Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Talk about a treat. Tonight I sit down with Greg Sobel, the owner of Taquiya Kosher Spirits Tequila. And this stuff is amazing. He talks about the whole story and I've got to tell you, he really shares the passion about his family, how he started this, the Jewish community that he represents and is really trying to bring a great spirit to. And we talk about his mom, we talk about his entrepreneurism, and we also talked about about the fact that he was a touring drummer. So it's a great story. I hope you stick around and watch it. Thanks for checking it out. Have a great time.
I'm here with Greg. How you doing tonight, Greg?
[00:00:46] Speaker B: Hey, Brad. Doing well.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: Well, I'm excited to talk to you about your tequila. Tequila Kosher Spirits. I'm excited about having you here and talk about your journey in tequila. Your story, that's always, to me, kind of the coolest part. And then of course to talk about the process of your tequila and how you came up with this. So why don't you tell everybody a little bit about who you are and where you're from?
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Awesome. For sure. I really appreciate you having me on the show. I've been watching all the different videos, all the content. I think everything you're putting out is high quality and I love all the different videos and all the different things you've been able to provide. So it's super entertaining and educational for me. No problem. I live in Detroit, Michigan, Metro Detroit. I grew up here. I, I'm married. I have two little, two little boys and I work with my wife. So we've. She's a, an amazing high end interior designer. Carrie Long of Carry Long Interiors. So we have tag team everything and we're very entrepreneurial together. So we've done a lot of things. And when I came up with this concept, I first said to her, I have this really. This is a crazy idea. I mean, what do you think about this kosher tequila called Tequila? She's like, wow, that's, that's actually really cool. I think it's a great idea. Of course, when you say something like that, you immediately think, yeah, it's a great idea. So of course, if somebody's already done it, it exists. I sure you Google it. Oh, there it is. Yep. And I went and I checked it out and it was pretty much like tumbleweeds and ghost towns. Like, this is weird. How come I can't find it? It all came about because when I went to go get a bottle of kosher tequila that I wanted to take to a For instance, a rabbi, and they need it for. To give a toaster l'chaim. I went to the store and I asked and I'm like, hey, I'm looking for it now. We don't really have anything like that. It blew my mind. I'm like, well, why not? So then after researching it, I realized, I guess I could try to make this.
Mexico to me, is in my blood. My mom was born and raised there. I grew up going there since I was a baby. All my family and cousins are there. And it is a big community that in Mexico City you see a big community of the Jewish Mexicans too. Right now Mexico City has a Jewish president. It's pretty unbelievable. So it was sort of. It all made sense to me. And I started doing my research and figuring it out, and then it was very. For me, I had a really clear vision because when I thought of this, I already knew exactly what I wanted to do and how. Kind of like Kevin Costner fastener. Like, I just have to build it and it'll. They'll come. And that was it. So I'm like, I already know. I was. I became obsessed. I started buying as much tequila as I could to know what is a good tequila and why is it good and how is it made and where is it coming from and getting to all the noms and distillers and. And then at some point I just said, hey, Carrie, I have to go to Guadalajara next weekend. And I'm going to go. My cousin who's in Mexico is going to meet me. My cousin Adam was there, and we went out and we just started talking to all of the guys and meeting all distilleries and trying to find that home that could produce what I was envisioning. And there's so many amazing profiles out there, you know, and it was important be made well authentically. You have great agave, great water source, yeast, the process, no additives. And at the end of the day, I had to be able to get it ou certified with the Orthodox Union so that it would be all kosher. And that was another process I had to go and ensure that I could do because that's such a big part of what I'm trying to produce.
[00:04:23] Speaker A: And I know that's a. That's a big process in any industry to go in and make a kosher product. And you enlightened me that there's also Jewish people in Mexico. In my brain, everybody was pretty much Catholic. To see you have a product like this and to know that there's such a community in Mexico and not see a lot of kosher tequilas. That, that, that's kind of shocking, really. You would think there'd be more.
[00:04:49] Speaker B: Yeah, the, the biggest thing about this was when I had that concept, the idea, the. One of the motivating factors is to make something that really meant something that had it, that was important. And so the biggest, important thing to me is honoring my family, honoring our culture, honoring. Honoring our community, honoring the way that they make the agave and those customs and the tradition. So I wanted to put it all together and something that would make my family proud. So that was a big thing. And that's where you see on the label, it talks about that and brings it out and then making it something that was really, really a quality spirit. It's kind of funny, like, you know, a lot of people, as everyone migrated and everybody would come to the States, a lot of Europeans would come in through New York. But my family ended up coming through Mexico and that's where they, that's where they grew up and lived and they've always been. So my mom was born and raised there and you would never expect it because she was fair skinned with red hair.
[00:05:53] Speaker A: Right.
[00:05:54] Speaker B: But she had a thick Mexican accent. Unfortunately, I lost my mom, so this is also in memory to her and the family. And on my dad's side also, we. He had the connection with family that were in Mexico. That's how my mom and dad met, through families that knew each other.
