Come Fly with Socorro Tequila ✈️ Meet Co-Founder Pablo Antinori!

[00:00:00] Speaker A: All right, tonight you're going to learn about a tequila that is not only featured on American Airlines, where you can order this great blanco when you're sitting on the plane, but an owner of this company, Pablo, who's from Argentina, a wine sommelier who brought himself into the tequila world, and him and his partner Josh have launched a great tequila. They have a great story. The name of this tequila, Socorro, has a great meaning, and we're going to talk about it today. So stick around for this interview. It's tasting tequila with bread. [00:00:32] Speaker B: Foreign. [00:00:39] Speaker A: Pablo, I'm fired up about having you here tonight. How are you doing today? [00:00:43] Speaker B: Hey, Brad. How is it going? Nothing. Nothing better than end the week, you know, or the day with, you know, a little tequila talk and a little tequila drinking. [00:00:52] Speaker A: You know, I feel like every day for every person should end with a conversation with the tequila. A brand owner or a nerd or enthusiast or whatever you want to call everybody. But. And, and getting to sip on some great tequila when you do it just makes it so awesome. So I appreciate you taking your time. [00:01:07] Speaker B: This evening, you know, my. My pleasure. It is the case for me and every day with a little tequila talking, a little tequila sipping. So I. I'm living the dream of many. So excited. [00:01:19] Speaker A: That's awesome. Living the dream for sure. Okay, so most people know me from watching the show, so they don't know you. So tell everybody who you are and where you're from and where you're at right now. [00:01:31] Speaker B: Perfect. I am Pablo Antinori. You know, my. I have a tequila brand or a tequila company called Socorro. I'm one of the co founders. My. My business partner. His name is Josh Irving. And, you know, he does a lot of. He's our co. And I dedicate myself to know the art of, you know, trying to make the best juice I can. So, you know, my title will be director of Agave Spirits. I'm not a maestro Tequil because I'm not there all the time. I'm there too often. They're probably tired of seeing me every other week for three or four days. But that's. That's what I do, man. I. I take the time to. To make sure that we don't take any shortcuts, and then we can put the best thing in the bottle. So I am from Argentina, which is unusual. You know, a guy from Argentina making tequila, she was making wine or drinking Fernet and Coca Cola. But, you know, my. My love is tequila. So, you know, I got to. I got to do what I love. [00:02:32] Speaker A: So where did that love come from? Being from Argentina? How did you get from Argentina to Tequila? [00:02:39] Speaker B: So I moved to the US And I moved where I'm at right now, which is Dallas, Texas, when I was 18 to, you know, go to college and. And do the whole thing. You know, I work, you know, some. Some good shift. You know, I used to unload trucks at Target overnight. And, you know, I did that for a few years until. Until I learned the language. It's funny, because I used to. I used to work from like, 8, 9pm to like, 8 in the morning, 7 in the morning, and I would go to school after that to learn the language. And then every other day, you find me sleeping on those. On that classroom, because I work all night, so. But soon enough, I learned. I learned the language. And, you know, through working at Target, it was. It was almost like a fast way to learn it, because every day somebody will ask me, where do I find this? I'm like, I have no idea what you're asking for, but as a manager, and they're like, yeah, he was looking for a pen. This is a pen. So I learned every day I would learn, like, a couple new words because people were looking for so many different things at the supermarket. And I learned through. Through that type of, like, experience, so. Which was pretty cool. Soon enough, I left Target and I started working at a Mexican restaurant. So Abuelos was my first Mexican restaurant that I worked for, and that's how I got. I got to learn about tequila and serve it. I was behind the bar, and, you know, that was where everything started. Wow. [00:04:12] Speaker A: That's pretty awesome. It's always neat to hear how people learn a new language. And I am desperately working hard to learn Spanish. And I've actually even been watching Spanish television with the captions on. [00:04:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:04:28] Speaker A: Because when I'm in Mexico, which has been a lot recently, I do a lot better because I'm immersed in it. And then you come home and you're not. So putting on a little Marco Antonio Solis and listening to his music and watching Telemundo is helping me remember some of those words. [00:04:45] Speaker B: So there you go. You must be a very romantic man, Brad. You listen to Mark Antonio Solis. This is low jam right there. [00:04:53] Speaker A: I like Al Buki's jam. It's pretty good, you