Hot shots: Best celebrity tequilas for an A-list tipple
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Tequila: once the spirit you sought at the end of an evening before calling it a night, only to wake up with the mother of all hangovers. Are we right?
Indeed, the tequilas of yesteryear were about as far removed from the gloss of celebrity as you can get – think spit-and-sawdust watering hole versus slick and sophisticated cocktail den.
Thankfully, the spirit has come on leaps and bounds to offer quality bottles using fine ingredients made using traditional techniques - and its popularity has soared as a direct result. According to The Whisky Exchange, which runs the annual Tequila & Mezcal Show in London with this year’s event on May 16 and 17, the retailer has seen tequila sales shoot up by 94 per cent in the last two years, proof that thirst for the Spring Break favourite in the UK is strong.
It's hardly surprising, then, that a slew of stars has jumped on the bandwagon by launching – or, at least, endorsing – luxury tequilas, from George Clooney and Rande Gerber to Rita Order and wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
But how do you separate the starry marketing from the quality spirits? Charlie McCarthy, business development manager at WSET, The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, is open-minded but naturally cautious.
“Few spirits capture the essence of their origin like tequila,” he says. “Made from Blue Weber agave, grown under the Mexican sun over several years, a quality tequila offers a unique drinking experience. To the bartender community, agave evangelists Tomas Estes and Julio Bermejo, creator of the Tommy’s Margarita, are the real tequila celebrities.
Thanks to them, tequila has outgrown its former ‘shots ‘n’ slammers’ image to become appreciated as a unique spirit with a distinctive agave-driven purity. And while top-end tequilas can be expressive of agave’s signature capsicum, olive and herbaceous notes, unfortunately, low-quality tequilas are by no means a thing of the past.”
McCarthy continues: “Choosing tequila is like choosing seafood: good quality is essential. Just as fresh fish cooked simply is delightful, bad seafood can be disastrous. Similarly, informed choices in tequila matter.
Celebrity endorsements can draw attention to tequila, but they don't guarantee quality. At WSET, we encourage drinkers to look beyond marketing and consider how the spirit was made.
Is it 100 per cent agave tequila? Were additives used? Was the agave cooked traditionally or processed in a diffuser? Was the agave harvested too young or fully matured? WSET graduates know how to decode the label on the bottle, while websites such as Tequila Matchmaker give the informed consumer insights on how each brand makes their tequila.”
Here, we’ve taste tasted a clutch of the best celebrity tequilas to bring you the only bottles worth rolling out the red carpet for – just in time for celebrating this Cinco de Mayo.
Pancho Datos Reposado Tequila
Star power: Jodie Kidd
Named after the eponymous historian and poet of the Mexican Revolution, Pancho Datos Reposado Tequila is made using 100 per cent Blue Weber agave that’s grown to maturity around Jalisco, Mexico, then rested for 10 months in white-oak barrels previously used to mature bourbon whiskey.
The agave itself is allowed to age for at least six years before being cooked for up to three days in a stone oven then fermented and double-distilled. It’s quite the process that results in rich flavours of vanilla, caramel and earthy spiciness.
No wonder TV presenter and model Jodie Kidd is a shareholder and brand ambassador.
Teremana Blanco Tequila
Star power: The Rock
Founded by Dwayne Johnson, Teremana Blanco Tequila is yet another hit to his name.
Clean, smooth and citrussy, this newcomer is crafted in a small town in the Jalisco Highlands in Mexico using naturally sweet agave that’s slow-roasted in small traditional brick ovens then distilled in handmade copper pot stills for a bright and fresh tequila.
Its name? A combination of ‘tere’ – derived from ‘terra’ in Latin meaning ‘earth’ – and ‘mana’, the Polynesian word for ‘spirit’, to equate to: ‘spirit of the earth’.
Snazzy marketing? Sure, but we’re sold.
818 Tequila Blanco
Star power: Kendall Jenner
The latest in a long line of business endeavours from the ever-successful Kardashian clan, 818 Tequila Blanco comes from supermodel Kendall Jenner.
Named after her LA area code, ther brand isn’t all celebrity fur and no knickers: it won blind-tasting after blind-tasting since its launch in 2021.
Grown in Jalisco, Mexico, her Blue Weber agave is left to mature for seven years before slow-cooking for thirty hours at more than 96°C, then being crushed using a centuries-old technique to extract the very best juice. This is fermented in wood-and-steel tanks for 48 hours before being distilled in copper stills – not once, but twice – and a final ageing in American and French oak.
