Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, guys. This interview tonight, you're really going to enjoy. I actually recorded this with Christiana back in July, and we talked about all the things that were about to happen and that were coming out, and we put the video kind of on a shelf on hold until everything was truly announced and everything got put together. So this is going to be a little bit of a step back in time as we talk about some of the great things that are about to happen, not only with Valar, but also the amazing things that have happened with. With the hint of buena foundation and the good agave pledge. Stick around. I think you'll enjoy this one.
It's tasting tequila with Brad.
Hey, Christiana. How are you doing today?
[00:00:47] Speaker B: I'm doing great, Brad. How are you and your.
Your fishbowl?
[00:00:52] Speaker A: I'm. I'm really excited. My. My wife made a suggestion. She made a nice suggestion. She said, you know, you do a lot of interviews and you drink a lot of tequila, so. So maybe you could maybe just do one glass a night.
And I agreed with her.
And so tonight, I want to use the newest repo that I have of the Valar repo, which is one of my absolute favorite tequilas.
Who puts those in there? Renee, Those are in there so hard.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: No, the women. It's all women that do the bottling.
Isn't that the sound?
[00:01:30] Speaker A: Those are tough girls. Okay, This, I tell Tony, is a half glass.
[00:01:40] Speaker B: That's amazing.
Well, let me pour something, too, which we'll talk about in a little bit.
But. So I don't want you drinking alone.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: Brad, I.
I've drank alone a lot this week with my wife gone, so.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: I know. Well, I feel like you still do, even when she's home.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: I do. Yep.
Drinking alone.
Although Tony's really starting to like more tequila. One of her favorites is your blanco. She really likes Atanacio blanco as well.
She likes Alex's blanco. So, like, I'll ask her when I come out. I said, what do you want tonight? What sipper do you want? And nine times out of 10, she's just like, volar. I'm like, okay, cool. So that's. That's her go to. But every once in a while, she'll throw a curveball, and she'll say, I want some of that Athanasio. And it's like, okay.
[00:02:31] Speaker B: Full stop. So keep it in the family.
[00:02:35] Speaker A: Absolutely. And over my shoulder, I think that you can probably see Atanasio and the lar bottles.
[00:02:41] Speaker B: Yeah. You know what? Over here we have Athanasio. Sorry, it was our. But athanasi is literally right behind the.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: I just need more of a LR like that.
[00:02:51] Speaker B: Well, cheers, Brad.
[00:02:52] Speaker A: Cheers, my friend.
[00:02:53] Speaker B: Salute. Salute.
[00:03:03] Speaker A: You know, when you pour it in the glass and you can smell it this far away, and it smells that good.
That's awesome.
That's fantastic. All right, well, catch us up on all of the things. All things valar. All the things that are going on. Let us know what's happening out there.
[00:03:17] Speaker B: Oh, God, there's so many things. I mean, we can start on the. On the spirit, the boo side of things, if you'd like. As you'll see, this just has a random piece of our hunter green tape around it, because the ABV is on this because we are coming out with our batch dose.
And what's super exciting about it is, I'm not sure. Did we tell you the story about how we ended up on the 42% ABV for batch one?
[00:03:42] Speaker A: I think so. It was like a. You guys did, like, a tasting with a few people, and then everybody, like, agreed with the same thing. And that's what you went with, Right?
[00:03:49] Speaker B: And we did two different panels. So we did first a panel with just people that enjoy drinking tequila. You know, they are not experts, they're not aficionados, but they enjoy drinking tequila. And all the. We tried five different abvs, I believe, and everybody landed on 42. And then about an hour after that, we had Chava from Costco, Wayne, Gina Castillo, Gina's husband, a bunch of amazing people come and do the second tasting, La Tequilena. Like, it was an amazing panel. And this was. I was so new to this, and I was like, I can't believe all these people are here for us. This is amazing. Like, it was, you know, and that's really a testament to Renee and Shah Seed, because they invited all of these people on our behalf, and it was really special. So. Yeah. And then the same exact thing happened with panel number two.
