June 23, 2011 / by J Smoke Wallin / Make A Comment / Filed under Brand Management, Distributors, News, Pelican Brands, The Paddington Corporation
Pleased to share this announcement – Paddington Corp Merges with Pelican Brands forming Paddington Brands, LLC
FOR RELEASE June 23, 2011
Media contact:
Heather Carden
001-317-574-6408
The Paddington Corp Announces Merger With Pelican Brands
Indianapolis, IN USA – June 23, 2011 – The Paddington Corporation today announced the completion of a merger with Pelican Brands, LLC. The combined company will be known as Paddington Brands, LLC. Paddington is based in Carmel, IN and also has offices in Napa, CA and 3rd party warehousing in NJ and CA. Paddington owns Tequila 3 Amigos, the Napa Smith Brewery & Winery, and is the exclusive Importer and U.S. sales agent for a prestigious portfolio of wine and spirit brands.
Since January, Paddington, through outside investors, has injected nearly $1 million into the business to expand Napa Smith Beer and Tequila 3 Amigos in multiple markets throughout the US. The Company is committed to rolling out both brands nationally in 2011.
J. Smoke Wallin, Chairman & CEO of Paddington Brands said, “Paddington understands what today’s consumer wants– authentic, hand crafted brands with a great taste. Our team has deep industry knowledge of the distribution and retail tiers of the business providing a rapid national route-to-market in all segments of beverage alcohol.”
Our Brands
- Napa Smith Brewery & Winery: Napa Smith Beer, now available in 32 states, is a unique brand that brings the best of Napa Valley in quality and lifestyle to the fastest growing segment of the beverage industry, Craft Beer. Our brew master, Don Barkley, has been brewing amazing craft beers since 1979. Napa Smith Winery has produced award-winning wines in the past three years and is sold primarily in the Western U.S.
- Tequila 3 Amigos: Paddington’s partner in Tequila 3 Amigos is the Gonzalez family of Arizona and Mexico, where they have grown agave for generations. Paddington has announced partnerships for Tequila 3 Amigos with major NASCAR venues including Talladega, Phoenix International Raceway, California’s Auto Club Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Kansas, and Michigan International Speedways. Tequila 3 Amigos has had three named races in the past year including the 3 Amigos Tequila Talladega 250 ARCA race in April. The Company expects Tequila 3 Amigos to be distributed in over 25 states by year-end.
- Chase Distillery: Paddington also imports the Herefordshire, UK-based Chase Distillery’s Chase Vodka and Elderflower Liqueur and has launched it in ten states in the U.S..
- Paddington Wines: Since January 2011, Paddington has sold Agostón Wines from Spain into 4,085 Walgreens stores in thirty-one states. Agostón has also consistently received 90+ points in the Penin Wine Rating Guide. Paddington Brands also represents: Calatrasi from Italy, award-winning Gemtree from McLaren Vale Australia, and Brent Marris’s newest venture, Marisco Wines – The Kings Series and The Ned.
Wallin continued, “The new Paddington Brands is an exciting company that aligns an extremely talented group of industry leaders with explosive growth brands. We plan to build on our momentum as a brand investor and incubator. We are also continuing to selectively and opportunistically make acquisitions providing us additional scale.”
About Paddington
The Paddington Corp. was built upon a rich tradition of some of the industry’s greatest brands. In 1937, Charles Guttman founded the original Paddington Corporation, which became the exclusive importer of Justerini & Brooks Ltd. (J&B) scotch, and a very successful creator of brands including Bailey’s Irish Cream. Paddington was acquired by several large conglomerates in the 1960s – 1980s and eventually became a division of Diageo, the worlds largest spirits company. Diageo later folded the Paddington entity into its larger North American sales force and it has remained dormant until now. The new Paddington Brands, LLC, though a completely independent and unaffiliated company, draws on this rich tradition of building brands over the long term that Charles Guttman started so many years ago.
