Campari Group is selling Bisquit & Dubouché Cognac and Cabo Wabo Tequila to Cobblestone Brands. The transaction, announced on 29 July 2026 and expected to close by the end of October, is more than a routine asset transfer. It shows how management attention is being reallocated across the spirits industry.
For Campari, the sale continues a deliberate strategy of concentrating resources on a smaller set of priority brands, following earlier divestments that included the €100 million sale of Averna and Zedda Piras. Bisquit & Dubouché, bought from Distell for €52.5 million in 2017, carries more than two centuries of heritage and retains a solid base in South Africa, one of cognac’s faster-growing markets, along with distribution across Europe, Asia Pacific and global travel retail. Cabo Wabo, founded by Sammy Hagar in 1996 and fully absorbed by Campari by 2010 after an initial $80 million stake purchase, still holds distribution in more than 20 US states and a recognisable lifestyle following. Yet both brands occupied secondary positions inside a portfolio increasingly focused on high-growth engines such as Aperol and Espolòn. In that environment, commercial attention became scarce.
Cobblestone, a Dublin-based independent, has spent the past several years building a route-to-market platform designed to restore focus to previously less-priority brands. After acquiring the Knappogue Castle and Clontarf Irish whiskey brands from Pernod Ricard in 2025, the company expanded its US team under Dennis Carr, established distribution partnerships in Asia Pacific and Africa, and strengthened its presence in the Middle East and global travel retail. CEO Brian Fagan called the latest acquisitions the most significant milestone in the company’s history. “Bisquit & Dubouché and Cabo Wabo are exactly the kind of brands we built this platform for,” he said. The statement is revealing. Cobblestone is not simply adding volume. It is taking brands that already possess heritage and residual loyalty, and applying the concentrated commercial attention those brands lacked inside a larger group.
Financial terms for the two brands have not been disclosed. Campari has indicated that the combined proceeds from this transaction and the concurrent sale of its Martinique rhum agricole portfolio are expected to reach around €30 million. When brands move out of a large group’s priority set, their transaction value is shaped more by the need for a clean exit and reduced complexity than by past strategic acquisition costs. Buyers with dedicated platforms can then apply the focused attention those brands previously lacked.
The transaction points to a wider pattern. Large groups are shedding brands that no longer justify sustained managerial bandwidth. Smaller platforms with clear route-to-market infrastructure are stepping in to provide it. Legacy brands with genuine stories are not vanishing. They are moving to owners better positioned to give them continuous attention. In an industry where capital remains available but focus is finite, this reallocation is likely to continue.
