We’ve all heard the clichés. “Tequila makes me CRAZY.” “Tequila gives me the worst hangovers EVER.” “I didn’t text you, tequila did.” Tequila gets a bad rap, but the truth is that it doesn’t affect anyone stronger than any other spirit.
At this point, we’re all familiar with the tequila industry’s meteoric expansion in bars, restaurants and homes in the past 10 years. What was once a cheap party drink to most Americans is now a respected, nuanced spirit with a thriving sub-category of luxury tequila brands. Apart from improved industry standards and consumer trends favoring low-calorie spirits, there was one major driving factor in the tequila boom of the last decade: celebrities.
Stars George Clooney and Rande Gerber kicked it off with the sale of Casamigos, their tequila brand, to Diageo for $1 billion in 2017. After that success, celebrities started launching their own spirit brands (or hitching their wagons to existing brands) left and right.
The main question now isn’t, “Which celebrities have their own tequila brands?” but “Which celebrity tequila brands are worth trying?”
We’re glad you asked. We’ve tried every celebrity spirit to hit the market, and we’ve rounded up the top 9 celebrity-owned tequila brands that are worth trying. Keep reading to find out which star-studded tequilas deserve a spot on your bar cart.
Actor Matthew McConaughey and wife and model Camila Alves come right out and say it on the Pantalones Tequila website: “No. The world doesn’t need another celebrity Tequila. But goodness gracious the Tequila industry sure could use a shot of fun. And that’s exactly what Pantalones is: Really good, really clean fun.”
Alright, alright, alright. We can get behind that.
It’s clear the couple doesn’t take themselves too seriously, but the quality of their tequila is no joke. Pantalones is organic, 100% Blue Weber Agave tequila that’s great for sipping, shooting or stirring into a tasty cocktail. The brand is also a proud member of 1% For The Planet, meaning that 1% of all revenue is donated to environmental non-profit partners.
Why the name? Pantalones is Spanish for pants, and also Spanish slang for guts. The couple says that Pantalones Tequila is all about having the guts to make that next move, to have fun and not take things too seriously.
Sip it solo or mix it in a Fancy Pants Paloma for a delicious, au naturale cocktail.
Michael Jordan, Jeanie Buss, Wes Edens, Wyc Grousebeck and Emilia Fazzalari may be NBA rivals, but after a casual dinner discussing tequila, they departed as partners. Together, they launched Cincoro, an ultra-luxury tequila. The name Cincoro is created from two Spanish words, “cinco” meaning five and “oro” meaning gold to reflect the five owners and the gold standard in the tequila category.
Cincoro is made with the highest quality 100% Blue Weber Agave from the highlands and lowlands of Jalisco. The Cincoro bottle was designed by Mark Smith, who worked for Michael Jordon at Nike, designing many of the Air Jordan shoes. Mark took inspiration for the bottle design from the Blue Weber Agave leaf shape. It’s the first and only 5-sided bottle, representing the five founding partners. A 23-degree angle can also be found in the punt and the stopper as a nod to MJ’s number. Additionally, if you line up 23 bottles from top to bottom, they create a perfect circle the same size as center court.
Our favorite is Cincoro Reposado Tequila, which is aged for 8 to 10 months in Kentucky bourbon barrels. It maintains the smoothness of the blanco, while acquiring vanilla and baking spice aromas and tastes of sweet, cooked agave, caramel and white chocolate. This delicious spirit is best served sipped from a Champagne flute.
Continuing the family tradition of entrepreneurship, model Kendall Jenner branched out into the world of spirits and launched 818 Tequila in the spring of 2021.
818 Tequila, named after the area code in California, where Kendall grew up, is made from agave grown on family farms in Jalisco, Mexico. Sustainability is at the core of 818; in fact, the sustainability page is the longest page on the brand’s website. Their distillery runs on biomass and solar power, reducing the producer’s carbon footprint and its reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, 818 is a 1% for the Planet initiative participant, meaning that they’ve pledged to donate 1% of their revenue to the cause of environmental stewardship. 818 has partnered with S.A.C.R.E.D. (Saving Agave for Culture, Recreation, Education and Development), a not-for-profit that uses heritage agave spirits to improve quality of life in the rural Mexican communities where those spirits are made. The organization transform’s 818’s agave byproducts into adobe bricks that are used to build infrastructure, like schools and libraries, in surrounding communities. All these efforts are just a fraction of the sustainability practices outlined on 818’s website.
As for the actual tequilas, 818 produces the traditional three varieties: blanco, reposado and añejo, as well as a Double Gold-winning Eight Reserve añejo tequila. The blanco is rested in oak barrels for a fresh vanilla roundness and an ultra-smooth, bright and crispy finish, with notes of almond, key lime pie and toasted coconut. The reposado is also aged in oak barrels for two months but has a smooth caramel finish with notes of vanilla and pecan pie. Finally, the añejo is aged in oak barrels for one year and has a silky, rich and full-bodied finish with notes of vanilla and crisp herbs. Try sipping them on the rocks or in a Tiramisu Espresso Martini.
Top Chef season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio is the founder of Marcado 28, a tequila brand that pays homage to rebellious tattoo culture in its packaging and good hospitality in its incredible taste. Voltaggio’s no stranger to collaboration, but this time he partnered with Bruno Barba, a 10th-generation tequila distiller, to create Marcado 28 and its blanco and reposado expressions.
Marcado 28’s additive-free tequilas are made with just agave, yeast, deep well water and love. It's born when the agave is slow-baked to coax out the piña’s bold, nuanced flavors. The blanco is crisp and vibrant, while the reposado has depth, richness and complexity. They’re both at home in a flute glass for neat sipping or mixed in a cocktail that actually deserves it.