The result? A smooth and sippable tequila with genuine star power. Expect agave, vanilla and citrus-fruit flavours and aromas of lemongrass and chamomile.
Almave Ambar
Star power: Lewis Hamilton
Founded by tequila fan and seven-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton in partnership with Casa Lumbre, the Mexican spirits company, Almave has two spirits: Blanco and Ambar.
Our pick is the latter, a non-alcoholic tipple made with Blue Weber agave from Jalisco, Mexico, but without the booze. The secret is in the innovative distillation process that sees the agave harvested, cooked and crushed before it is distilled, rather than fermented, to concentrate its complex aromas and flavours.
It’s gloriously golden in colour, hence its name, with sweetness and body that’s just as suited to sipping as it is mixed into a winning margarita.
Casamigos Reposado Tequila
Star power: George Clooney, Rande Gerber, Cindy Crawford
There’s no denying that the original celebrity tequila that launched a thousand imitations (and ambitions) is Casamigos, which started as side hustle from founders and best friends George Clooney and Rande Gerber. They sold the company for a reported $1b to drinks giant Diageo in 2017, but it will be forever propelled by their stardust (indeed, their faces are still used in its marketing).
Made from 100 per cent Blue Weber agave in Jalisco, Mexico, the piñas (heart of the agave plant) are slow-roasted in a traditional brick oven before being fermented to develop rich, unique flavours.
The Reposado is soft, slightly oaky and silky with hints of caramel and cocoa, plus a long and smooth finish.
Próspero Blanco Tequila
Star power: Rita Ora
It was only a matter of time before the pop star and party girl (who can forget her naughty Covid birthday?) Rita Ora launched a booze brand, and Próspero Tequila is it.
A collaboration with female master distiller Stella Anguiano, the hand-crafted tequila, from the bottle to the spirit, uses Blue Weber agave from the lowlands of Jalisco to create a Blanco that’s as bright, vibrant and characterful as Rita herself.
Talk about girl power.
Casa Noble Añejo Tequila
Star power: Carlos Santana
Casa Noble is co-owned by Carlos Santana, the Spanish music legend, and is made using Blue Weber agave cooked in authentic stone ovens and fermented naturally before being triple-distilled.
The aged varieties, such as this fine-looking bottle, are rested in new white French oak casks for two years for extra depth of flavour. Elegant and aromatic, expect complex aromas of dried fruits and spice with layered flavours of toasted oak, butterscotch, vanilla and sweet cooked agave.
It’s as Santana himself said: “Because you’re so smooth.”
Lobos 1707 Joven Tequila
Star power: LeBron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Backed by the likes of LeBron James and the former governor of California, but founded by artist Diego Osorio with a family history steeped in Spanish wine, Lobos 1707 is an outlier in the tequila world.
In a nod to its founder, it’s finished in sherry barrels to give it a unique taste of southern Spain, while Joven – meaning ‘young’ – is made from 100 per cent Blue Weber agave that’s aged for two months in American white oak with a hint of Reposado prior.
The result is a bright and smooth spirit.
Don Julio 194구 Tequila Limited Edition
Star power: Peggy Gou
While not a celebrity tequila as such, Don Julio 1942 Tequila has collaborated with Korean superstar DJ and style icon Peggy Gou to create a limited-edition bottle in the form of Don Julio 194구 (pronounced ‘Gou’).
Celebrating the long-established tequila brand’s connection to nightlife and music culture, the super-exclusive bottle contains the ultra-smooth, luxurious taste of the usual Don Julio 1942 Tequila you’ve come to know and love a little too much – with notes of caramel and oak complemented by that signature lingering sweet warmth – dressed up in a supersized bottle designed in partnership with the DJ herself (the aesthetic is a combination of high-end fashion and cutting-edge street style that’ll look great on your home bar).
You’ll have to be quick to get your hands on one, though – they’re flying off the shelves.
Pantalones Tequila Blanco
Star power: Matthew McConaughey
Launching in the UK this June, Matthew McConaughey’s Pantalones Tequila – meaning ‘pants’ in Spanish to reflect its playful founders and serving up a Blanco, Reposado and Añejo (aged) – is made from Blue Weber agave and is 100 per cent organic.
The actor and his wife, Camilla, met over a margarita cocktail, so the spirit is special to them both. The smooth blanco is sweet, honeyed and citrusy with aromas of caramel, fruit and lime. In homage to the happy couple, we like it in a margarita where the salty rim offers a welcome contrast to the sweet spirit.