And what was interesting was people, you know, first were afraid. Like, you know, this is a really complex tequila, and to hit the market at this ABV might be a little bit. A little bit intense, but it just. As, you know, the flavor profile, it's simply delicious, you know, and you don't know you're drinking 42% unless you drink too much of it. And then all of a sudden, you're like, oh, shit. Usually three shots would be fine. And now I feel very drunk.
But, you know, it tastes. It just tastes so good. So we did the same exact thing with batch dose, and so we're actually going to be coming out with the different ABV for this one.
And so that's what I'm drinking now.
We. We did the panel the second. We did actually three panels, four panels, actually. We did a lot this time and one was really interesting. This last time we had a mix of aficionados and just like your everyday, I love tequila type of people. And we were doing it at the distillery and one of them that we tried was super smooth and approachable.
And then the other one that we're coming out with is also super complex and people are like, you can't. You can't, like, you can't come out swinging and then come out like, with just like a. A nice tequila. And I was like, no, no, we can't. So we landed on it and it's actually a lot of it's going into barrels. And then if all goes well, we should have our blanco. I'm trying to decide if I should tell you the news or not that we're also coming out with the high proof this year. Yes, I know, I know, I know, I know. I really tried to make it 45% because I'm 45 years old and when I started this company, I was 42. That was totally happenstance. But I let ego step aside and we chose the better high proof percentage. So I'm excited for that to come out as well. So they'll be coming out at the same time and hopefully, if all goes well, we should be in the country by September. October, the latest with our blanco and our high proof.
[00:06:35] Speaker A: So I can't wait till you're 55.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: I can. I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. I mean, I love getting older in all fairness, but like, time is just going by like this and it's so bananas. It terrifies me the fact that I. The idea for this happened three years ago and here we are, you know, and next month, almost exactly a month from today, it'll be two years since we launched on the market.
[00:07:03] Speaker A: Very cool. That's awesome.
You know, if you try to make it my abv, it have to be a mezcal.
[00:07:12] Speaker B: That's not true, Brad. That is not true.
[00:07:14] Speaker A: I'm 56. Yeah.
[00:07:16] Speaker B: Oh, that's right. 56 and fabulous. And Tony's the same, right?
[00:07:20] Speaker A: Nope, Tony is 54. It's two years.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: 54. And both of you guys, like, you know, it's not. To me, age is nothing but a number. It really is. It's like how we live our lives and how much tequila you drink Tequila.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: Keeps you healthy and running, I think seems to help and eating right. But yeah, every year gets better and it's more fun. And this, this Tequila journey thing has been a blast. And meeting all of the great people has really made this so much fun. And you know I'm available for tasting panels, right?
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Do Brad. I do. Well, you'll be part of that next in August.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: I can't wait.
[00:07:53] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. You want to talk about that or are we going to keep it a secret?
Let's.
[00:07:59] Speaker A: Let's go ahead and talk about it a little bit. So we're going to put together something awesome that'll come out quite a bit sometime down the road. Right.
And I'm really excited because it'll be the first single barrel that I get to be a part of. So we're gonna do a single barrel velour on Yeho.
So I'm really fired up about it. So it's gonna be really cool doing it a little differently than what some of the content people do with their barrels. My. My whole plan on this is to. To take this and then 100% of the profits from this barrel will go straight to the hu foundation. So we can just do more good. And I'm, I'm really excited about it. It's really the only reason that I would want to do something like this. And doing this one with your tequila because it's so amazing.
The. An. The anejo is so sought after last time, you know, and this is batch two, so it's like there's not a whole bunch of anejo out there like this. So somebody will really get something special and really help, you know, some people that need some help. So I'm excited about it.
[00:09:06] Speaker B: Brad, it is such an honor that you and Tony chose us because, you know, I feel really lucky that we had the opportunity to spend that time together in tequila. And she's amazing. I love her. I mean, you're amazing, Obvi.
Trust me, both of you together. It and how much money you've already raised for the foundation starting last year. You know, your commitment to us has been. It's just been incredible without even meeting each other and that. To me, I mean, obviously now we've met, but we're really grateful and we're really excited. Like I can't wait for you to have your little sticker on your bottle of your face.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: I. I can't wait to send you T shirts. I now have T shirts with crazy cartoon on there. I couldn't get Doug to Send me more T shirts to wear, so I had to order my own.