And so. But my dad was from the States and it was. Yeah, people don't expect that. And there's a huge community. It's very vibrant. And it was always, to me, like I always knew, but not everybody would ever consider. But it's all over the world, so it's great. So this was, this was the first, like you said, it's the first Jewish branded tequila. That it is meant to honor that and the community. And you know, I thought that was really important to bring it out.
[00:06:41] Speaker A: It is very important. It's very cool. And speaking of good juice, I don't know if you have a glass laying around already, but you have the blanco. I poured the blanco and I poured a little repo, but I'm a blanco first, so I figured, you know, it's. Open it up and I give it a try. And yeah, the nose on it is amazing. Like, it's actually a lot more floral than what I was expecting, knowing that it was a lowlands, but maybe that's some of that. The michuacan agaves coming out but it also, with the floral, there's also a lot of minerality to it. And then of course, a great cooked agave smell. I love that smell. And I bring home cooked agave every time I go, so I can warm it up in the microwave and have people taste it and smell it so they know what I'm talking about.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: That's amazing. I never thought about that.
[00:07:26] Speaker A: It's really, really, it's bright, it's clean. You get a nice cooked agave. But I get a little bit of like a non cooked agave, like a fresh agave, a little bit of vegetable notes and a great minerality to it. That's, that's a very nice, that's a very nice blanco.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: It was, it really struck me like I tried a lot of different profiles and there was something really special about this one and how they made it. I love, I love the minerality part, but the, like, the really good fresh gave and so it was. I couldn't put my finger on either. But when I had gone there and I kept going back to it, I was like this, this is, this is just too good. And a lot of it too. Is that the family that owns it, the brother and the sister, Sandra and Jose, they have their agave farms in Michoacan. And that's where they started off in the business as producers and growers and farmers. And so they make, they have, they grow these unbelievable, nice, really mature and really, really unbelievable agave. And they bring them down to the Tequila Valley distillery and that's where they process them all. And that's where they also incorporate the deep well water of the Tequila Valley with all those rich minerals in the soil. And then the fermentation's open air use the. It's a mix of yeast and the open fermentation, you know, a wild, I guess.
And then it's twice distilled in steel. It's rested in, you know, it's fermented in steel and then distilled in steel with copper coil. And they just do a great job. It's also autoclaved, but they do low, low, you know, low pressure. And it's also roller mill. But they managed to do it so that it yields a great product.
[00:09:10] Speaker A: Yay. You have great agave sugars in it. Like you can taste that agave and it's got a nice sweetness to it. And it even has. After it's. Let it sit here and open up. I tasted it earlier. Now I pick up a little bit of a. Almost like a lime or orange hint in the. In the beginning of the finish. And that's.
I don't always find that, like, orange peel, orange zest and lime in a blanco. That's lowlands, you know that you find that in the highlands a little bit more often. So this. This is really good. You've got a great tequila.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: Thanks. No, it was.
I knew. I knew. I've always, like. I would. I would give friends blind samples, blind tests. Before anybody knew I was doing. I was like, what do you think? What do you think? And they go, this one is really good. I'm like, great, thank you. And I was like, all right. And then eventually I was just letting people know what was up.
But it was. Yeah, it was a big part of the research. I really think it's a great. It's a great foundation for whatever you do after. And it's an amazing blanco. It makes a really well balanced mixing drink, if you want to do it that way. But honestly, the best way is, like, this, where you can really experience the tequila. I think on top of that, the distillery has a. You know, they have a lot of those. I think the floral elements. I mean, it's surrounded by lots of fruit trees and flowers and all these things and the, you know, the. All the different elements that come into play with the natural vegetation around the distillery. I'm sure that it does help and. And take effect there.
[00:10:40] Speaker A: Yeah, it's. I've seen the distillery too, and you're right, there's. It's almost like forest on a couple sides of it as it's tucked back in there. Right. So there's so many different mango trees and fruit trees that are in that area. And it's. It's definitely has a. It definitely has had an influence in the natural fermentation just from all the vegetation that's there. That's very good. So after you've gone through the pro. The cooking process and the milling process and distilling, are they resting it or aerating it before they bottle? Are they pretty much going right to bottling?
[00:11:14] Speaker B: No, it does. I think there's a. There's a little aeration in the. In that, and then it rests in, like, a stainless tank to let it calm down. And I've seen the tank, it's a big tank, so it gives it the opportunity. I mean, it's. I know after you put anything through a process like that, it needs to relax. It just went through a whole transformative process into what it is. So, yeah, it lets it rest and then they'll do the bottling. And the bottling there had to. Because this bottle doesn't really fit into what they use for their automated. Everything had to be done by hand. So I was a little bit worried, but it was fine. I know at 1522 they do things like that, a lot of other distilleries. So it's very. I mean the bottle itself is 100% post consumer recycled.