know? [00:04:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Beautiful hair. That guy hasn't said her. Unbelievable. So, yeah, that's pretty. [00:05:02] Speaker A: He's. I. I look at him as well, like, kind of like the one of the Frank. Frank Sinatras of Mexico, too. [00:05:07] Speaker B: Right? [00:05:08] Speaker A: Like, he's super famous and yeah, yeah. [00:05:10] Speaker B: He'S been doing it for a long time and doing it right. So, yeah, there's a lot I'm not. Hopefully this doesn't tell your age, brav. There's a lot of mothers and grandmothers that would die for some more. Antonio Solis, you know. [00:05:24] Speaker A: Well, I'm right in that age group. So what. When you were working the Mexican restaurant, did you. Is that where you first kind of started tasting different tequilas and learning about the spirit, or did it take a little longer after that? [00:05:39] Speaker B: No, you know, I was started as a server and, you know, they. They soon enough put me behind the bar. So after the first six months I was behind a bar and that's how I started learning about, you know, tequila overall and, you know, margaritas and agave spirits back. I'm talking about 2004, 2005. So Mezcal was not really a thing in restaurants yet, but, you know, patron was so patron was the thing of the, you know, the premium of back then. And, you know, obviously Sauza and everything else have been there for a long time, so, you know, learn little by little. And then, you know, I stay in the industry. Then in 2007, I moved to. To California and I got a little more exposure to other different brands and, you know, a lot more on the wine side. As I'm from Argentina and I had, you know, I thought my first love was wine. So I did a little one certificate in San Ramona Valley in San Diego. End up, you know, moving back to Texas. Took up, you know, the first and the second part of the sommelier course, which it helped me to understand, you know, a lot more of the different, you know, ones of the world and then develop my palette a lot more. Since this class was amazing, Brad, you probably, you should do it because it's fun. We used to do every Sunday from 11 in the morning to 7pm talking and drinking wine. And every day, every Sunday, somebody was in charge of bringing food. So, you know, people, they're usually all people from restaurants. Everyone will bring amazing and we have a feast and we talk about wine and we learn about wine and we drink a lot of wine. So it was pretty cool class. Soon enough, you know, before ending the, you know, the Somalier course, I decided that I wanted to go and actually make wine. So I took a. A year off in 2009 and I went to Tuscany to do a wine making internship for January all the way to November. So that was. That was pretty, pretty cool. And then, you Know, I thought me a lot more than I want that I needed to know about wine and, and then fermentation and you know, all the different process and yeast and so that was, that was a great experience for myself. End up coming back to Dallas as usual in 2010 at the end of 2009, and went back to restaurants and keep, you know, learning about more tequila and the spirit world and all that stuff. So I would say in 2015, I, you know, I quit the restaurant business and I moved to the distributor business, which is Southern Glazers. So, you know, the big, big distributor in the U.S. and that's when I really, really hone in into agave spirits and, and then learned so much and tasted so many brands and I saw so many different brands, the good ones, the excellence and the bad ones. Right. So. And that's how I decided, you know, as I made my business partner and, you know, the dream started. Wow. [00:08:46] Speaker A: So you, you actually have a really strong background going from the restaurant side and the bar side to the sommelier and learning the wine and then going to work and distribute. It's almost like you were giving yourself a master class of all the things you needed to learn to be able to start a brand. That, that's pretty impressive. [00:09:06] Speaker B: You, you know what? I. I wish I can tell it was intentionally, but it wasn't right. It was where, where destiny was taking me. So I would say it every time I change your job or my. The next step was taking me there and then it was always for somehow progress either financially or intellectually. So it hasn't been a fast one since I've been here for 24 years. But it's been going, you know, in a good direction going up so well. [00:09:38] Speaker A: It's being able to, to see opportunity and harness it and then have the, the guts to jump in and do something different. So that, that's what makes, that's what makes you special. That's what makes people that are entrepreneurs special. So that's great that you have that ability. [00:09:55] Speaker B: It's a fun one though. It's a fun people. I tell people all the time, Brad, I said, I'm always right now living my worst case scenario, right. This makes my decision making or my, you know, a lot easier