So when you talk to Doug next time, give him a hard time about it.
[00:09:55] Speaker B: Well, then you got to send Doug a T shirt. So then next time you guys talk, you can wear his shirt, and he can wear your shirt.
[00:10:00] Speaker A: Yeah, I already told him he's going to wear my shirt, and I'm going to wear my shirt.
I've wore his shirt in 100 videos, and I'm still wearing his shirt in a video, so.
[00:10:11] Speaker B: Well, you know, like you, great job. Doug was an early adopter of supporting the foundation, and he, you know, he brought us onto his podcast with our partners at Pro Natura and, you know, raised a lot of money through his membership program. And, no, it's just incredible. Jay Bear, so many of you have done so much for us, and we're just very grateful. Very, very grateful.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: Your ears are probably burning. Yesterday, I have a. Also have a podcast called Real Estate Makes Us Drink in the Success Happy Hour. And on that podcast, our guest yesterday was Tequila J. Bear. And they talked about all the things he does outside of tequila, but also what he does, you know, in the realm of tequila. And. And we talked about you and the foundation there, too. And I know he's a big supporter. And, you know, we all want to give back, right? We all take so much, I think, of from. From Topo Chico to tequila, how much water I drink from Mexico. And everybody says, don't drink the water in Mexico. They got it all wrong, right?
So to do something that gives back to those people that give to us so much, that's really what. It's more about that than it is anything. So I'm excited about it.
[00:11:14] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you, Brad. You know, what's exciting, too, is so much of it is that people are just. They don't know, right? Like, tequila comes from Mexico. That's a. The majority of what people understand about tequila, you know, they don't think about the labor that goes behind it. They don't think about the amount of water it takes just to make one bottle. And I understand that. You know, so for us, what's been so exciting is having, you know, a platform to really start talking about it and highlighting different issues within the industry and also meeting so many people, like you and Jay Bear and Doug, like, who have done. Who have just sort of believed in the mission. But, you know, so for us to have, you know, have the trust of so many people also including other brands, to let us sort of help shepherd this movement around how we bring, you know, opportunities for people to learn more about the industry, not, not, not about the juice itself. Right. There are so many people that do incredible work about the juice and the additive free community and all of that. But for us it's really more about the community work and the people behind tequila. And you've seen it, you know, you've seen it in real life and the amount of work and quite literally like the, the, the blood and the sweat that go behind bringing a Penia out of the ground all the way to the bottling. It's, it's an extensive amount of work. So it's exciting, it's exciting. It's exciting to be, you know, part of this, like, kind of at the forefront of like moving this stuff along in partnership with a lot of wonderful people. And there's also wonderful people like Ileana Partida. Her distillery is doing magnificent work in sustainability and in world and social impact. And she's another great example of someone, you know, walking the talk. So it's, it's cool, you know, it's really cool. And people like you that help us bring, you know, to elevate the, the story and you know, it's, it's been a lot of fun. A lot of work though. So much work.
[00:13:06] Speaker A: I'm excited about how many other brands and brand owners are getting excited about jumping on board to help make this foundation move forward. So let's dive into that a little bit. So talk about what. So somebody that hasn't watched or somebody that doesn't know, talk about what, what you're trying to accomplish and what you're doing there.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: Sure. So our goal really. So the, the tequila industry is a really interesting industry. It's a multi billion dollar industry. But the majority of the money there stays here in the States, in Europe or overseas. But right. Rarely goes back to the people behind the process of making tequila. And so the whole idea was how do we create, you know, a more equitable supply chain where the hornalero, the horna letero is like the day labor. Hornalero is a day laborer. We use that word, you know, for different kinds of farm workers and things like that. And specifically in the agave industry, it's hornalero. And he is the one that is tending to the farms, making sure the agave grows properly. And then the jimador is the one that actually goes in and harvests the, the yabe. And then you have a huge supply chain that goes all the way until this bottle makes it to the US or Europe or wherever and the idea is, is that that ho has the opportunity, you know, to build generational wealth, has the opportunity to send his kid to school, you know, or the woman in the bottling area has the opportunity, you know, to send, send her kid off to college abroad. You know, it's just this idea of shared, shared prosperity and shared wealth. Because, you know, I think you and I have talked about this a lot. I don't personally need to be a billionaire. I very much, like, I'm sure my finance people would be like, oh my God, stop giving your money away.