They fill it by hand, they labeled it by hand. Everything was done by hand. And it's pretty amazing. It's all handcrafted. So it really adds a lot to what you're experiencing and you realize how much work goes into it. It's kind of really changes your perspective. It's a really, really well done product. And that's my thing that was, that was important to me, like I said, because I'm honoring my family, I'm honoring community. I want to bring something that is really a high quality product that people can use to celebrate and enjoy life with. Because a big part of like looking into why you want to celebrate is that every day we have a lot of things that are in our lives that are tragedies or things that are negative on the news. You can't focus on that. If we can be together and share a toast a little hi, I'm a salute. We are doing something good to celebrate something and be positive. And tequila is already naturally uplifting, I feel. How can you go wrong? So having a great spirit was important for that reason. And I think that's where again, I was driven to bring something to the market that was a little bit different.
[00:13:09] Speaker A: I like how you have this, like, it looks like a hand blown bottle, you know the waves and things in the bottle. So it has a really authentic look to it. And tell me a little bit about what this logo means. I'm going to put it on the screen so people can see it up close. But explain to me what everything is because there's a lot of symbolism in here and it looks like there's a lot of message. And for a non Jewish Mexican, which I am not that I'm a. I'm an Indiana guy, right?
[00:13:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:42] Speaker A: So I don't. I want to know what these things mean and then what's the basis behind the actual symbol?
[00:13:48] Speaker B: Yeah, so like it was when I would go, I would go research the bottles, I would go to Total Wines and you know, all of them, I look at the shelf like, well, okay, how can this stand out a little bit? And even from the name, so takiya is a Hebrew word. And when you're celebrating the new year, the Jewish New year, which is, you know, it's the exciting part is they call in the new year by saying takia, and they sound the ram's horn called a shofar. And that's to get everybody's attention. Call to action. You're bringing in the new year. It signifies hope and joy. And I think it's amazing. It's very powerful. Taquiya. And that's what. When I heard the word, obviously you're there, and they go, taquiya. And I go, oh, tequila. That's great.
[00:14:32] Speaker A: That's great.
[00:14:33] Speaker B: Hey, that would be a really great thing. Well, obviously, there it is.
So if you look at. In the. In right here, that is a shofar. Those are the. The horns.
[00:14:45] Speaker A: Okay. On the sides there. Okay.
[00:14:46] Speaker B: Right here. And then as well, like this sound.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: Blowing out of the horns.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: Right, Exactly. Sounding the shofar. So the thing is, it's all. This whole design is all within the. They call it the palm of David, the hand of Fatima, the hamsa. Now the hamsa is. It crosses a lot of barriers and boundaries between all different religions. It's pretty much globally recognized, and it stems from the Arabic culture. But it was a Middle Eastern symbol that is basically, is a protective and is like for protection and good fortune, basically. And typically, you'll see they usually have an eye in there. Like that's the eat. To ward off the evil spirits, you know, the evil eye. It keeps you, you know, safe from any harm. So I, I wanted to use the hamsa because it's so recognized and it's, like I said, part of that Middle Eastern culture. You see it around in Israel, you'll see it all over. That is everything. So within that, instead of the eye, we have the agave, right? The agave with the tree of life. And the tree of life is something that you find in Jewish culture. But it's also looks like the quixote, right? Because what is the quixote? I think that is the life of the agave.
Once it goes and it's ready to mature and pollinate, reproduce, it set the stalks up. And then if you don't cut it off, I mean, you'll lose a life of the agave. It's all gone. Right? So I like, wow, that's such a. It really has double meaning. You have the. The glasses with, of course, the lime wedges, lemon, whatever, but lime. And up in the corners, that's. Those are the temples in Jerusalem. Like, if you go to. If you go to Jerusalem, you'll see all the different temples from all the different religions, but those are the temples in Jerusalem. And you find right there in the middle is the actual Hebrew. The, the word zakiyah in Hebrew.
[00:16:38] Speaker A: Okay. Right underneath the glasses there.
[00:16:39] Speaker B: Yeah. I thought that was kind of cool.
[00:16:41] Speaker A: That's very cool.
[00:16:42] Speaker B: And of course, the sun. Sun gives life to everything, right? So it's. Yeah, it's part of all, all of it. And I think it's just, it was really nice the way it was laid. The whole design was all done by hand, by designers that I, I had the idea, but they had to bring it to life and I thought they did an awesome job and it really was something different. So that in the future you don't even need to see the name. I mean, I just. The logo right there is it.
[00:17:07] Speaker A: And so the detail that they did in it with the, the gold lace that. And this one, I think is silver, but this one is gold.
[00:17:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:16] Speaker A: And then even the roots of the agave planet in the bottom, it's just so detailed and so nice. You know, I think presentation is important, but you're, you're also bringing the Jewish heritage. And anybody that I would think that is Jewish could look at this and pick out all of these things to go. Well, I didn't just put kosher on the bottle, right. It's like some bottles have kosher on it. And right next to the gluten free label. Of course, all tequila is gluten free. You don't have to put that on the label. You know, you did this with a purpose. And tequila with a. And people with a purpose, to me is so, so much more impactful than just a product that we're selling.