When asked about his favorite pairing, Voltaggio said, “The pairing of food and beverage and people is more important than the food and tequila pairing.” But he couldn’t resist adding, “Steak and reposado all day.”
Don’t mind if we do.
Read all about Voltaggio and Marcado 28 here.
Código Tequila feels like a secret that we’ve all been let in on.
For generations, those “in the know” in Mexico drank El Tequila Privado, a private recipe from a family distillery in Amatitán. Legend has it that they abided by old codes and customs (los códigos) to make this fabled tequila.
Now, a tequila collection inspired by the secret recipe is available for all to enjoy, far beyond the borders of Mexico. And aren’t we lucky?
Código Tequila, which boasts country music giant George Strait as a co-founder, is an award winning, ultra-premium tequila made from nothing by Blue Weber Agave, water and yeast. The blanco has an earthy and mineral character that beautifully balances the citrusy sweetness, while the reposado has bright, sweet agave notes with the added complexity of vanilla, toasted caramel and subtle cocoa powder.
User BertZ said in their 5-star review of the blanco tequila on our site: “I've been a tequila drinker for a long time so naturally I like to try new tequila. My wife found this bottle because she's a George Strait fan. This is the smoothest blanco I've ever had! She has been making margaritas but surprisingly, I've been drinking it neat. It doesn't need anything!” Right on, Bert.
From wrestling deity to action-movie star, it appears everything Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson touches turns to gold, even liquid. The Rock recently launched Teremana Tequila with his business partner and ex-wife Dany Garcia.
“Tequila has been a part of our life and our family for many, many years, so this has been years in the making,” Johnson said while visiting the ABC home office in Orlando.
Teremana, meaning “spirit of the earth” is a 100% agave, small batch tequila that comes in blanco, reposado and añejo. The blanco has notes of bright citrus with a smooth, fresh finish, while the reposado has notes of oak and vanilla with a smooth, rich finish and the añejo has notes of rich warm oak and vanilla with a lightly sweet and complex finish.
Teremana clearly articulates how it is made and calls out its nutritional facts on the back label, something unique in the spirits business. For such an accessible price, this quality tequila is a must-try. It’s best served sipped or mixed in The People’s Margarita.
Why stop at drinking tequila with friends when you can make tequila with friends? That was the thought process behind Rande Gerber, George Clooney and Michael Meldman’s partnership in launching Casamigos Tequila in 2013. Although, as we mentioned in the intro, they sold Casamigos to Diageo in 2017, they still have active roles with the brand.
All of their small batch, ultra-premium tequilas are made from hand-selected 100% Blue Weber Agave grown in Mexico’s Jalisco Highlands for a minimum of seven years. Casamigos Blanco Tequila, rests for two months and is crisp and clean with subtle hints of citrus, vanilla and sweet agave with a smooth finish. Casamigos Reposado Tequila, aged seven months, is soft, slightly oaky with hints of caramel and cocoa and has a silky texture with a medium to long smooth finish. Casamigos Añejo Tequila, aged 14 months, has a beautifully pure and refined complex aroma with soft caramel and vanilla notes.
In 2018, they launched Casamigos Mezcal, which is made in Oaxaca, Mexico with 100% Espadín Agave. Now, they’ve even released a Resposado Cristalino Tequila and a Jalapeno Blanco Tequila infused with zesty jalapeno peppers for a bold, spicy taste. Spicy margs will never be the same.
When PGA golfer Abraham Ancer and entrepreneur Aron Marquez first approached actor Mark Wahlberg about investing in their line of tequila, Mark said his first reaction was, “Absolutely not.”
First impressions clearly aren’t everything, because Mark signed on as Flecha Azul Tequila’s principal investor just one year later.
Mark was taken with Ancer and Marquez’s dream to build a label honoring their Mexican heritage while producing a quality product that everyone can enjoy, inspiring him to throw his full support behind the brand.
Flecha Azul carries the traditional blanco, reposado and añejo varieties, plus two bonus ones: a cristalino and an extra añejo. The cristalino is a triple-filtered añejo that carries all the warmth of the traditional añejo but is still light on the palate, balancing notes of vanilla and dark chocolate with a long, luxurious finish. The powerful extra añejo floods the senses with notes of praline, roasted pineapple and vanilla. On the palate, its weight is tempered with wood tannins for a balanced and complex finish.
Mark says he’s fully aware of the saturation of celebrities entering the tequila game these days, but he isn’t worried. He knows Flecha Azul is #1.
We’ll leave that decision to the drinkers!
Whether you know him from The Righteous Gemstones, Vice Principals or Eastbound & Down, you’re about to know actor and comedian Danny McBride for one more thing: really good tequila.
The brand’s namesake is a legendary luchador (who is 100% a real person and totally not fictitious) who loves three things: fighting, cats and tequila, not necessarily in that order.
Ok, it’s clear McBride had tons of fun crafting this tequila’s brand persona, but we just have one question: is it any good?
We’ve never met a tequila we didn’t like, but yes, yes it is. Don Gato is additive-free crafted from matured lowland agave azul and pure water. According to their site, “Don Gato believes that all additives should be free to do what they want as long as that thing isn’t in his tequila.” Word.
The line currently has blanco and reposado expressions. The blanco opens with fresh pear, lime zest and cedar on the nose, followed by grapefruit, coriander and almond creme. It finishes clean and smooth with spun sugar, clove and a hint of brioche bread. The reposado is a touch more complex with notes of golden raisin, Madagascar vanilla, lemon peel and tart green apple and notes of butterscotch, bourbon-oak, peppercorn and black tea on the finish.
All we can say is that we will be crushing a bottle of this tequila soon, just like Don Gato crushes all his opponents.