But, you know, I live a really comfortable life and it's not fancy, it's not flashy, but it's comfortable. I feel like if I can do that, there's no reason why someone who has played an intricate part in bringing my tequila to the world shouldn't have that same opportunity. So it's really trying to figure out, like, how do we do this? How do we create a model that's replicable?
And so to do that, we teamed up with the University of Guadalajara, the, the College of Michoacan, and then Pronatura, which is a large environmental NGO in Mexico, and basically funded all of this research to be done on the ground by Mexicans, for Mexicans. Because that was also something that was really important, is that the research and the collaborations were a representation of people in Mexico, not a bunch of Americans coming in and being like, this is what you need to do.
And.
Yes, yes. And it's, it's sort of remarkable how common that is. Like, like, we know better. We know better than you know better or than you know.
So San Pedro, do you have been. And you have been part of the tour, but you, we also walked you through the community.
And so part of that research was funding a team of four to actually live in the community and embed themselves in the community to understand, like, what are some of the biggest issues. And the reason why we chose San Pedro de los Banderos is because a big chunk of our employees at the distillery live there. So we really wanted to hyper, hyper, hyper focus in an area where we knew we could have direct impact on the people who brought the spirit to us. And, and after living with this community, the biggest sort of issue and the first and foremost issue that they wanted to address was the lack of fresh water.
And as it's changing because of, you know, the progress we've made over the last several months. But historically they didn't have running water. So a lot of them, and they, a lot of them don't have cisterns. And so they would just have like, you know, these sort of like, like 100 gallon barrels that were kind of cut off on the top and they had still water sitting in there and you have issues with, you know, dengue and mosquitoes and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then the truck would deliver the water whenever it wanted, you know, so a lot of the women would have to stay up 2, 3 in the morning and just wait, knowing that at some point the water was going to come so that they could quickly cook, wash their clothes and like get a lot of things done in that period of time.
So we decided to tackle water and that's, that is, that is where we are work, what we're, we are working on right now. And many of you have helped us fundraise. But I'll pause there because I like feel like I'm on a monologue right now. So I'll start.
[00:17:22] Speaker A: You're perfect. This, this is the explanation for people to know what's happening. So. So the goal was to add cisterns to each house.
So how many residents have received their cistern so far? Or at least in the process?
[00:17:36] Speaker B: Yes.
Oh my God. This is like why people don't want to do this kind of work. Because it's hard, right? You would think, like, okay, we got 10 cisterns. So there's 21 homes that have been identified that need cisterns.
Now SPL sits.
So there's 21 homes. We raised enough for 10 homes. And our goal was, let's get these 10 in. Because at the end of the day, we have spent, we've invested so much time and money and effort into the research, but that's not tangible. And people can't see they have like. It's hard to understand how much we have invested in this, but you can't see it. So we as a team decided, let's get these first 10 and also let's just get the water moving. But also demonstrate like, real impact that we are actually putting our money where our mouths are. Then the big question, as you can imagine, was, well, how do you choose what 10 homes? Get the sister first. And of course that's not a choice we can make. Leo Bardo, who, I don't know if you met him when we were down there, but he's our principal investigator from the University of Guadalajara and he has, he's sort of served as the liaison to this community for us.
And he, working with the community delegates, they organized a meeting and the community all agreed on who should get their first 10 house. Who? What? 10 houses? Yeah. It was pretty remarkable.
And so once that was set, then that came the question of is it an above ground cistern or is it a below ground cistern? And a lot of that has to do with where they sit, depending on, you know, how the water flows. Right. And unfortunately, only three of them got to be above ground because they were low enough to where water could flow to them. The remaining seven have to go underground. And SPL sits on this bedrock. And so there's no, like, you can't like go in there with a little, I don't, you know, machine that or hand shovel. You have to go back.