[00:17:58] Speaker B: That was it. Even on the necker it says l'chaim salute.
[00:18:03] Speaker A: Right?
[00:18:03] Speaker B: So that's like, hey, we're just. Either way, you could say, what I like doing is saying, l'haim salute Takia. Yeah, that's it. Like, so I'm saying, you know, in both languages, Spanish and Hebrew. I think it was also really important that everything out front, you see it all right there. You see the ou and ou is orthodox union. That's like I said, they are. If you look at every. Every mainstream food item lays potato chips, you're going to see a circle and a U ou ou's on everything. So for the people that are very religious and observant and the people that aren't, if they're looking for it, you'll see it. But more importantly, these days, the kosher market is much bigger than just the Jewish community. It's people that when you're drinking tequila, you want to drink it because additive free tequila is better for you. It's a better feeling that you get. You don't feel so awful the next day. And it's a little bit of a healthier choice. So you want something that's better for you. And usually what it is is this signifies ou not only that now it's a pure, clean product because of that extra level of attention to detail and production, you know, that it's been made to a higher standard. And so for people that want to consume things that are better, ou and kosher mean something more. And I always try to relate it to the person that maybe is at a baseball game and you have hot dogs and they say, yeah, get your ballpark and get your, you know, kosher beef dog. Like, well, I know the kosher beef dog is all beef. And they verified that. I don't know what's in the ballpark, Frank. Could be anything left over that they threw into that. And I want to know that it's pure, clean, good quality. And that was also the intention with doing that, you know, so it, it's more than just what I've put together. It's. It could appeal to a lot of people.
[00:19:52] Speaker A: Yeah, and, and you've put together the label to, to really teach as well. Like, somebody can see this label and they're going to know. So that, that's. It's really cool. The bottle's cool. It's got a great presentation, it's got. Got great juice. How did you end up picking nom 1574 and landing there and knowing that those were your people?
[00:20:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I, I had coordinated. I, I made lots of phone calls and I talked to a lot of different distilleries in my very bad broken Spanish, trying to get through to people and get meetings. And I got, you know, try. Got a lot of samples from Michigan. But then I realized, no, I got to get down there. I. I got in contact with a really amazing guy, Vinnie Estrada, and I explained exactly what I'm doing and I need. This is exactly the type of place I want. We had highlighted, I don't know, a good, A good bunch of distilleries. We went to Arandas and Jesus Maria and we went to Amatitan, we went to Tequila and I tried a whole bunch. At the end of the day, this one really stood out and I was really grateful and I was lucky that my cousin Adam came with me. Not only do we have this amazing bond with music.
We both love music. We're both musicians, but we. He has a great palette. He's studied culinary arts, and he loves tequila. So this was a huge, just amazing, fun trip for both of us. We learned a lot, and we both shared notes and we both kept coming back to this original. When we got the sample after we were at the distillery, we both kept coming back to it. I was able to. I still have my sample, actually. My cousin already. His was gone for a long time. I couldn't. It was just so good. I couldn't stop drinking it. Like, I know I got to figure this out. I kept reaching out. I reached out to them after I really decided this is the direction I want to go. And what actually was so cool about it is if you look, they're not really a contract distillery. They don't make for brands. When I talked to them, and I really shared how I'm doing it and what I want to do, and I shared my design, the whole deal. The owner was kind of in shock. I've never seen something like that before. This is really unique, and this is something that I'd like to be a part of. And the fact that you're using. She said the Hand of Fatima shows that this could be a really blessed project, and I think we need to do this. And she said that's what gave it the green light. I didn't know that until we met later at the bottling. And I was. I was really blown away now as part of the big factor, because it was a unique approach to what you find in the industry is always kind of the same approach. This is a unique, different angle. And so we had a really great connection with. With. With the group there. And. And I really wanted to highlight as well what they're doing, because I think they make a really a Unbelievable products.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: That's awesome. It's really cool when you connect and when you connect in a way that maybe you didn't even know you are connecting, and you find out later that that was a connecting point. And I think the bringing such a purpose to what you do does make it extra special. There's a lot of people that just want to go make a product and do what George Clooney did. Right?
[00:23:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:10] Speaker A: Make this company and make a whole bunch of money. And coming at it with such a purpose is really very cool.
[00:23:15] Speaker B: And I think I always said from the beginning, I'm taking a risk. Like, so from the beginning, I was actually at a weird crossroads. Being a drummer and having young kids. I have Nowhere to play now, since we're in this house that we live in, I don't have a basement. We had a crawl space. Ah, okay. I'll figure it out. I was going to build kind of like what your man cave is, except picture mine being my. My drum studio, my little space. I can crawl up my stuff and. And get a chance to play. Realistically, I have a four and a half and a six and a half year old. I'll probably get five minutes a month to play if I'm lucky right now. This is unbelievable. I can do this interview. And so I thought, realistically, if I have this amazing idea and I. I can't stop thinking about it. I'm obsessed about it. I said, I'm not going to build a studio. It's a waste. I'm going to focus on doing this and find a way to make it happen. And that's what led me to it.
