5 Celebrity Tequila and Mezcals That Defy Expectations
(Photo: Codigo 1530)
On a balmy day in mid-June, 2017, the celebrity-owned tequila craze as we know it today reached a tipping point. Actor George Clooney and businessman Rande Gerber, who had joined forces to found Casamigos Tequila just five years earlier, sold their brand to spirits giant Diageo for a whopping $1 billion.
The lucrative deal triggered a domino effect whose reverberations are still felt across the industry. From Kendall Jenner to Kevin Hart to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, A-list stars just can’t get enough of agave spirits these days. With sales increasing year over year, it appears that consumers are more than happy to tag along for the ride.
A ride defined by ups and downs. As many a disappointed college student may already know, a lot of these brands taste like a saccharine headache packaged inside a $100-plus bottle. Some of these neon-green margarita fodders are the kind that makes you swear off tequila for the rest of your life. Most frustrating of all, you can easily pick up a bottle twice as good at half the price.
Sifting through the best and worst that the celebrity agave trend has to offer, we’ve rounded up five exceptional tequila and mezcal brands that redefine the controversial category. Though a handful reach into the upper echelons of pricy “top shelf” liquor, each brand has at least one quality offering that can be purchased for $50 or less.
Codigo 1530 | George Strait, Mike Shanahan, Brett Hull
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Codigo 1530 was brought to market in 2016 by an unlikely collaboration of pizza and pineapple-level proportions. Ron Snyder — former CEO of Crocs — purportedly discovered an incognito family-run distillery shortly after moving to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. He eventually partnered with “King of Country” George Strait and entrepreneur Federico Vaughan to bring the liquid back to the U.S.; other investors include NFL coach Mike Shanahan and NHL star Brett Hull.
In the eight years that Codigo has been available to consumers, the brand has rolled out a quantity of bottlings virtually unheard of in the tequila industry. Browsing its catalog, you’ll find a red wine-finished rosa, high-ABV still strength, 14-year extra añejo and not one but two collaborative releases with Playboy’s Rare Hare spirits. Of course, there’s also a George Strait-branded bottling inscribed with the phrase “Honky Tonk Time Machine.”
None of this should be interpreted as a slight against Codigo’s quality. Its unaged expressions revel in a distinctly minty, mineral-forward palate packed to the brim with terroir. Its reposados and añejos span a larger range of influences, though it should be noted that many are limited to single-barrel releases. The brand’s Barrel Strength Añejo, packed with notes of banana, toasted oak and dark chocolate, is especially coveted among enthusiasts.
If we had to recommend just one bottling, however, it would absolutely be the brand’s Estate Harvest Still Strength Blanco. Originally rolled out as a limited-edition drop in 2022, bottles can still be picked up online for between $70 and $80.
Yola Mezcal | Lykke Li
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More often than not, celebrity mezcals are treated as an afterthought rather than the main course. Imprints like George Clooney’s Casamigos and LeBron James’ Lobos 1707 have each forayed with one-off bottlings, quickly relegated to niche status amid the brand’s evergrowing, ever-popular tequila portfolios. Dedicated mezcal brands are a rarity; quality ones are even harder to find.
Enter Yola Mezcal. The simply named spirit was introduced in 2016 by entrepreneur Gina Agilietti, mezcalera Yola Jimenez and multi-platinum certified musician Lykke Li, best known for her hit song “I Follow Rivers.” The group joined forces to elevate a decades-old family tradition. According to brand lore, the recipe for Yola was passed down by Jimenez’s grandfather, who began distilling the spirit in San Juan del Rio in 1971. Today, the mezcal is still produced on the very same grounds.
In addition to its flagship 1971 expression, distilled with a blend of agave Espadin and Madrecuixe, Yola offers a wild-harvested Jabali brimming with flavors of cucumber, spice and smoke. Adventurous drinkers may also be interested in Yola’s recently introduced Pechuga, distilled with the addition of a raw turkey breast hung above the still. Other ingredients include local oranges, tangerines, guayaba, pineapple and tejocote.
Unlike some commercially available mezcals, Yola delivers a rendition of the spirit unabashedly in touch with its roots. Bottles run the gamut from $59 to $150.
Insolito Tequila | Midland
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All spirits in this category exemplify the “celebrity liquor blueprint” in some form or another: a famous person teams up with an entrepreneur and distiller, creating a trio that tackles promotion, sales and production respectively. Insolito is neither the first nor the last on this list in which that famous person is a country musician.
In this case, Grammy-nominated country band Midland joined forces with the Herrera brothers and Spirits Innovation Partners to roll out a tequila. The brand’s recipe blends 80% highland agave (typically sweet and fruity) with 20% lowland agave (earthy, more herbaceous) for an unexpected osmosis of influences. Taking into account its brightly colored bottles, Insolito playfully describes itself as a “flamingo living in the desert.”
For us, however, the defining talking point is its price. Insolito’s additive-free blanco, reposado and añejo are all available under $59, remarkably budget-friendly for a spirit that’s so much more than a cocktail mixer. It’s also not afraid to experiment with the details. Its blanco is aged for six weeks — two weeks shy of what’s legally termed a reposado — in Amerian Oak barrels, adding a smidge of oak and butter to its otherwise citrus-forward palate. Its añejo is lovely as well, dialing up a big banana and cherry note.
Santo Tequila | Guy Fieri, Sammy Hagar
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When Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar launched Cabo Wabo Tequila in 1996, he preceded the celebrity agave spirits craze by a full two decades. Incidentally, he launched another tequila brand two decades later, this time in collaboration with nacho-loving extraordinaire Guy Fieri.
For our money, Hagar’s second stab at the concept is one of the best celebrity-backed spirits on the market. Despite the rockstar’s infamy for blown-out speakers and Fieri’s reputation for saucy Americana, the duo’s joint tequila venture — dubbed Santo, Spanish for “Holy” — is a decidedly subtle affair, sticking by an additive-free recipe that spotlights flavors of fresh roasted agave.
Two expressions reflect its forte to amazing effect. First, we’d recommend Santo 110 Proof Blanco, which is bottled at the legal maximum of 55% ABV. In addition to a scorching bite, the bottling packs in vegetal flavors of bell peppers, lemon zest, brine and an unusual but welcome olive note. Next comes Santo’s boundary-pushing Mezquila, described as a “first of its kind” 50:50 blend of tequila and mezcal. Mesquite smoke, black pepper and lingering apple play ball against minerality and an oily mouthfeel. Outlandish in all the right ways.
Juan Lobo Tequila | Jon Wolfe
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Best known for songs like “Boots on a Dance Floor” and “Play Me Something I Can Drink To,” Jon Wolfe’s catalog of cheery party anthems seems like an obvious fit for a booze venture. Though he may have been born and raised in Oklahoma, it was the following Wolfe garnered in Texas that ultimately inspired his entry into the agave spirits space. It’s worth noting at this point in the list that fellow country-turned-tequila entrepreneurs Midland and Strait also hail from the Lone Star State.
Wolfe’s brand, dubbed Juan Lobo, is a comedically blunt translation of his first and last name into Spanish. Naturally, its logo depicts a wolf wearing a sombrero. Above it, the vague tagline “Get The Best, Forget The Rest.”
Hidden within this run-of-the-mill bottle is some great juice, arguably one of the most overlooked tequilas in a genre stuffed to the brim with celebrity competitors. We’ll cut right to the chase and commend the brand’s Añejo, distilled using Champagne yeast before aging 22 months in single-use American oak barrels. Heady aromas of barrel spice and butterscotch give way to a sweetened palate that delivers dried fruit, roasted agave and honey. Did we mention it only costs $60?
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