Sazerac Company announced on April 28, 2026, a strategic partnership and financial investment in 818 Tequila, the brand founded by Kendall Jenner in Calabasas, California, that also hands the Kentucky spirits company exclusive U.S. sales and distribution rights. The dollar terms of the deal were not made public.
The announcement lands five years after Jenner launched the brand and arrives while 818's parent company is still fighting a Florida federal class action filed in September 2025 that questions whether some of its tequila meets the 100% agave standard printed on the label. Sazerac has separately been reported to be pursuing a much larger target, a roughly $15 billion bid for Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel's.
What the Sazerac deal actually covers
According to the companies' joint announcement, Sazerac is investing in 818 Tequila alongside an exclusive U.S. sales and distribution relationship, a structure meant to pair the brand's existing consumer traction with Sazerac's distribution network rather than fold 818 into Sazerac outright. Sazerac chief marketing officer Sara Saunders said in a statement that tequila continues to be a bright spot in spirits, driven by strong consumer interest across a growing range of occasions and price points, and that 818 stands apart due to its cultural relevance and commercial momentum. Jenner, in her own statement, called partnering with Sazerac the perfect next step as the brand looks to accelerate growth. Forbes reported that terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 818 president Lanay Jacobs has said the goal of the tie-up is to move the brand from its current standing as a top 15 U.S. tequila brand into the top 10.
How 818 built its business before Sazerac
818 Tequila launched in February 2021 through a production partnership with the Mexican distiller Grupo Solave, and takes its name from the telephone area code covering Calabasas and California's San Fernando Valley. The brand now sells four expressions, Blanco, Reposado, Añejo and an ultra-premium Eight Reserve, and has built an international footprint that includes the UK, Germany, Canada, China and the Caribbean. Tequila trade coverage has tied the brand's current production to NOM 1607, a Grupo Solave-affiliated distillery in Amatitán, Jalisco, after early bottlings were produced under a different NOM tied to a separate contract distillery. Grupo Solave itself took a minority ownership position in 818 in 2024 alongside the appointment of a new chief executive, deepening the tie between the brand and its Jalisco producer. The company has told trade outlets it posted double-digit volume growth for three straight years even as overall U.S. tequila sales growth slowed.
The label lawsuit still working through federal court
In September 2025, plaintiffs Lauren Negrin and Arturo Vallejo filed a class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against 818's parent entities, Calabasas Beverage Company and K & Soda, which trade as 818 Spirits. The plaintiffs allege that independent laboratory testing showed certain 818 products did not meet the 100% Blue Weber agave standard on the label, causing consumers to overpay for what they believed was a premium product. The defendants dispute the allegations and are seeking dismissal before the case reaches discovery. In a motion to dismiss, 818 argued that tequila production and labeling are governed by Mexico's Official Mexican Standards under the Tequila Regulatory Council and by U.S. label approval from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and that its product is certified under those standards. As of the Spirits Business's January 2026 report on the filing, the judge assigned to the case had not yet ruled on the motion to dismiss. In a statement, an 818 representative said the company's labeling meets every standard set by both U.S. and Mexican regulators and that it remains confident in its product and its process while declining to comment further on ongoing litigation. The case is one of several filed against celebrity and mainstream tequila brands over the past year, including suits naming Diageo's Casamigos and Don Julio, Michael Jordan's Cincoro and Costco's Kirkland Signature line, none of which has been resolved on the merits.
What this means
Nothing in the Sazerac announcement or the court record changes what is or is not known about any specific bottle of 818: the investment is a distribution and capital deal, and the Florida case remains an unproven allegation that the company denies. In Tequila Watch's database, 818 Reposado, the expression the wire item referenced, carries a TW Score of 56 of 95 and no third-party organic certification on file, a rating built well before this litigation surfaced and unrelated to it.