Travis Kelce-Backed Spirits Brand Triumphs Over Clase Azul Tequila in Court; Accusations of Trademark Infringement Dismissed

(Photo: Casa Azul Organic Tequila)

A years-long legal battle between the luxury tequila brand, Clase Azul, and similarly named up-and-comer Casa Azul has finally drawn to a close in Texas court.

On Wednesday, Judge Lee H. Rosenthal ruled that Casa Azul — a spirits brand founded in 2022 with celebrity investors including Travis Kelce, Eiza González and Brooks Koepka — had the right to retain its brand name for a series of seltzers and bottled tequilas. The name had been hotly contested by Clase Azul, who sued Casa Azul in court for trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Best known for its glitzy blue-and-white ceramic decanters, Clase Azul is one of the most famous silhouettes in the high-end tequila market. Despite its nearly $150 price tag, Clase Azul Reposado was Drizly’s 4th best-selling spirit of 2023, beating out heavy hitters like Grey Goose Vodka, Don Julio 1942 and Jack Daniel’s Whiskey.

The judge presiding over the case ultimately ruled that Clase Azul was best known to consumers by appearance, not name.

“The plaintiff’s evidence has failed to establish the strength of the CLASE AZUL mark, let alone a likelihood of confusion,” Judge Rosenthal wrote in her ruling. “Even if the plaintiff had provided evidence that its brand was widely recognized by the Texas public—which it has not—the evidence shows that it is the blue-and-white hand-painted bottle that is the most recognizable element of the plaintiff’s brand, not the mark.”

(Photo: Clase Azul)

Compared to Clase Azul, which was founded in 1997, Casa Azul is still in its infancy. The brand was founded by self-described “serial beverage entrepreneur” Lance Collins in 2022, a businessman who had a hand in creating Fuze, NOS, Bodyarmor Sports Drink and Core.

Within a year of launch, Collins managed to assemble an A-team of celebrity investors, one of which would quickly come to define the brand’s public image.

A month after Kelce and Taylor Swift went public as a couple, Swift was pictured at a Denver Broncos-Kansas City Chiefs game conspicuously sipping a can of Casa Azul Tequila Soda. Maybe you already have an idea where this story goes: search interest skyrocketed in the days after and Casa Azul broke into the mainstream as a bonafide hit.

Taylor Swift watches the Kansas City Chiefs play the Denver Broncos during an NFL football game, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs defeated the Broncos 19-8. (Photo: Cooper Neill/AP)

Following the Texas ruling, the old favorite, Clase Azul, is set to square off against its younger, celebrity-endorsed sibling on liquor store shelves across the country.

Join the Whiskey Raiders Bottle of the Month Club, where you will receive hard-to-find bottles curated by Whiskey Raiders staff with a 90+ rating on whiskeyraiders.com plus live virtual tastings. Sign up here!