Paddington is headquartered in Carmel, IN, with offices in the United Kingdom and Napa, CA and a sales team covering the U.S. market and select international markets. Paddington is actively seeking acquisitions in the wine, spirits, beer and non-alcoholic beverage space. Follow us on Facebook http://on.fb.me/afmdBU and on Twitter @paddingtonbrands and on the web at www.paddingtonbrands.com
June 5, 2011 / by J Smoke Wallin / Make A Comment / Filed under 2011 Event, NASCAR, Pelican Brands, The Paddington Corporation
I’m pleased to announce two more major NASCAR sponsorships with Kansas and Chicagoland Speedways! These great venues expand our 3 Amigos Tequila footprint with Official Tequila designations at Talladega Superspeedway, Darlington Raceway, Auto Club Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway.
Look for our Trackarita Carts pouring 3 Amigos today at the Sprint Cup Race at Kansas –
Kansas Speedway Partners with 3 Amigos Tequila
6/1/2011
Kansas Speedway officials announced a partnership with 3 Amigos Tequila today.
“Both Kansas Speedway and 3 Amigos Tequila are young companies that want to provide a good time to our customers,” said Kansas Speedway President Patrick Warren. “I’m looking forward to a long partnership with the 3 Amigos Tequila brand.”
3 Amigos Tequila was founded by Arizona resident Santiago Gonzalez and his family in 2007. The product is made from agave grown at his family’s farm in Mexico. The tequila is distilled and bottled in Mexico before being brought to the United States for distribution.
J. Smoke Wallin, Chairman & CEO of Paddington & Pelican Brands said, “3 Amigos is very excited to partner with Kansas Speedway to introduce our brand to your great fans. 3 Amigos recently won “Best of Show” at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America tasting competition. 3 Amigos is above all else, great tequila.”
Individual tickets are on sale now for remaining events at Kansas Speedway including the Oct. 8 Kansas Lottery 300 and the Oct. 9 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Tickets are available by calling 866.460.RACE (7223) or by logging onto www.kansasspeedway.com. Parking at Kansas Speedway is always free and fans may bring one 14x14x14-inch soft-sided cooler into the grandstands to enjoy their favorite food and beverages.
For those of you who watched the Nationwide race last night at Chicago – you probably caught a glimpse of our 3 Amigos Tequila sign on the inside of the track!
3 AMIGOS TEQUILA NAMED OFFICIAL TEQUILA OF CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
6/1/2011
Joliet, Ill. – May 31, 2011 – Chicagoland Speedway today announced a partnership with 3 Amigos Tequila making it the official tequila of the speedway.
“We’re thrilled to partner with 3 Amigos Tequila and introduce our amazing fans to their award winning tequila,” said Scott Paddock, President of Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway. “We look forward to working closely with 3 Amigos Tequila to bring exciting opportunities to race fans in advance of our September race weekend when we host the kick-off to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, September 16-18.”
“3 Amigos is very excited to partner with Chicagoland Speedway and introduce our brand to the third largest media market,” said J. Smoke Wallin, Chairman & CEO of Paddington & Pelican Brands.
Tickets are on sale now for the 2011 events at Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway, including single-day tickets! To purchase tickets, please visit www.ChicagolandSpeedway.com or call 888-629-RACE (7223).
Chicagoland Speedway’s 2011 Schedule:
Date Event
June 4 STP 300 (NASCAR Nationwide Series)
Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 presented by Menards (ARCA Racing Series)
Sept 16 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Sept 17 Dollar General 300 presented by Coca-Cola (NASCAR Nationwide Series)
Sept 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Route 66 Raceway’s 2011 Schedule:
Date Event
June 10-12 Burndown at Sundown!
June 23-26 NMRA NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing
July 7-10 O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals (NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series)
Sept 15 *Traxxas Torc, The Off-Road Championship Series
*At the Route 66 dirt oval
For more information on Chicagoland Speedway stay connected on Twitter and Facebook .
December 21, 2010 / by J Smoke Wallin / Make A Comment / Filed under Brand Management, Distributors, News, Pelican Brands
NOTE: This deal has been a long time coming. My team believes in this brand fully. We are very excited to invest in Napa Smith, the Napa business community and build on our Napa based employment. Napa Valley needs investment. With unemployment hitting 10% in the valley, it is clear more business investment is needed. We are looking forward to building on the foundation the founders of Napa Smith built and adding our ideas to the mix along with our ability to sell to the trade. We are highly confident in the future of this business.
