Don Julio is part-owned by Jose Cuervo, the tequila giant founded in 1795 which is controlled by the Beckmanns. Diageo, which used to distribute Jose Cuervo outside of Mexico until June last year , had tried to buy the whole of Jose Cuervo, but was forced to walk away in December 2012 after the two sides failed to reach agreement on an estimated £2bn takeover. Net sales of Don Julio jumped by 22pc on a reported basis in Diageo’s last full financial year, to June 2014, primarily off the back of strong sales in its core market of the US.