because if I don't succeed with the next thing, then I can always come back to what I'm doing right now, which is very good. Right. So same thing when I was waiting tables and I went to management and when I went from management to the distributor, I said, well, if I don't like the distributor. I can always come back and be a manager somewhere else. So it makes life decisions a lot more easier when you look at it that way. I'm also an optimistic person, so if you're not, it might be a little tougher than that, so. But, you know, change is always good. [00:10:45] Speaker A: I agree. I. I've always said that's why the windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror. [00:10:50] Speaker B: And, well, I like that. [00:10:52] Speaker A: And when you're driving down the highway, you're an optimist, because that car that's coming straight at you could run into you at any minute, but you still stay on the road. And that. And that's, you know, a great metaphor for business. When you're starting a new company, you can't look back. You got to look forward. And when anything comes at you, you just have to know you can get through it and past it. And it's how I've lived my life. And it sounds like you too, so that's pretty impressive. [00:11:13] Speaker B: No, I, like, I'm gonna. I'm gonna steal that from you. I'm gonna give you the credits. Okay. But I'm gonna steal that for you. [00:11:19] Speaker A: I got it from somebody else. So how did you guys. How did you and Josh meet and kind of realize you had this vision for creating a tequila company? [00:11:27] Speaker B: My first month working for the distributor was November in 2015. So in January 2016, I met Josh. He. He walked into a general sales meeting. So in and to do and, you know, talk about the brand he was selling back then. And, you know, he was selling the tequila back then. One of the things he was selling, and then he's like, hey, whoever wants to work with me in the market, I'll give you a bottle of tequila. And then obviously, I see opportunity, I see tequila. I'm like, pick me. So that was the first, you know, first meeting. And we work, and we had an amazing. A very successful day in the market selling his products. And, you know, we did that over and over and again, and. And, you know, we develop an amazing, you know, work friendship where we used to go sell and, you know, celebrate each other's win. You know, we're. Josh tells this all the time where we're completely different persons, but, you know, the passion of the agave or for the agave experience, you know, you know, put us in the same row, which is amazing. One day that we're working as, you know, I used to. I steal that. I still call that work. Then I go to restaurants, and I get to drink tequila And I go to the next one and I drink another couple of cocktails. And I do that, you know, for sometimes for five restaurants. You know, Josh and I were doing the hard work of hard work day where we have to visit different restaurants and, you know, drink and talk tequila. And, you know, we did 5, 6, 7, 7. Restaurant Josh is like, hey, let's come to my house. Let's enjoy one more cocktail. And I said, in his house? I said, josh, how about if we stop selling other people's tequila and then we start our own brand within two seconds he goes like, yeah, let's do it, do it. And then we start daydreaming like, you've done this with your friends. We're like, hey, let's open a restaurant and we're gonna do this. And you know, and then we're pouring our cocktails or another tequila. So we can keep talking about it and, you know, keep on dreaming. But usually stays at that, you know, there's not a lot of action the next day. You know, you just stays as an amazing night of drinking and talking. So I call him next day early, and I say, josh, were you serious about it or are we going to do this? And he's like, pablo, I haven't stopped thinking about it. So that same day we'll book our first trip to Jalisco. And that was middle of beginning probably April 2018. So we took a first trip there and you know, to figure out if it was doable, we, we didn't need Brad, we didn't know anything. And then we didn't go through a broker, which is be like a friend of mine had a, you know, family member in, in Telan, and then he guide us through some process of knocking and distiller's doors. And you know, we're just two broke guys trying to see if somebody would pay attention to us. And we did it over again and over and over and you know, we start building and more, more ideas and understanding more and more. We knew one thing which was we can sell, we can sell tequila. So that was our only experience. But everything else it was, we became trademark lawyers. We became law lawyers for anything. Like it was like, eventually we're trying to save every dime and like, okay, let's give it a try first and then if not, let's just, you know, get a lawyer to, to figure this out. So, yeah, it was great times. It's a learning process with a great times. [00:15:18] Speaker A: So what