[00:19:26] Speaker A: Oh, you need an excavator that can break up the stone to get it down in the ground.
[00:19:31] Speaker B: You use the exact correct term. So you could imagine in Tequila, finding a hydraulic excavator is not like, you know, everywhere.
Yeah, yeah. Yes. So we worked very closely with the president of Tequila's office, and they actually agreed to donate both the equipment and the labor to dig.
So again, small town, There's a lot of need for this excavator. So it's not like we're like, we're gonna send it immediately. You know, we had to wait a long time before we could get it. So we finally got it.
Oh, my God. I think they got one done. And then I get a picture and a text and it said, how's xx broke the excavator because it was so bad and it was so, so hard that it just. I will send you a picture of like this sad. This little.
We know.
[00:20:23] Speaker A: I don't know what happened. It doesn't anymore.
[00:20:25] Speaker B: I'm like, oh, my God. Really? Like, really? After everything we've been going through to get this done, and we're trying to beat the rainy season because the rainy season starts in June and then it's just like torrent. It's like the rains. There are no joke. They are like tropical, like torrential rains. And so you have to try to beat that.
Of course, that didn't happen. So then we have to figure out, okay, what do we need? And so it turns out that we needed manual rotary drilling machine. I'm not.
I'm like, learning, learning. And so then a core driller. Core driller, yes. So then we're like, where do you find a core driller in Tequila?
[00:21:10] Speaker A: Nope.
[00:21:12] Speaker B: And. And so thankfully, we work with such an exceptional team, you know, and Leo Bardo in particular is so connected in that world. So he found a gentleman that was willing to do because, you know, these costs just add up and add up and add up. Right. The city may have donated the excavator, but that's it. Everything else, it's on us to figure out how to fund. And so, you know, we had to make the hard decision of this. We don't have the money to do it, but we're just going to do it because we also don't want to not deliver on.
[00:21:39] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:21:39] Speaker B: Our promise.
So I'm very happy to tell you, Brad, as of this week, every single home has been excavated. I'm pretty sure all of the cisterns are in. And then next week they're going to be installing the final plumbing so that everybody has running water.
[00:21:54] Speaker A: That's fantastic.
[00:21:56] Speaker B: Oh my God.
[00:21:58] Speaker A: And none of that runs on, you know, unicorns and sunshine. So everybody needs to figure out where that donate button is and help out because. Because it is very important.
[00:22:07] Speaker B: From your lips to God's ears. Because every single one of us that on the foundation, we're all volunteers. Nobody gets paid. Right. Like this is, this is like everyone's ex, like third job.
And including Leo Bardo, including all the people that have worked with us down there, it's possible, you know, and then once you kind of figure out the. The rhythm, I think things just become a little bit easier. So we'll be launching a new campaign probably towards the end of the summer to raise money for the additional 11 cisterns.
[00:22:35] Speaker A: And once, once we're done there, this is duplicatable for other towns and other areas within the Tequila region and outside of the region. Of course, if, if we get all of the people within the Tequila region, they have running water and everything works, then maybe we go to Oaxaca and we help everybody in the Mezcal communities as well. But it is duplicatable and it's something that is far reaching to the people there. And it's pretty exciting.
[00:23:00] Speaker B: It. Thank you, Brad. It is exciting because, you know, water, you think about the opportunities that a lot of the women are going to have now, right? They can start cooking, they can start selling their food. Right. There's so many opportunities for them to also build their own businesses. When you have running water, it's not just, I mean, obviously life, but what that the opportunities that open up. It's incredible. It's incredible. And I think about what my life random story. We were at an Airbnb in Tequila and the municipality forgot to fill the cistern and so ran out of water. And it was 5pm on like a Saturday or something. And they're like, sorry, you're gonna have to wait. And we were checking out the next day anyway, and so we didn't have water. I did not have water for 15 hours or something like that. And I was like, oh, my God, you figure it out. You'd have jugs of water. And it's. It's 15 hours and you figure it out.
But it is amazing how quickly I totally take for granted water my whole life.
