When Ryan Reynolds sampled Aviation Gin for the first time in 2017, an idea took flight.
โI kept ordering this same Negroni again and again, and I didnโt know why it was so good,โ the Deadpool star told reporters in August 2018, months after buying a stake in the Portland, Ore.-based small batch label owned by Davos Brands. โIt was because of the gin, Aviation Gin. I realized I didnโt need the Negroni. I just needed the gin.โ
And he took that shot, he explained, because โweโre at the beginning of what feels like a modern day gin craze. Millennials are drinking it. Young people are drinking it. Not toddlers, but young people.โ
Moreover, Reynolds quipped, โLike a lot of people, Iโm inspired by George Clooney.โ
As was Diageo, which also snatched up Aviation Gin and several other Davos Brands labels in a deal worth $610 million in 2020.
A hefty sum but peanuts compared to the deal worth up to $1.35 billion that T-Mobile signed in 2023 to acquire Mint Mobile, which to this day runs ads featuring Reynoldsโa minority stakeholderโstumping for no hidden fees and customer-friendly pricing.
But the actor himself says heโs โno wizardโ when it comes to investing, maintaining that his job is storytelling.
โIf you look at a gin company, a wireless company and a Welsh football club,โ he said on CNBCโs Squawk Box in 2023, โthose things donโt really go together if you think about it, but they all have strong brand foundations.โ