And I think that's everything just kind of would unravel from there. It was hard to explain.
So yeah, and then. And that was the purpose and the idea. I lost my train of thought, what you said first. But I was going to say it was at a weird crossroads where this was.
I could, I had no choice and I abandoned that. And I don't, I think for the future, for building it. I know I was going to say it was always my motivation to do it like that way, because I knew that it was. It could be really, really impactful and mean a lot. And I want to do something to create a legacy and honor our family. And I just basically knew that, like I said, I had to do it. And the market to me was pretty clear where I could be. But it would always be sort of like a niche market. I'm not trying to be a Casamigos or a patron or anybody like that. It was never my goal. If I could just capture a little bit of the market, that'd be great. And you talk about kosher, people will say, hey, you've got kosher wine. Do you have that Manischewitz wine? Everybody knows Manischewitz wine is not, Sorry, not the best wine. There are a lot of other good kosher wines, but Manischewitz, the name, the brand, it's been around for so long. And that market that they have, I thought, wow, I looked it up, like, if you just had that much of the tequila market like they have, and it would be like the Manischewitz of tequila. I'm really happy. I can't. That would be so successful to just be Able to get it out there and be there in that market. And if it goes beyond that, that would be great. I never thought that it could actually. I don't know. We'll see. My intention was never to create a Casamigos. And I don't know if that's what Clooney's and Gerber's attention was, but I mean, obviously they've got. They had the. They had the microphone and. And all the influence to get all these people to try it.
[00:25:59] Speaker A: I mean, he was George Clooney.
[00:26:01] Speaker B: You kidding me? You're done? Yeah. You're good. Like, I love. That's why I really respect. About a couple people. I really respect how Alex and Jimpre have done it. I love how they've built it from the ground up. And they've. They're like a great model. I love how they've done it and then I love how Sammy has done it. I went to. It wasn't for tequila, but Sammy was in Detroit at the Fox. He was launching his brand new beer that he's created.
[00:26:26] Speaker A: Lager, I think.
[00:26:27] Speaker B: Nope. It was amazing. My buddies and I were there and it's like watching him work and what he's done and that in Denver and what he's done with all the tequilas and the rums and like, this guy is amazing. So, like, I look at that, I think, man, that's so cool.
And he's doing it because he loves it, he has fun with it, he appreciates it. It's like, that's all. And if it sells, if it sells a few places here and there, he's happy, you know, it's great. That's kind of how I want. I love the tequila. I love all of the tequilas. I can't afford to buy all of them, but I'd love to. And I think it would be great to have it and bring it out for people and let them enjoy it. And if it goes beyond great, if I capture that Manischewitz market, wonderful. I know that that would be great. Like, hey, we're good. So that's where I. That's where I'm coming from with it. But honestly, it's more like I said, to really respect my family and honor the family and honor the people who make it and highlight that and. Yeah, that's where it comes from.
[00:27:27] Speaker A: Okay, so you mentioned Sammy Hagar and you mentioned playing the drums.
[00:27:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:31] Speaker A: Just so you know, this man cave or garage thing that we built here on tour house was not just to have a bar, but There's a full PA that is in here, all EVs. This is run through a digital. You'll recognize something like this. This isn't just for your normal podcast.
[00:27:49] Speaker B: Oh, you got the remote mixer on your pad. Like, wow, that's great.
[00:27:52] Speaker A: So I'll go into a mixer. I've got six or seven guitars hanging up there in my office. So I'm a music guy. I love music. So tell me about what you do playing the drums.