year did you actually launch the brand? [00:15:21] Speaker B: So believe it or not, listen to this part which is pretty cool. I was in Mexico March 18, 2020, battling our first batch. And Josh calls me and say, bro, they just close every restaurant in the US for us. We. I came from the restaurant world. You know, that was our connection. That was my way to get into the market through all my friends and family, my friends and. And. And people that I've been working with for the last five years. And. And then we, you know, we happen to, you know, have to take our business plan, rip it apart, and then go mom and pop liquor store, as the big guys were not, you know, giving us the time of the day during the pandemic, and, you know, we made it happen. So we got a couple cases here. I think our first sale was April 25th or 26th of 2020. And then that was our first solo, a little restaurant. And then that was the beginning of, you know, it's been five and a half years and of nothing but success and fun and great things. So. Well, let's. [00:16:37] Speaker A: Let's jump into the distillery and the process a little bit. So what was it. What was your process of finding a distillery? And how did you, you know, land at a 1610 and start working with that organization? [00:16:50] Speaker B: So we always went to the highlands of Alisco. Okay, There's. There's obviously, for us, we like the tequila for the highlands a little better. And then we noticed that the market was liking the tequila from the highlands a little better, so we decided to stick in the highlands. So. Which was, you know, if you're familiar with it, you got. It starts with the patitlan. And then obviously you go and you got Cabilla, you got San Ignacio, you got San Jose, you got Arandas Atotonilco, Jesus Maria. All those towns are kind of next to each other on the way to, you know, keep going kind of northeast. So. And then we. We knock on through our good friend Poncho, now our partner in Mexico. You know, he took us around and show us distilleries, and we knock on doors to some connections, and you. We visit 20 plus 25 different distilleries before we ran across, you know, Grand Dinastia or Dynastia Arandina, which is, you know, where we are right now, which they gave us a chance. You know, I think they're on the part of their business where they're looking for something like us, and then we're looking for something like them. They. They had everything we needed, which is, you know, a lot of tradition of making tequila. They're making tequilas, I think the first oven has a day from. Since 1938. So they were making tequila for a long time. So not only that, the right traditional brick ovens didn't take any shortcuts. So it was a beautiful place. Also a well built company, you know, run with, for professionals. And then they have Chema. Chema is our master distiller. Jesus Maria Coronados, his name, but we call him Chema. And you know, he was back then 30, maybe 29. Young guy. His dad works at, you know, Tapatio, his brother works at Un Julio. So he came, he was a tequila guy from, from young age. And then not only that, very smart, right. He's a, he's a chemist. He took a. Also a master on tequila making. He teaches classes in the university. So about tequila. So A, a guy, they knew what tequila was and wasn't, you know, taking any shortcuts, but understood what tequila was going and you know, do all that. So that was our, our process to find a distillery. And then there, you know, kudos to Mariana and Pablo and that they gave us a chance and the whole, you know, family to. To live our dream and they supported our dream. Awesome. [00:19:32] Speaker A: It looks like to me there's from a little bit that I've been reading up on that they're kind of two iterations of your tequila. So it looks like you came out first with a different type of label and a little different look. And when I looked at the ratings on Tequila Matchmaker, those were a little bit lower ratings. And then your change in bottle has also sounds like also a change in flavor and your ratings are a lot higher with these newer bottles. What's the difference between that first launch and what you did to where you are today? [00:20:03] Speaker B: So whenever, and then I tell you, when we, you know, start this tequila company which is, you know, 2019, we launched early 2020. Back then, um, it was, it was a good thing to be, you know, compared to different brands, they're more on the, you can say, on the sweeter side of tequila. Right. So we kind of, you know, we make our first, you know, Tequila, you know, targeting that consumer and. But soon, I will say beginning of 2022, we noticed that that was changing fast. And then the brands that were successful, they're not as successful anymore because people, people like you. And then market was learning about the spirit overall. So we noticed that. So we changed our profile little by little. It took me year and a half to change our blanco just because I didn't want to have like blanco A, blanco