Interview George Clooney and Rande Gerber, Casamigos Tequila

SPIRITS & LIQUEURS

TEQUILA STARS

Drinks Trade talks with Hollywood heavyweights, George Clooney and Rande Gerber, about the phenomenal success of their tequila brand Casamigos, ‘House of Friends’.

Drinks Trade: What is it about tequila that people love?

Rande Gerber: For some people, they associate tequila with their college days and hangovers. Casamigos has definitely changed that experience. George and I created Casamigos out of our desire to drink the best tasting, smoothest tequila. A tequila that we could drink neat or on the rocks and not be hungover the next morning. George Clooney: You can hide a lot of bad tequilas behind a margarita. But Casamigos actually enhances the margarita. RG: The Blanco makes a perfect premium margarita.

DT: What did you seek to achieve in the creation of your brand of tequila?

RG: Casamigos was created out of our desire to drink the best tequila. At the time George and I were building homes in Mexico, and as one does when you spend time in Mexico, we were drinking a lot of tequila. We would go to different restaurants and bars, and bartenders would suggest different tequilas, some really expensive, some not so expensive, some good, some not so good. They all had one thing in common, they burned going down. With that, George turned to me and said, “Why don’t we just make our own, one that’s perfect for us?” So we did. We wanted the best tasting, smoothest tequila, one that didn’t have to be covered up with salt or lime. We wanted to be able to drink it all night long and not be hungover in the morning. We spent many months researching master distillers and distilleries and found the best in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. Two years and 700 bottles of samples later, we finally got it perfect. We made Casamigos just for us to drink and share with friends. We took the time and had the patience to get it just right. Named after our homes in Mexico, Casamigos loosely translates as ‘House of Friends’. It wasn’t intended for the public, but after word got out, we couldn’t resist sharing it with everyone. GC: At first we were doing it just for us. We just started making bottles for ourselves to drink and everybody liked it so we felt that this might be something we should sell.

DT: Describe what was involved from light bulb idea to pouring your first shot from a bottle of Casamigos off the assembly line?

RG: So I looked into some distilleries, we met the master distillers and told them the profiles we wanted. We wanted it to be really smooth, no burn at all which isn’t typical. We wanted to be able to sip it neat or on the rocks and not have to mix it with juices or anything else. It took two years for our master distiller to make it perfect. We went through 700 samples, which was also fun. We did blind taste tests with all of our friends and we finally came up with the perfect tequila. Cut to two years later—we got a call from our distillery saying we had a problem. They said, “Either you guys are selling this or you’re drinking way too much. We’re sending you 1,000 bottles a year and we can’t keep doing that and calling them samples. So you need to get licensed to sell.” After that call I asked George what he wanted to do. He said, “Let’s get licensed; if we only sell one bottle it doesn’t matter, as long as we get to keep drinking our tequila, we’re happy.” So we started the company and it took off immediately. People knew that we had something special – not your typical tequila.

DT: When was the moment you realized this passion project could be big business?

RG: Great brands reflect the people who create them. We took our time, had the patience and the money to get it right. It’s all we drink and that’s why we are involved in every aspect of Casamigos. From the tequila, to the name and

bottle design, to marketing and distribution, for us it’s our lifestyle. Consumers are very smart and they know what they want. They love and appreciate the authenticity and quality of our brand.

DT: Is it the Hollywood magic that is projecting this brand into the stars or is tequila the next big thing?

RG: We have people drinking Casamigos that never drank tequila before as well as customers that switched from vodka and other types of liquor and are now fans of Casamigos. They love and appreciate the authenticity and quality of our brand. The fact that we are the fastest growing ultra-premium tequila in the country is based on the quality, taste, smoothness and numerous awards we have received from tequila experts who all want and appreciate the best.

DT: Casamigos Mezcal has just been launched in Australia. Tell us about this new product and what we can expect.

RG: We were given mezcals to try a few years ago and there was one we really loved. At the time, all of our attention was focused on sharing Casamigos Tequila with the world but we stayed in touch with the family that created that Mezcal and knew one day it would become part of our Casamigos family. George, Mike (third founder Mike Meldman) and I are passionate about Casamigos and everything we do. Our Mezcal was brought to us by a family that has made it for five generations. Our Mezcal is as different as Casamigos is to the world of tequila. Extremely smooth, the perfect smokiness and easy to drink. It truly is the perfect addition to the Casamigos family.

DT: What is your favorite Casamigos Tequila or is that like asking to choose between your children? And the best way to drink it?

RG: We love them all equally, and our favourite way to drink our tequila is neat or on the rocks. GC: … and sometimes straight from the bottle! drinks trade|31