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International Beverage has announced its acquisition of the New Zealand distillery Cardrona Distillery. The acquisition includes the Cardrona Distillery and visitor centre near Wanaka in New Zealand’s Crown Range Mountains, plus Cardrona’s portfolio of brands including Cardrona single malt whisky, The Reid Vodka, The Source Gin and the Rose Rabbit liqueurs. Founded in 2015, Cardrona Distillery handcrafts its spirits from grain to glass on-site, starting with just three ingredients: pure Cardrona alpine water, malted barley and distillers’ yeast. Following International Beverage’s recent acquisition of the Larsen Cognac business, the deal aims to give the global drinks business a foothold in the New World spirits category, complementing its Scotch whisky and spirits brands which include Old Pulteney, Speyburn and Caorunn Gin. International Beverage will focus on investment in the purpose-built distillery site and maximising the potential of Cardrona’s brands in the core New Zealand, UK and USA markets. Cardrona Distillery founder and managing director, Desiree Reid, commented: “I’m thrilled that International Beverage shares our belief in Cardrona’s quality and potential as we embark upon the next chapter of our story together. I look forward to working with their team to bring our spirits to more people in markets around the world in the future.” Malcolm Leask, International Beverage’s managing director, UK, said: “A warm welcome to Desiree and everyone at Cardrona Distillery to International Beverage. We are delighted to have their skilled team and exceptional craft spirits join our business. The team has done an excellent job in building Cardrona’s super-premium brands to date with so much integrity, quality and potential for the future.”