[00:23:59] Speaker A: Anybody that's watching this today, what I want you to think about right now is how many places just in your house you can walk to and get a glass of water, or you can turn on a hose, or you can run one of your appliances, right? I mean, there's probably 30 plus places just in my house where I could go get water, not to mention hit a button and fill up my hot tub or my pool, right? Like, there's water everywhere. And then think about living someplace where you've got to wait to the water to be delivered at night to keep in a barrel.
And if you have more than 10 spaces in your house where you can get water there, I'll put a donate button up here and just give 10 bucks. I mean, that'll help somebody maybe add one additional place to get water in their house. Because it's. It's a ridiculous thought that we can't, you know, help out a little bit. And, you know, what it cost to have Netflix for a month to have somebody have water in their house? I mean, that's.
[00:24:55] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like, from a psychological standpoint, you know, we've. I've spent my life working in. In this world of sustainability and community impact and what motivates people. It's different for everybody. You know, some people, like, really care about animals, you know, or they really care about, you know, church. They. There's just. There's so many different things that people are willing. So for us, it's. We've just been working really diligently, listening to the audience and understanding what will motivate you as someone who loves this. This pro. This industry so much, you know, and you'll spend. You'll drop 200 bucks on a bottle, you know, what will make. And then it's not to shame people, because shaming people doesn't. It's not. I. I personally don't want to be shamed, and I don't want to shame anybody, you know, so it's just figuring out how do we meet people where they are in a way that's meaningful and Makes them feel like they're part of something. And to be honest, you know, we've been very lucky with Balor, where, yes, it's excellent juice. And I don't say that because it's my brand. Like, I say that because it really is exceptional juice. And I know that. But I believe what has really helped get us, you know, to the next level is the work that we're doing in reinvesting into the community.
And that's pretty cool to watch people believe in what we're doing. It's kind of amazing.
[00:26:11] Speaker A: You know, I've said this about you many, many times. You're a tequila with a purpose.
And not until recently, I met another brand that their brand is centered around music, and they donate back to Save the Music foundation and work with schools and musicians. And I. I told him, I said, well, okay, now there's two people I know with tequila with a purpose, and I think that's so important. But not that.
Not that any of the other brands that we're friends with or that we like or even the ones we dislike, they.
I'm not saying that they're bad for what they do. They're not. Again, not shaming them, because maybe they're not in that same boat or that same thought process.
So, speaking of that, even though we're here to talk about velour, can you mention some of the brands that have got involved to say, look, we're a brand with a purpose, too. We just didn't have an avenue, which I think that's where most people fall. They don't. They want to help. They don't know where that donate button is, so they don't have that avenue to help.
And let's talk about some of the brands that have said, hey, we want to be a part of this. We want to help as well.
[00:27:20] Speaker B: Absolutely. It's a great question, Brad, and you make a very good point, because the.
I have no desire to learn how to make tequila. Right. That is what I have Renee and the team at Athanasio for. But what I do have a desire to do is use my 20 years of experience in. In corporate sustainability and responsibility.
And the majority of people that have their own brands working Tequila, they don't have the experience I have, but they're exceptional tequila makers. And so I think what's been really beautiful is people being willing to let go of ego, all of us, and being like, I don't know what? I don't know. So how do we collaborate and really, like, think about collective impact in A way that's most meaningful. What's been really exciting about this initiative that we're working on, it's called the Good Agave Pledge, and it is an initiative of the hint of foundation. And we've invited brands to join this mission because the thing that we understand is that one brand, whether you're us or. Or Jose Cuevo, nobody can change the world as a singular entity. Right? But working as a collective, the impact is so much, like, it's so much greater. And so we started sort of shopping this around and Lost Lore, first of all. Lost lore. Like, we're like. They're like, we're in, we're in. I don't know what it is. Oh, I know, I know. And let's, like, I mean, just a moment for.
And Sarah, who are just incredible. But then Monte gave was actually next. They're like, we're in. And another amazing power couple, Lucy and John. Right. Like. And then the next thing you know, the sort of the, the. The ripple effect started happening. So we have Ilana Partida as part of it. Atanasio, of course, is part of it. Jose Cuero is part of it. Almatitan. I love those guys over there. They're incredible.