[00:28:04] Speaker B: I started playing the drums. Started off on piano, and my mom always liked classical music, and so I play things, take lessons. Then of course, I'm watching mtv. I'm watching all the. All the stuff on there and just all the rock bands and wow, those guys look cool. And I remember, like, trying to figure out, what is that? Zil Zens. Oh, Zildjian. Like, that's. That's the drummer. Like, that's what he's playing. And I got obsessed with drums. I actually got obsessed with drums. Like I've gotten with Tequila. And it was like that passion. So I loved music from an early age. And when I was here in Michigan, my dad had. My dad was a psychology professor, and he had one of his students said, you know, we've got a free drum set. You want it? They brought it over and I started playing and I was picking up beats on it, and I started taking lessons. And it just. That was where it just took off. And my teacher in town was one of the best, like, big band jazz drummers and an unreal teacher. I got to shadow him and see everything. And it. It was. That's all I could think about. And so then I went to school for it, went to college for it, and started touring. And I was in different bands that toured a lot of California, Florida and Georgia. And then we travel all over that side, the coast and whatever. And we. Then I moved to la and I was in a bunch of bands, and we're touring and doing, you know, that album deal, it was. It was like we got. We got to do a lot. Ended up from LA to Austin to Nashville. And in that time, I loved drums, but I realized this is a kind of difficult living. And I thought, I want a little more stability. And so I decided to, hey, all right. The passion of music will never go away, but I'm willing to explore something different. And I came back to Michigan and I got into the world of finance and mortgage underwriting. But I always played in a production company. So every weekend I was playing parties and club, private events, corporate deals, weddings, you know, different Clubs and It was a 70s rock tribute band. It was unreal. It was so cool. We played all the stuff and we would blow away people with Bohemian Rhapsody and everything. Then it also transitioned. I'd cover in the 70s disco band, and that was fun. And everybody just non stop dancing. Four on the floor. So this was. I was getting a lot of enjoyment of playing and playing great pop music for people and getting paid. So it was. I thought it was a definite success. It was fun. It was on the weekends. And that company still has a really big 80s tribute band, and it has a really big draw like every weekend. You can't beat classic 80s music. So it all kind of. For me, once I got engaged, I said, that's enough. And it was great. It would pay the bills quite a bit, you know, and I loved it, but it was enough for me. And I didn't want to spend my time away from my fiance then, now wife and family. So now I will play, you know, occasional kicks here and there. I still try to keep up my chops, but I just still listen to music like crazy. And I approached building this Tequila brand, like recording an album, you know, the whole concept. What is it? What. What's going to be that single? What's my blanco single like? How am I going to market that? How am I going to tell a story? How am I going to launch it? How am I going to build my hometown following so that the people are screaming the lyrics up, you know, up at you on stage and then move it to the other. All the other towns that you're going to hit? So eventually I'm like, okay, I'm going to build my following here and branch it out as it grows and.
And also bring out more. I'll have the anejo and things as I roll it out more. And obviously that takes a little more time to make. Anyway, that was my concept. I was like, all right, great. If. If it's just like recording a record, then this is kind of cool. I can do the same thing with Tequila brand. Why not?
[00:31:57] Speaker A: That's a great analogy.
[00:31:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:00] Speaker A: Because a lot of people probably don't think about the songs that you're writing to go on that album, how you're going to position those on the album, what's going to be a release, what's going to be a B side, what are all those things that you're going to do, and then how are you going to promote that and tour with it? You know, that's people. I. I've a lot of friends in the music business and never have played, like, at a massive professional level. Only played local spots and gigs on the weekends. You're bringing a passion and you're going to have tequila enthusiasts get excited about it and talk about it. And you're going to be able to bring this out at weddings and parties and all the places where you share great tequila and you're sharing yours. Like, it's. That's really cool.
[00:32:41] Speaker B: I think that's the biggest thing at Tequila, really. I feel it brings people together. And how can you have a bad time when you have tequila around? It's good. It's like when you have a work meeting, people used to be like, we're gonna have a work meeting. There's gonna be some food. So people show up, hey, it's gonna be tequila. Everybody shows up.
[00:32:58] Speaker A: As long as they're tacos, I'm there.
[00:33:03] Speaker B: The thing is that it was. What was cool is.
Yeah, all that stuff, like when you're recording, it's like you record a record. There's so much time that went into that before anybody hears a first song. Years. And just all the demoing and. And I consider the demoing all those, like, demo bottles of all the different variations I've received and worked on. Like, man, I gotta figure this out and then get to that point.
[00:33:25] Speaker A: That's the agave growing in that field for all those years.
[00:33:28] Speaker B: Yeah, right. And it's like, this is cool. Like, it makes total sense. And yeah, it's been happy to. Been so happy to finally be able to share it. The tequila finally arrived. I started the process October of 23, right around then. And when I finally got it to land here, it was December 20th of 24. So perfect, right? Time for the holidays. And then I was finally getting to have people try it and get their reaction and then tell people about the story. And I gave a presentation here locally. It was about over 60 people. And it was my first time really introducing the brand and talking to people. And I swear when I left that, I felt like I just, like you said, played a stadium. I felt like I just played a gig and it had the craziest endorphin. I was so happy. It felt so great. Just like when you play an amazing gig, except less sweaty.
[00:34:18] Speaker A: Less sweaty.
[00:34:18] Speaker B: Yeah, the drummer.
[00:34:20] Speaker A: The drummers wore out. Yeah.
[00:34:21] Speaker B: Disgusting. But like. And I kind of miss being that physical to something therapeutic about hitting things like, you know, but. Oh. But anyway, it was. I couldn't believe how much it felt like I just played a huge gig. It was so exciting. And. And to see people enjoy it was like. I never would have imagined that. So, yeah, bringing it to life from nothing. That was a huge kick.
[00:34:43] Speaker A: Very cool. Okay, so the repo. I just tasted the repo. This is.
Yeah.
[00:34:48] Speaker B: I can't wait for you to try. So is this four months in a white oak? American. American white oak whiskey barrel.
[00:34:55] Speaker A: Very nice.
[00:34:57] Speaker B: I think. I mean, you tell me what you think.
[00:35:00] Speaker A: I mean, you get the blancos just screams through. Like, I still can get a little bit of that floral. I get a great cooked agave.
The.
