What happened to Cafe PATRÓN?

In 2021 Cosmopolitan wrote: "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but something truly terrible has happened. Drinks manufacturer Bacardí has announced that they are stopping production of their coffee-infused liqueur Patrón XO Cafe, for good."

So what happened? Bacardi-owned Patrón Tequila confirmed it discontinued its coffee-flavored liqueur, XO Cafe, commonly known as Cafe Patron, in October 2021. The decision was made to allow the Tequila brand to concentrate on its core variants: Patrón Silver, Patrón Reposado, Patrón Añejo, and other super-premium and ultra-premium expressions.

Without explicitly stating the reasons, it seems Patrón wanted to shift away from non-premium products. In Bacardi's view, Cafe Patron was not considered an ultra-premium or super-premium tequila.

Bacardi's decision was driven by market trends and consumer preferences, showing a stronger demand for high-quality tequila over flavored liqueurs. Cafe Patron, classified as a liqueur, typically contains added sugar or sweeteners, differentiating it from other spirits.

According to My Fitness Pal and EatThisMuch.com - Cafe Patron contains 11.2g of sugar per ounce. A standard double shot (50ml) has about 19.3g of sugar, meaning around 38.6% of Cafe Patron is sugar.

However, none of this stopped Cafe Patron from reaching market dominance pre-2021.  Who knew that in 2022, Espresso Martini would become the world's 4th most popular cocktail?  Vinepair.com continues;

“It had a viscosity closer to that of barbecue sauce than tequila and a flavor that was more reminiscent of vanilla ice cream than espresso.”

“This is the most iconic nightclub drink ever known to man,” claimed U.K.-based TikToker Leila Kurdash. And others have noted something similar. To its fans, Patrón XO Cafe wasn’t simply a replacement coffee liqueur for brands like top-selling Kahlua — it was literally their favorite drink. “I’m not being dramatic when I say this is the worst day of my life,” posted another XO Cafe fan, Jack Remmington, at the time of the discontinuation.

An interesting time for Cafe Patron, with fans around the world falling for the drink.  It seems both the aftertaste and the environment were key factors to its success.

We set out to offer an ultra-premium cafe Mezcal (instead of Tequila) with less sugar while maintaining the highest quality in an infused spirit. We collaborated with a Masterchef from Monterey, a Mixologist, and our Maestro Mezcalero to create Bandida Black, a coffee mezcal free from additives and preservatives, yet with the exquisite taste expected from an ultra-premium mezcal brand.

Bandida Black boasts a lower sugar content and additive free alternative, compared with Cafe Patron.

Bandida Black contains orange peel, cinnamon, vanilla extract, coffee beans, and less than half the sugar of Cafe Patron, using piloncillo which is used all over Mexico, is unrefined and unprocessed.

As Instagram Influencer @tequilajaybaer with 240k followers states: "Now we are seeing the rise of additive-free tequilas in a more thought-based approach."

However, due to incredible brand loyalty, Cafe Patron captured the hearts of a generation. For a limited time, Bacardi has temporarily brought back Cafe Patron, recognising its beloved status among fans!