And then we also have another brand that's also small, like us, but they're called Tesoro Alesdeca and Yasmine and her husband Mauricio, who are also another incredible couple. So it's really. And these are all people that we have developed relationships with over the last couple of years. And the. The answer, the. The sort of response has always been we want to do something. And, you know, to be able to do it with other people, to make sure that we're having a bigger impact is something we'd love to do. So I think that's been really exciting, is that everyone's like, we don't need to. We don't need to compete over who's doing better. Right? Like, there's no competition in doing good. And so this idea that we have so many people just at the outset. And by the way, I'm going to say this out loud. So Alex, you can send them this clip. Siempre or favor. Alex, come on. Because he's already committed. You know, they committed to the single barrel, to us. So just join, Join the fam. But I don't think it's because of anything else except that he's very busy. But. And then eventually, as this starts to grow, we'll invite other brands. But we really wanted to pilot this with a small Group of brands that we know to really like, work the kinks out and figure out what's working, what's not working.
But it's really exciting. It's really, really exciting.
[00:30:18] Speaker A: Well, you know, I talk about it to just about every brand I talk to because I think the key here is, is there's so many brands, right? And everybody wants to figure out how to do something. They don't know how to do it. They know how to make tequila. Maybe they know how.
Maybe they're like Alex and they know how to make a really funny video.
But to sit down and think, how can I impact my community? That's where your history and what you've been able to do from. From Disney to do goodery is to learn how to take something and create an impact for people that's positive. And, you know, that's one of the things that I'm excited about, helping any way that I can and trying to introduce this to every brand that I talk to. Because I. I think it's a positive impact for everybody that brands. If we can take this to other communities and help other communities, maybe not necessarily just with water, maybe it's with waste removal, maybe it's better housing, maybe it's raising wages for the workers or creating a better workspace. You know, all of those things. I think it's really awesome and knowing that you're a person that I can say, gosh, I don't know how to do it. Like, I'm just a mortgage guy that doesn't. I can sell stuff. That's what I know how to do. So let me get you to somebody.
[00:31:32] Speaker B: Can't sell stuff. I can't make money, Right? So it's all. It's a big ecosystem. It's a big ecosystem. Brad and I appreciate you very much for just taking a chance on us, you know, and being willing to put yourself out there on our behalf. And it just means a lot. So thank you. Thank you very much.
[00:31:50] Speaker A: I appreciate that. But it's not much of a chance.
[00:31:52] Speaker B: I mean, I know, I know you're.
[00:31:56] Speaker A: Like the equivalent of, I'm going to take a chance on getting a new good car, so I'm going to start at the Ferrari dealership. Like, that's not really a chance. You know, I tasted fantastic tequila drink out of the still with Rene. It's like that. It's amazing. Juice, you have this great track record. You're one of the sweetest, amazing people that I've met. So, yeah, that's not as. Wasn't much of A chance. I'm tone.
[00:32:22] Speaker B: Well, that. That means a lot, Brad. And, you know, I think what's interesting is because in this world of doing good, there's been so much greenwashing and, you know, so, like, so many people, like, straight up lie about their. Not just in tequila, like, in every.
[00:32:37] Speaker A: All of it. Yeah.
[00:32:37] Speaker B: You know, and so people are sort of sick and tired of it. So I understand the skepticism that has come with what. I mean, in the beginning. Oh, my God. People are like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, cool. Yeah, cool. Yeah, you're gonna. Cool.
And so it's been really fun to be able to actually, like, showcase the work that we've done and that we actually put our money where our mouths are.
But it's, you know, it's taken a lot of time and it's taken a lot of trust building, too. But people like, well, I know, I know you said I'm like the Ferrari. Thank you. I appreciate that.
[00:33:10] Speaker A: But look at what you're doing more as a grassroots thing versus, hey, we're going to buy all your farmland and put windmills on it and save the world. Okay, well, that's hard to. That's hard to grasp. Right. But to say, look, I'm going to do this and I'm going to help these people right here.
Okay, I get that. Right. That's like when you say you're going to go out and you're going to help that community versus this overall, you know, I'm going to wear an S, and then I'm going to, you know, leap giant buildings in a single bound and save the world. That's a little harder to understand.
