 2020 and completed a $3 million funding round in 2025 with participation from investors such as Alix Earle and Palm Tree Crew, the venture capital firm co-founded by musician Kygo.
"We've built an incredibly engaged community around SIPMARGS, but partnering with Sazerac gives us the infrastructure and distribution power to reach consumers on a completely different level," Earle said in a statement. "It allows us to expand nationally, grow faster, and compete alongside some of the biggest names in the beverage industry while still staying true to what makes us special."
Earle is 25 years old and has roughly 8.5 million followers on TikTok. The statement noted she has previously invested in other beverage companies including Poppi and GORGIE. SIPMARGS produces sparkling margaritas in a canned format.
Sazerac traces its origins to the 1850s and remains under ownership of the Goldring family. The firm reports more than $6 billion in annual net sales and a portfolio that exceeds 500 brands, among them Svedka Vodka and Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey. The company disclosed it has completed about 60 brand acquisitions in the last decade.
Though the size of Sazerac's investment in SIPMARGS was not revealed, the partnership incorporates both capital and an exclusive distribution agreement that the companies say will enable national expansion. The announcement places SIPMARGS squarely within Sazerac's expanding RTD footprint, while highlighting the firm's continued interest in younger consumer segments and dealmaking across beverage categories.