Cazcanes Tequila Assembles Elite Leadership Team As Ascendant Brand Enters Powerful New Growth Phase

Former WhistlePig CEO Jeff Kozak and Samson & Surrey Co-Founder Juan Rovira Join Ahead of Major Strategic Expansion; Edwin Dolgopyat Named CEO

LOS ANGELES and JALISCO, Mexico, Dec. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cazcanes Tequila, the ascendant category leader in additive-free, agave-forward, and ultra-premium craft tequila, announced today a major expansion of its leadership team as the company accelerates its long-term development strategy amid rapid market growth and widening national visibility.

The brand has named Edwin Dolgopyat as CEO. Edwin will be joined by two highly respected industry heavyweights, Jeff Kozak and Juan Rovira, whose collective leadership experience has helped to drive and grow some of the most successful craft spirits brands in the world.

As CEO, Edwin will oversee the company's long-term vision, strategic planning, and expansion efforts. Since first joining Cazcanes in 2020, he has played a pivotal role in strengthening operations, building key distributor relationships, and developing the brand's market reach. Cazcanes is currently the fastest-growing independent, additive-free tequila in the U.S. among a competitive set of brands registering over $10mm in annual retail sales at an average $100 SRP for a 750mL bottle.¹

Jeff Kozak has joined Cazcanes as President. The former CEO of WhistlePig Whiskey, Jeff is known for scaling the Vermont-based producer from an insurgent rye upstart into a craft spirits icon and one of the world's most recognized, admired, and valued American whiskey brands. His comprehensive experience building operational systems, navigating national distribution, and scaling craft-first brands into mass consumer adoption brings a high level of expertise to Cazcanes as it prepares for wider expansion.

"I couldn't be more thrilled to join a dynamic, cult favorite challenger like Cazcanes — especially in this moment of major opportunity for the category overall, and for the brand specifically," says President Jeff Kozak. "Cazcanes is approaching craft tequila in an extremely exciting way unbounded by rules, conventions, or past traditions. With favorable consumer trends in authentic agave as a tailwind and a wide-open white space of new distribution and consumers ahead of us to attack, the runway is long and the future is bright."

Additionally, Juan Rovira, co-founder of Samson & Surrey and a driving force behind celebrated brands including Tequila Ocho, Mezcal Vago, Widow Jane, and Bluecoat Gin, has joined as Advisor to the Board. Rovira's leadership helped grow Samson & Surrey into one of the most respected craft spirits portfolios in the industry before its acquisition by Heaven Hill. His extensive experience leading brand development, portfolio strategy, and successful acquisitions adds invaluable strategic guidance to Cazcanes as it moves into a new period of accelerating scale.

"Cazcanes has already achieved near-cult status among tequila connoisseurs," says Advisor to the Board Juan Rovira. "The opportunity now is to take it from connoisseur circles to a much broader base of super-premium tequila drinkers. I have seen this kind of inflection point before with other brands — and Cazcanes has the momentum, the team, and the product quality to scale up, even in the current challenging market environment."

Already a pioneering prime mover in its category, Cazcanes is considered to be among the original leaders of the additive-free tequila movement.

These major executive appointments will drive the brand's strategic long-term vision into a new growth phase that will see Cazcanes expand its market footprint while remaining unwaveringly committed to the small batch craftsmanship that has — in less than ten years — vaulted the cult producer to the forefront of the tequila.

"Bringing Jeff and Juan into Cazcanes signals a major step forward for our brand, and marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter of growth," says CEO Edwin Dolgopyat. "Their impressive track records speak for themselves — they have both led world-class spirits companies at the highest levels, understand what it takes to scale the right way, and believe deeply in our long-term vision for the brand. Their comprehensive expertise gives us the ability to grow without ever losing who we are at the core."

Market dynamics have inarguably gravitated to agave over recent years — and red-hot category growth shows no signs of stopping any time soon. Tequila overtook American whiskey in 2023 as the second-largest spirits category in the U.S. by value.² Likewise, market analysis by the IWSR projects tequila to usurp vodka as the nation's single largest, most valuable spirits category by value in the coming years.³

As surging demand has consolidated around additive-free craft tequila, a legion of fanatical consumers and evangelizing fans has increasingly coalesced around Cazcanes — these elite new leadership additions of Jeff Kozak and Juan Rovira chief among them.

And where these veteran industry powerplayers go, market growth and enduring brand success are inevitably soon to follow.

ABOUT CAZCANES TEQUILA
Cazcanes is more than just a tequila—it's a testament to heritage, craftsmanship, and an unwavering commitment to authenticity. From the pristine Navichi Springs to the hands that shape every bottle, our story is rooted in reverence—for tradition, purity, and the land that shapes our spirit. Cazcanes – True to Earth True to Flavor.

PRESS CONTACT
PATRICK MINOGUE
[email protected]
+1 (847) 922-8908

¹ SOURCE | Nielsen Scan: NielsenIQ (NIQ), 30 November 2025, 52 Weeks Trailing

² SOURCE | "Tequila overtakes American whiskey in US," The Spirits Business, 10 January 2023

³ SOURCE | "What's next for tequila?," IWSR 8 August 2022

SOURCE Cazcanes Tequila