The brightness that I got in the agave, that really clean brightness I got in the blue or in the blanco that's a little muted because I get a little bit of those barrel notes and maybe a little bit of vanilla and a little bit of caramel, and I get a little bit of apple. And that apple wasn't there in the blanco, so.
But that floral's still there, too. That's pretty cool.
[00:35:40] Speaker B: Yeah, no, it's like starting with that amazing base profile and then having it in the barrel and picking up all those subtleties. And the vanilla sometimes like it. As you walk away and come back and you smell it again, it's like, wow, that's so. It's so, like, almost luxurious. It's like, wow, this is really, really nice.
[00:36:01] Speaker A: The vanilla is really there in the flavor for me.
Going, like, going into the finish where you start to get a little bit of that spice, a little bit of that tingle. That vanilla becomes very present.
And I. I get a. A little teeny bit of dark chocolate as well.
[00:36:20] Speaker B: Somebody else told me that. Somebody else told me that. I forgot how he said it, but he was like, this is like just pure chocolate goodness. I'm like, okay, everybody's palate's gonna be a little bit different.
I just. Yeah, it's funny, like, I put this. There's a certain brand that I really, really enjoy, the reposado. And I've. I've put it side by side and like, wow, this is really. This is. I mean, it's surprisingly so close on, but it also. Production method is so different. Different tequilas, so. But it comes. Yeah.
[00:36:50] Speaker A: Yeah. The blanco shines through that barrel. Gives it a nice. A nice cozy taste to it, I guess is the best way to say, I like. I do get a little more chocolate. The more. And plus, I think once I get a flavor or an aroma and then I'm thinking about it, then that becomes so much more present. Yeah, it's. I poured them before we started to. Because I just Opened the bottle, so I wanted to let them open up. I smelled them as soon as I poured them to get that. What's it smell like? Yeah, cooked agave, I guess. Cooked agave on both of them, you know, and.
[00:37:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:23] Speaker A: So then when I came back and smelled them right before we got started, it was like, oh, there's so many more smells, so many more aromas that have, like, opened up, and then they're even more now, and the flavors are just really, really good. This is. This is like a dessert repo for me. This is one that I could drink. It's really good. It's not overly sweet, but it has a lot of your good flavors from the barrel.
[00:37:45] Speaker B: That's amazing.
[00:37:47] Speaker A: Very good. You said white. American white oak whiskey barrels, four months?
[00:37:51] Speaker B: Yep. Yeah.
[00:37:53] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:37:53] Speaker B: Barreling is a part of the kosher process.
When. When I knew that I was going to start working with Marava, we had to make sure. I coordinated with the OU in New York, coordinated with the OU representatives in Guadalajara, and they had to go do a full inspection of the facilities, how they manufacture, what they're using, what the yeast is, where, you know, what's going on with the machinery, and then check out the final production. It's pretty amazing. You can go through all the detailed notes that you find from the CRT and they can look at all that and then exactly know how. How everything's been done and find the records for everything, and then ensure that this will meet our standards. Plus, we need to make sure we're making, you know, all the kosher standards. And the barrel had to be, you know, I couldn't use certain French or wine barrels and things like that had to be adhering to the kosher laws. And we were able to use the American white oak whiskey. And I think the product tastes great. So I'm happy with it. I'm going to be doing. I want to be doing some experimentation with different barrels in the future, and that's on my. On my radar. Like I said, I'm doing this all by myself. It's a team of one here. I've worked with a consultant to help on some things because I'm not from the spirit industry. It's all brand new to me, but I'm coming in with that kind of idea of. Of business, cost of goods, all that, all the different things you would know to make a product, and profitability and margin and all that good stuff. But I had to figure out all the liquor side and knowing how it makes sense, you know, I want to do things more in the future. So that's also why I'm doing the blanco and the repo first, obviously, too, because I can let the anejo be there, get ready, and I'll bottle that, like later in the year and then use that to also add more excitement into the brand. You know, bring it out and talk about it more and have people try it. But it was. It was really a part of that kosher. Kosher regulations that I had to also meet. And I'm like I said, I have a lot of really cool ideas on barreling and different things we want to experiment with, but I have to get there first. You know, currently, I mean, if you. If you wanted to buy this in Indiana, you would have to visit my website because I'm only available in Michigan. So that's also, like I said, part of rolling it out, being small, independent like I am. I have it here in my market. I have distribution here, and it's all throughout the state of Michigan and it's in some really great accounts. But if you live outside of Michigan, you go through the website and you can order it. Sip Tequila has been great. I've been working with them, and so we'll have. You can get anywhere, anywhere you want, and it'll ship. And then as I scale it more, it'll be in those markets and I can do it very strategically.
So that's been my strategy, like I said, to kind of really build it in my backyard and. And then get there to all those other places and bring out new products that are a little bit different too. I. I have a hoven that I want to put. Bring out. It's. It's a great blend, and I've tried it. I. I think it's great. I love it. And then the anejo and we'll see you after that. What fun things we can put together too. And as long as it fits, like, it's gotta taste good, it's gotta be a good product, not just a gimmick.
