Liam Neeson’s Son Owns an Additive-Free Tequila Brand — And It Isn’t Half Bad

(Photos: De Nada)

Liam Neeson is back in the headlines. Nearly two decades after his career took a turn toward gruff action-thriller monologues in the “Taken” franchise, the Irish actor is parodying all that came before him with a starring role in the reboot of 1988’s “The Naked Gun.” It’s a surprising turn, no doubt, and one that’s already generated an enormous amount of media interest in the man’s personal life.

There’s a good chance you’ve already read one of several articles detailing his romance with co-star Pamela Anderson. Or perhaps the actor’s recent announcement that he’ll be retiring from action films by the end of the year. But did you know that the Neeson family also has a tequila to its name?

Allow us to introduce De Nada, an agave spirits brand founded by Adam Millman and Danny Neeson — Liam’s 28-year-old son — back in 2018. The pair of aspiring businessmen were fraternity brothers at Tulane University, where they first collaborated on an eco-friendly clothing line called Pine Outfitters. Though the venture was eventually retired from the market, Millman and Neeson weren’t dissuaded. They quickly doubled back with a new idea that applied a similar concept to a dissimilar industry.

Danny Neeson, left, and Adam Millman.

The first thing you’ll notice about De Nada is its vessel. The brand recently transitioned from glass to aluminum bottles decked out in splashy shades of teal and orange. De Nada claims it’s the first distiller of its kind to introduce permanent aluminum packaging, making for a tequila that’s both sustainable and shockingly light when lifted off a liquor store shelf.

The second thing you’re likely to notice is the price tag. De Nada Blanco and Reposado, the brand’s two core offerings, cost a mere $40 and $43, respectively. It’s a shockingly low figure within an industry that’s trended toward premiumization in recent years. A-listers have been flooding the industry left and right with what are, more often than not, big, flashy and terribly low-quality spirits that demand triple-digit prices. De Nada appears to be one of the few exceptions. Doubly so since it’s being advertised as additive-free, one of the buzziest of buzzwords among the hardcore tequila enthusiast crowd.

We picked up a bottle of the brand’s Reposado with high hopes. Though celebrity-owned (or, perhaps in this case, nepo baby-owned) spirits brands aren’t always our cup of tea, it’s clear that Danny Neeson had done his due diligence.

De Nada is headed up by the Felicano Vivanco Y Asociados distillery in the highlands of Jalisco, one of the rare facilities that compromises on neither quantity nor quality. The distillery is famous for — among other things — its use of classical music in the fermentation process. Master distiller Sergio Vivanco describes it as the “Mozart method,” wherein speakers play concertos 24 hours a day over bubbling vats of yeast, sugar and alcohol.

Sure, it might sound a little gimmicky, but the tequila it yields is anything but. Two of the distillery’s most popular brands, Yeyo and Lost Lore, have emerged as cult hits among the agave-savvy influencer crowd over the past couple of years. Our personal favorite of the bunch is Alma Del Jaguar, a deliciously underrated imprint that donates a portion of proceeds to a wildlife sanctuary in northern Mexico. If that sounds like your jam, we’d highly recommend its recently released Añejo, chock-full of custardy maple and fig notes.

De Nada boasts many of the same production techniques as its critically acclaimed siblings. Highlands agaves, deep well water, open-air fermentation with champagne yeast and an additive-free recipe. In the case of the brand’s reposado, an additional four months in ex-bourbon American white oak barrels.

Poured into a tasting glass, De Nada Repo opens with a big whiff of roasted agave unusual for an aged expression. Always a good sign of things to come. Lingering within, we detected roasty aromas of vanilla, prunes, butterscotch and baking spice. A nice medley of fall vibes that felt oddly reassuring on a blistering August day.

The palate is where we begin to get a lot more of those characteristic reposado notes. Spiced, oaky flavors of cinnamon, black pepper and cloves take the front seat while gentler hints of caramel and buttercream ride in the back. There’s a bit of vanilla, a wisp of caramel and a fleeting finish that tickles the throat with spice, tilled earth and florality.

Rather than hit you over the head with complexity, De Nada gets straight to the point with all the classic flavors consumers know and love in a lightly aged agave spirit. It’s an approach that others could do well to learn from. Every day, it feels like there’s a new ultra-premium tequila launching in a foot-and-a-half-tall bottle. Lord knows most of us can’t afford them all, let alone one. If De Nada’s goal was to create a dependable tequila at a solid price, then we’d say it accomplished its aims and then some. Cheers to Danny Neeson for the latest addition to our barcart.

Find Our Full Review of De Nada Reposado Here.