Years After Being Discontinued, Cult-Hit Patrón XO Cafe Gets a Spiritual Successor

Bandero Café, the much-awaited unofficial follow-up to Patrón XO Cafe. (Photo: Bandero Tequila)

The co-founder of Patrón Tequila has teamed up with his daughters to create a spiritual successor to Patrón XO Cafe, the cult-hit coffee liqueur that mysteriously disappeared from the market in 2021.

For context, here’s a quick history lesson:

Patrón XO Cafe was initially launched back in 1992. The liqueur’s signature mix of coffee, vanilla and baked agave flavor quickly established it as a fan-favorite and best-seller within Patrón’s massive catalog. Eventually, the bottle’s runaway success paved the way for a cocoa-flavored XO Cafe Dark and a chile-infused XO Cafe Incendio.

(Photo: Patrón Tequila)

Without warning, the XO Cafe lineup was unceremoniously discontinued in 2021.

Little explanation was given. The only official statement was provided by Patrón Tequila President Mauricio Vergara, who vaguely said that the brand was looking to focus “on growing and protecting production and supply of our core super and ultra-premium tequilas.”

Fans began writing tearful obituaries, bottles were snatched up from liquor store shelves and an unsuccessful petition to bring back the liqueur racked up thousands of signatures.

Patrón wouldn’t budge.

Today, Patrón XO Cafe lives on only in the resale market, albeit at a ludicrous markup. Originally retailing for $30, 750ml bottles of the liqueur are now reselling for upwards of $150. 50ml mini-bottles sell in the range of $25.

This is where Bandero Tequila comes in. The UK-based brand was launched in 2018 by Johnathan Kendrick alongside Alexis and Michaeline DeJoria — the daughters of Patrón Tequila co-founder John Paul DeJoria.

Naturally, Bandero was well positioned to throw its hat into the coffee liqueur ring. The brand released Bandero Café in 2022, a premium-oriented liqueur that painstakingly recreated both the name and flavor of its Patrón-produced predecessor.

In a press release, Bandero Tequila declared: “When Bacardí called time on Patrón XO Cafe, many cafe tequila lovers in the UK shed a tear. Now that love affair can blossom again with the introduction of Bandero Café.”

Things have now been taken a step further as John Paul DeJoria himself — who helped to oversee production of Patrón XO Cafe — has announced that he’s joining the Bandero Tequila team alongside his daughters.

The exact details of the partnership have yet to be made public. Nonetheless, it appears that Bandero has been solidified as the “true” follow-up to Patrón XO Cafe, or at least, the truest one we’ll get for a while.

The king is dead, long live the king!

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