New spirits group Magellan & Cheers has acquired Spanish vermouth brand Perucchi, marking its first acquisition.

Magellan & Cheers was founded and is led by the former CEO of Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine, Jean-Noël Reynaud. The group aims to create an alliance of high-quality artisan brands.

Perucchi is a 150-year-old brand from Badalona. Best known for its vermouth, made from wines, mistelles, herbs, plants and roots, Perucchi also markets a number of other products, including a range of liqueurs. 

Magellan & Cheers plans to increase Perucchi’s distribution, with the aim of reaching countries such as the US and Italy, as well as ‘achieve a presence’ across high-end supermarkets, specialist wholesalers and e-commerce platforms.

Reynaud said that he foresees quadrupling Perucchi’s sales over the next five years. 

“Perucchi is one of the real gems of the spirits market,” said Reynaud. “It is a brand that can boast of its history and which has managed to grow without forgetting its artisan, sustainable and local values. Indeed, the same ageing tanks and vats installed when the company was founded are still used today to age the vermouth. It is now time to encourage the brand and enable it to reach a much wider market without changing its DNA.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.