So you're doing something at a great level, and I appreciate it. And you make great tequila. And hell, you're fun to talk to.
[00:33:49] Speaker B: And so are you. I'm so, like, I came into the office on our day off just for you because I was like, it was fine. I'm just. I'm Brad. When you own companies, there's no such thing. You know, this, like, I do know, but this is, like, delightful, you know, like, this wasn't, like a hard client meeting that I had to have to be like, okay, what do you need now? This was. Let's talk tequila. And I actually, I never drink tequila on these things because I'm usually like, in the middle of my work day, but today I got to. So it's been very exciting drinking tequila with you.
[00:34:19] Speaker A: Well, I. I drink tequila on all of these.
[00:34:24] Speaker B: And I have.
[00:34:24] Speaker A: This is gonna sound crazy to say, but I found the Best time to do reviews. And my palette is the best is like 10, 9, 10 in the morning.
[00:34:36] Speaker B: You haven't had much right. At that point in your life, you're.
[00:34:40] Speaker A: Everything's really fresh. So then, you know, I. I do some reviews in the morning, I get to my desk and I answer the phone. Hello, this is Brad.
[00:34:50] Speaker B: Oh, God. You know the problem with tequila, especially when you're drinking the good stuff, it's.
It sneaks up on you because.
But also I was telling Renee this. I'm like, the problem with drinking good tequila or like having a good tequila company is that you drink more than you would like. When I'm down there, I eat fucking Mexican Doritos and drink tequila. Like I'm like a 21 year old frat boy. It's wild. You.
But every day I wake up at whatever, 6am and then I meet up with, you know, the team and off we go and we do it all over again. It's bananas. And then I come home and go back to my very sort of more mature life.
But you know, I think all in moderation, that's for me life.
[00:35:30] Speaker A: Yep, me too. Today I had Tostitos. Was the only meal I've had warmed up in the microwave with a really hot salsa and cheese. And I've had tequila three.
Three Red Bulls and an energy V8. That's what I've had today.
[00:35:43] Speaker B: Tony, come back. Come back. Tony, get back from your car.
[00:35:48] Speaker A: That a Tuesday around here?
[00:35:52] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:35:54] Speaker A: Christiana, I want to say thank you. 1. I want to say thanks for dressing up and looking so nice for this interview today.
[00:36:01] Speaker B: I mean, I always like this. Brad, really?
[00:36:03] Speaker A: You have a dinner party to go to. Had nothing to do with the interview. I already know.
[00:36:09] Speaker B: Listen, but you know what? I could have changed afterwards, but instead I decided to dress up early. But it is going to be a lot easier because now I just have to go to the next thing.
[00:36:19] Speaker A: Well, I love it and I thank you so much. Velar Tequila. A tequila with a purpose. An amazing tequila. The duo box that you can get with this is amazing. The Blanco and repo together. I think it was 130 bucks.
Phenomenal.
Great tequila. Yeah, it's right over your shoulder. I think it's. Oh, it's just out of my screen.
[00:36:39] Speaker B: Isn't it pretty?
[00:36:41] Speaker A: It's right there. Yeah, I. I saved this side to show with the bottles in front of it because it's really awesome. This side's not as pretty now, but this side is awesome.
[00:36:50] Speaker B: No, that's also our. The same designer, the artist behind our bottle, Nick, he also designed that holiday box. So.
[00:36:57] Speaker A: Fantastic.
[00:36:58] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, Brad.
[00:37:01] Speaker A: It's always link up here somewhere so you can click on it and buy it on their website. They ship to 40 some states.
Tell your favorite bartenders and your favorite liquor stores to get this tequila. It's amazing. And Christiana, thank you so much for doing this with me tonight. I appreciate you so much.
[00:37:17] Speaker B: We're the best. When Tony gets back, give her a big hug for me and I will see you in August. I'm so excited. I'm going to see you guys in August.
[00:37:23] Speaker A: Can't wait.
[00:37:24] Speaker B: Okay. All right. Talk to you soon.
[00:37:26] Speaker A: See you now.
[00:37:27] Speaker B: Bye.