Napa, CA – December 21, 2010 – An investment group led by industry veteran, J. Smoke Wallin, is pleased to announce it has finalized the purchase of Napa Smith Brewery & Winery bringing it into the family of companies which includes Pelican Brands. Napa Smith Beer has developed a growing following in the Craft Beer category, is currently in 17 states, and will be available nationally by the summer of 2011. Earlier this year, Napa Smith appointed Pelican Brands as its exclusive sales representatives in the United States.
J. Smoke Wallin, Chairman & CEO of Pelican Brands and Napa Smith Holdings, said, “The craft beer business is the fastest growing category of beverage alcohol in America. Napa Smith has all the right attributes to become one of the few truly global brands of craft beer – amazing beer from one of the most respected names in the craft brewing industry, distinctive packaging, Napa terroir. These attributes combined with our Pelican Brands global distribution capability, experienced management team and our access to capital give us all the necessary elements to achieve great success.” Wallin continued, “This acquisition is a great strategic fit combined with Pelican Brands as we build a global sales and brand platform, of both owned and agency brands. We look forward to building Napa Smith into an iconic craft beer brand with President Steve Morgan and Master Brewer Don Barkley.”
Steve Morgan, President & COO of Napa Smith Holdings stated, “This is a very positive development for our business. In 2010 Napa Smith – through Pelican’s sales and distribution platform – has expanded into 17 states. With the capital, resources and relationships that Pelican brings to the mix, our beer will be available nationally by mid 2011. Napa has become known world-wide for great wines, and deservedly so. We are proud to hand-craft our beer here in Napa Valley with the same level of quality and attention to detail that built Napa’s global reputation.”
Don Barkley, Master Brewer said, “I’m doing what I love to do – brewing great beer. Smoke and the whole Pelican team are my kind of people. They appreciate the importance of brewing beer right. At the same time, they bring scale and resources that will help Napa Smith reach many more thirsty consumers, which is something I’m passionate about!”
About Napa Smith Brewery
Napa Smith Brewery is located at the southern gateway to Napa Valley, just south of the town of Napa. Napa Valley is internationally known as a destination for those individuals who seek the best that life has to offer. Napa Smith is proud to contribute to the Napa tradition of hard work, craftsmanship, and artistry with the introduction of its unique family of beers. It creates its beers using proprietary recipes developed by Master Brewer Don Barkley – a veteran of 30+ years in the craft brewing industry. Much of the Napa Smith’s growth has been fueled by its Signature Series of beers. Offered in 4-packs, 22 oz bottles, and draught, Organic IPA™ and Lost Dog Red Ale™ have attracted national interest from both distributors and chains. Napa Smith Amber Ale, Napa Smith Pale Ale, and Napa Smith Lost Dog Red Ale are all recipients of Gold Medals at the California State Fair. www.napasmithbrewery.com And on Facebook http://on.fb.me/fb7opr And follow us on Twitter @Napa_Smith
About Don Barkley, Master Brewer
Don Barkley is one of America’s most experienced craft brewers, having brewed professionally for 32 years. Don started brewing in 1978 at New Albion Brewery, America’s first new brewery since Prohibition. After 5 years there he moved to help found Mendocino Brewing Company, where he spent 25 years as Master Brewer. While at Mendocino Don became an icon in the craft beer industry, creating such legendary beers as Red Tail Ale and Eye of the Hawk. Don has now returned to his family’s home in Napa Valley – where they have lived for 6 generations – to craft the award-winning and rapidly growing beers of Napa Smith Brewery. Don has done his best work yet at Napa Smith – developing every beer in the portfolio including the savory Lost Dog Red Ale, the innovative Organic IPA, and a strong portfolio of 3 rotating seasonal beers.
About Pelican Brands
Pelican Brands manages a portfolio of owned and agency premiere import & craft beers, artisanal spirits and fine wines. Pelican Brands’ team and partners have extensive experience in the global beverage and consumer packaged goods industries. Pelican Brands is headquartered in Carmel, IN, offices in the United Kingdom and Napa, CA and a sales team covering the U.S. market and select international markets. www.pelican-brands.com And on Facebook http://on.fb.me/afmdBU And follow us on Twitter @pelicanbrands
