The Celebrity Tequila Compendium

Household figures from every nook of the entertainment industry have quickly entered the tequila game, encouraged by the astronomical success of George Clooney and Rande Gerber's Casamigos label and the billion-dollar acquisition that it garnered. There is plenty of leeway for each to impose their particular imprint on the category because there are so many distinctive methods, adaptable recipes, and styles to pick from.

818 Tequila - Kendall Jenner

Launched in the summer of 2021 after being developed for years in secret, television/model/fashion mogul Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila is the outcome of numerous trials and errors with various mixtures and formulas in search of the ideal flavor profile to suit her ever-expanding business.

After the line's existence has lasted around a year, Jenner has successfully established a devoted and lucrative market niche for both herself and the company she named after the area code of her San Fernando Valley homeland. 

Fans of 818 praise the unique blending of tequilas aged in time-honored American oak and the much less common French wood, which imparts creamy vanilla along with a hint of fragrant spice more commonly found in Cognac or scotch aged in French oak. This results in a center-stage sweetness.

DeLeón Tequila - Sean Combs

Sean Combs, a multi-platinum recording artist, is not a newbie to the world of celebrity liqueurs. When Combs was named Ciroc Vodka's brand ambassador in 2007, the vodka's popularity skyrocketed. As a result, when the chance to co-own Deleon Tequila presented itself in 2013, purchasing this extremely expensive sipping tequila was a no-brainer.

Even in its Blanco expression, each of the tequilas in the DeLeón series uses only the Corazón, or heart, of the distillation to produce a lovely depth of taste.
The aged expressions combine the mastery of tequila with the art of winemaking to create a distinctive and well-balanced flavor. They are double-barreled in American oak barrels and finished in French wine casks. The Blanco is crisp and flavorful with citrus and tropical fruit notes, the Reposado is silky smooth with traces of butterscotch candy and warm baking spice notes, and the Aejo is a decadent affair more comparable to great Cognac with sweet caramel and dried fruit that elegantly concludes with soft vanilla notes.

Every bottle has the DeLeón emblem tattooed on it, and the liquid is topped off with a custom metal closure that was meticulously hand-carved from sterling silver. Whether or not it has celebrity backing, DeLeón is one of the best tequilas on the market thanks to the attention and skill that go into each bottle.

Casamigos Tequila - George Clooney

The Casamigos narrative, which opened the way for celebrity tequila, is now a widespread urban legend.

The high-end club owner and husband of Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber, and Hollywood megastar George Clooney celebrated their friendship by creating and bottling a tequila to their preferences. The team asserts that making the drink available to the general public was never in the original plan, but friends and investors persuaded them otherwise.

That proved to be the perfect decision, of course, as Casamigos swiftly gained popularity and attracted the attention of beverage goliath Diageo, which in 2017 paid an astounding $1 billion to acquire control of the renownedly gentle, semi-sweet, and lightly spicy range.

El Tequileño “The Sassenach Select” Tequila - Sam Heughan

Not a comprehensive range of tequilas, but a single bottling created in partnership with Sam Heughan's own scotch whiskey company, Sassenach, and 3rd Generation Tequilero and Tequileo manufacturer Tony Salas.

The agave for The Sassenach Select is distilled in a traditional copper pot still, then matured in American white oak and finished in French oak, imparting whisky-like notes of vanilla, caramel, and aromatic spice. This process aims to combine the best of artisanal tequila with time-honored European whisky tradition.

The Sassenach Select is a celebrity collaboration that El Tequileo creates in extremely small quantities, making it a sought-after item for collectors and enthusiasts.

Cincoro Tequila - Michael Jordan

Cincoro Tequila was the result of a casual conversation between a group of NBA team owners over dinner, including Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, Wyc Grousbeck of the Boston Celtics and his wife Emilia Fazzalari (CEO), Wes Edens of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Michael Jordan, a well-known former player and current co-owner of the Charlotte Hornets.

The group as a whole agreed that tequila could be the best sipping spirit, but they wanted to see some extra, opulent elements like the complexity of great whiskey or the dark, lingering finish of Cognac added. "After three years of work, we had four completely original, wonderful, and unlike anything else we had discovered expressions," The latest Behind the Brand Interview with Emilia quotes her as saying, "It depicts exactly what we desired. Michael and I still taste-test each batch we make to make sure it is high-quality and consistent.

The result was Cincoro, a premium brand delicately blended from both Highland and Lowland region agave, with a strong emphasis on a scent of citrus. Cincoro's name is a combination of the Spanish words for "five" and "gold."
The 44-month-aged Extra Aejo offers rich chocolate and cinnamon from its time in American Whiskey barrels. Careful wood aging brings out the darker fruits and pleasant spices.

Código 1530 Tequila - George Strait

Despite being referred as as "George Strait's tequila," the country music singer is just a shareholder in the company that Ron Snyder, the former CEO of Crocs Footwear, founded and developed.

However, Codigo 1530's history goes considerably further back than that.
Before Snyder arrived to Mexico and was accepted into a private drinking club that had some of the secret spirit on hand to sip, "the private tequila" was made privately by a secret recipe for five whole generations in Amatitan, Jalisco.

After being astounded by the rich flavor and fruit-forward complexity of Código, Snyder struck a deal to bottle and market the spirit with the support of Brett Hull, Mike Shanahan, a former football coach, and, yes, George Strait, who sings the spirit's praises in his song "Código."

Flecha Azul Tequila- Mark Wahlberg

Flecha Azul was founded in 2020 by Mexican golfer Abraham Ancer and businessman Aron Marquez, but it wasn't until Mark Wahlberg joined the company this year that it became a recognized global brand.

Ancer and Marquez's "self-made" philosophy and the peppery, herbal tequila itself impressed Wahlberg, who got in and started working to make the brand a success on a global scale.

Flecha Azul has increased production and now provides a full line of aged tequila, including 36-month-old Extra Aejo as well as a rich, chocolate-flavored, and crystal-clear Aejo Cristalino expression.

Teremana Tequila - Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Action movie and professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson saw the realization of his long-held desire of creating his own tequila brand when he personally founded Teremana with its own custom distillery and guiding principles.

The primary objective of Teremana, whose name loosely translates to "spirit of the ground," is sustainability and environmentally responsible production. To this end, they recycle their own wastewater and use used agave mash as fertilizer.
The outcome is a spirit that is noticeably fruity, fresh, and overflowing with lemon zest.

Customers have undoubtedly reacted favorably to Teremana's beliefs and founder Johnson's boundless charisma, making the tequila one of the fastest-growing spirit brands in the world since 2020.

Calirosa Tequila - Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo

When supermodel Behati Prinsloo and Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine made the decision to enter the tequila market, they intended to do it with a stronger emphasis on the Mexican heritage and the customs with which the spirit is made.

As a result, the website for Calirosa Tequila, the company they helped start and design, contains very little information on Levine and Prinsloo.
The Real family, a multigenerational tequila-making family with roots in Amatitan, Jalisco, whose involvement in tequila production dates back to the 1940s, is maintained in the spotlight as their key collaborators.

They boldly age their "single origin" tequila, which is intriguingly pink and has subdued red berry notes and pepper spice, in barrels of California red wine.