[00:41:13] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:41:14] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:41:14] Speaker A: So I'll put your website right here. So it's showing up there right now. So they can go to your website. Do you know what, probably 40 some states that you can ship to. That's kind of the normal.
[00:41:23] Speaker B: And so when you go to takiaspirits.com, you click the buy now, you'll see the Anejo and the hoven. But when you want to buy now on the blanco and the repo, it'll go to Sip Tequila.
[00:41:34] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:41:35] Speaker B: And they can.
[00:41:37] Speaker A: They're amazing. I can move right to there and pull out one of these and go. Go to Sip tequila dot com. They're great. I get a lot of stu from Sip Tequila, and they do a fantastic job. Your bottle always arrives safe. It's amazing the. The job they do there. And you always get a note with them. And, yeah, it's a great, great company. Sip Tequila. I'm always open for a sponsorship of any kind, anytime, so I think they're fantastic. So I got a question for you.
[00:42:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:42:02] Speaker A: So you've built this thing, this special something.
If you could sit down and bring a bottle and a couple of nice glasses and share your tequila with anybody alive, dead, that you know, that you've never known. Famous. Not famous. Who would you want to sit down and tell the story of how you came up with this tequila, the meaning behind it, and share a glass with. Who would that person be?
[00:42:31] Speaker B: My mom.
[00:42:32] Speaker A: Okay. That was easy one.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, without trying to get emotional. Like my mom. Yeah.
[00:42:37] Speaker A: Yeah. That's awesome.
[00:42:38] Speaker B: Because my mom was. Our family was very entrepreneurial in Mexico, and my uncle also, too. It's all. All of them. When I told my cousins about, like, what I was doing, my one cousin, who was my first cousin, but he was in my. My mom's nephew, he's like, I'm speechless. I can't even tell you, like, what you just told me right now. I'm trying to comprehend what you've done, and I'm speechless. And so I know my mom will be really proud, and that's what I'd want to share.
So, yeah, like, that. This is why sometimes I can't control. But it's been about 10 years, so.
[00:43:18] Speaker A: I know she'd be incredibly proud of you knowing the. The history of what you're showing in the bottle and the work that you've put into it, and it's such a great product and how hard you've worked and that you have kind of burned the bridges to do it the way you want to do it, and you're doing it on your own, and you're putting your passion into this. I guarantee you she's.
[00:43:40] Speaker B: Yeah, that would be it. I. I just to let her know, because I know that she'd always strive to do things, and she always wanted to be independent. So, you know, she was a real estate agent. She did a lot of things in other places. She was trying to always find a path that was entrepreneurial, and I think that she would hit some roadblocks, and it was tough because she's in United States She's a. She never moved back to Mexico because she couldn't. If we were here, she couldn't leave the country. And it was always important for her to do something that was her own business. And I think it was tough sometimes with the language barrier, with the culture barrier, all of it here. And I see this as carrying the torch to do something that she would have wanted to do or be a part of or accomplish. And that's where I kind of get this motivation. Like, I want to do what she wanted to do. I want to do something that would make her happy and proud and also be a part of a community. Because at the end of the day, I really want to find ways to partner with different federations, organizations, people that could have the bottle, have proceeds go to things to help senior life or things to help education. And we can get that to these people with partnering up and selling. So I'm like, okay, let's. Let's look at the big picture and how can we make an impact and do it for the right reasons? And that's basically it.
[00:45:02] Speaker A: Wow, that's awesome. Yeah, that's awesome. Thanks to Greg's mom for being such a hard worker and an entrepreneur and instilling so many things in you that has driven you to be as successful as you are and then put some passion behind a project like this. I appreciate that.
You've done an amazing job, and that's awesome. So your social media is fantastic. I know you. You do some videos yourself. You did a great watermelon margarita drink that. I haven't. Haven't tried that one yet, but I'm gonna give it a shot. So I'll put all of that on here, too, and we'll put all of your social media where people can find you, and we'll link up your website so people can order. And I want to say thanks. Thanks for taking your time out of your busy day to sit down with a goofy guy that talks about tequila on the Internet and share your passion and your product. I appreciate you very much, so.
[00:45:53] Speaker B: Well, thanks.
[00:45:54] Speaker A: Salute. And cheers.
[00:45:55] Speaker B: I appreciate it. Brad. I really, like I said, I've been watching your content. I've been watching all the, you know, great videos you're producing, the great education you're providing and highlighting brands that maybe otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity like me. And I think I really appreciate what you're doing. I really love being here talking to you, and I can't wait to do more things as well. So. Yeah. Lahayam Salute.
[00:46:20] Speaker A: Takia Lahayam salute, Takia.
[00:46:23] Speaker B: That's it? Yeah. I'm so happy. Like I said, it's a really nice product, and so sharing it is very special.
[00:46:31] Speaker A: Great product. Well, thanks for coming on tonight. I appreciate you very much.
[00:46:35] Speaker B: Awesome. Thanks, Brad.
