Ryan Reynolds is joining George Clooney in the alcohol business. It’s unclear if he’ll make $1 billion from the investment like his fellow star. The actor is the new owner of Aviation Gin, a liquor company based in Portland, Ore.
“In the long and in no way disastrous marriage of showbiz and alcohol, so happy to announce I’m the proud owner of a gin company… @AviationGin,” he wrote on Twitter.
Reynolds added in a statement: “If you think all gin tastes the same, you’d be mistaken. Aviation is in a completely different league and I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of the company.”
The actor will serve an “active role in the day-to-day business” of the company and will oversee creative direction. “Ryan has worked tirelessly to create some of the world’s most iconic media properties and will bring that drive and creativity to sharing Aviation with the world,” commented CEO of Davos Brands, Andrew T. Chrisomalis.
The company notes on its website that every bottle of Aviation Gin is handcrafted in small 100-case batches at the House Spirits Distillery in Portland. “Aviation, a gin created to be so balanced and smooth, it can complement any cocktail or even fly solo,” the company explains.
The website includes a photo of Reynolds with his arms around boxes of Aviation Gin and the quote: “I’ve tried every gin on the planet and Aviation is, hands down, the best. Also, I don’t recommend trying every gin on the planet. Stick with this one.”
Former quarterback Joe Montana used to hold a stake in the company but hasn’t since Davos acquired it in 2015. The liquor business can be very lucrative. Clooney and his pals Rande Gerber and Michael Meldman started the tequila company Casamigas, which they sold to Diageo for as much as $1 billion in 2017.
Other celebrities who have their own liquor brands are endorse others include Sammy Hagar (Cabo Wabo Tequila), Dan Aykroyd (Crystal Head Vodka), Justin Timberlake (901 Silver Tequila), Diddy (Ciroc Vodka), Ludacris (Conjure Cognac), Billy Gibbons (Pure Vida Tequila), and Kenny Chesney (Blue Chair Bay Rum).
