Brown-Forman ends Pabst Brewing partnership for Jack Daniel’s flavored malt beverages in U.S.
Brown-Forman to bring Jack Daniel’s flavored malt beverages in-house as it strengthens ready-to-drink strategy.
USA – Brown-Forman and Pabst Brewing Company have mutually agreed to end Pabst’s role in producing and distributing Jack Daniel’s flavored malt beverages (FMBs) in the United States.
The five-year agreement, which has covered the supply, sales, marketing and distribution of Brown-Forman’s FMB portfolio, will conclude on 7 July.
Under the new arrangement, Brown-Forman will “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”.
The partnership included products such as Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails, Jack Daniel’s Bolder, Jack Daniel’s Hard Tea and el Jimador Spiked Bebidas. Since 2021, Pabst has exclusively produced, sold, marketed and distributed these beverages across the US market.
The Texas-headquartered brewer also held the rights to develop new FMB products, “which led to the introduction of Jack Daniel’s Bolder, Jack Daniel’s Hard Tea and El Jimador Spiked Bebidas”, Brown-Forman said.
In recent years, Brown-Forman has expanded its presence in ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, including the co-branded Jack & Coca-Cola SKU, which was recently extended to include a lower-strength, larger-can format.
FMBs are widely classified as RTDs, as they are malt-based alcoholic premixes rather than spirit-based products.
Robinson Brown, Managing Director of the US & Canada at Brown-Forman, said: “We have enjoyed working with the talented team at Pabst over the last few years to drive growth and innovation across our FMB portfolio. 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.”
Brown-Forman is scheduled to report its fiscal third-quarter results to the end of January on 4 March.
For the first half of the current financial year, group sales totalled $1.96bn, flat compared with the same period in 2024-25.
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