B. Right. I Wanted to be a bunch of gray in the middle before I can get to it. Not only I can, you know, we already had a successful business, so I didn't want my people going to like, whoa, this is so different. Right. I want to take them in a journey of a change that would gradually, you know, making not only a better consumer or understand better, but it wouldn't be such an abrupt, abrupt, you know, change for us. [00:21:21] Speaker A: Bring those people along with you. [00:21:23] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And then. And then end the way there, then bring more people like yourself, you know, into the, into the new profile. So we have. Our blanco is being the same way. I mean, as you tasted right now, we haven't tasted, you tasted on the American island. So it's been like that since early 2024. And then, you know, I think we changed our reposado. First batch was with a new label early this year. But it was been, you know, also a process of obviously with blanco changes, reposado changes, and nanyajo changes as well. So that was. Once we accomplished whatever we want to be, then we said, let's flip our label, make sure people understand, you know, where we're going and what we're trying to do. [00:22:06] Speaker A: So great, great strategy. That's really smart. I. I was introduced to the Sakura Blanco in a Tequila Matchmaker blind. I had no idea what it was, so it was a complete blind tasting. And when it came out, you were in like my top three of that blind. And I was like, okay, I've never heard of this brand. Right. So. And then I went straight to Tequila matchmaker and I'm like, okay, something has to be different than what I'm reading about because that was rated high for me. That was very good and I do enjoy it. So. And the repo, I. I popped the repo and I'm drinking it today. And it is, it's very good as well. So let's go into process a little bit. Highland agaves, obviously. Are these an estate agave or are you purchasing agave? [00:22:52] Speaker B: Yes. So the, the family that owns a distillery, they also have, I believe, 500 hectares of agave. So we don't, we don't buy agave from anyone. We. We use or we use the family or the distillery agave. So which is one of the things that we really wanted to happen, we learned stay grown agave, make sure that we knew where it was coming from and how it's made. So I usually, you know, take my time to visit all these different fields and see how the agaves is growing and Progressing, you know, to make sure that we get, you know, the best thing that we can get. So after that, you know, we obviously, we harvest agave and then we cut our pinas right in the middle. And then we, you know, traditional, you know, oven OR no, for 48 hours, 24 hours cooking at 95 degrees Celsius. And then we shot our, you know, our steam. And then we let him sweat for 24 hours before we open our. Our oven again. [00:23:57] Speaker A: And then you're going from stone oven to roller mill. [00:24:00] Speaker B: Roller mill for sure. Roller mill is our choice because, you know, if I didn't use roller mill, I'd have to charge you, you know, double. So everyone needs to understand that, you know, tahona is a very, very, very romantic where to make tequila. But it's also very inefficient. You know, you, for example, you need about eight and a half kilos of agave to make one liter of Socorro. If we use a tahona, then we need 15 kilos, right? So that inefficiency makes, you know, obviously not only on that part, but you use a lot more labor lower. So, you know, blancos, you know, all the blancos are at tahona or reposados, you know, they have a higher cost because they use a lot more resources. [00:24:55] Speaker A: Well, the next piece is where all the magic is anyway. So tell me what you're doing for fermentation. [00:25:00] Speaker B: So fermentation we do. It's a week process for us, the first four days. So three and a half days, depends on the time of the year. You know, we do a regular fermentation. Obviously, we use our native yeast that we have in the distillery, plus we use a little bit champagne yeast to make sure that we have the efficiency that we need. Then once we have our most muerto, we leave our, you know, open, cast open their alum, not aluminum, stainless steel, sorry, open. And we do. It takes about three days where we go through a melolactic fermentation. You know, that only happens on the, you know, first 6 centimeters on the top. But, you know, add some. Some of those fruit notes that we are looking for. And so coro, as you taste it, right, Our tequila has a little bit of pepper, but nothing to overwhelm your palate. It does. It's not too vegetable, too herbal. You know, I like our tequila to drink a little more on this, on the agave side, on the bake or cook agave, and more than the, you know, the pepper and the jalapeno notes on it. So I after that, like everyone else, deeply cut heads and tails, you know, end up probably losing a good, you know, 25% of our. Of our production between hits and tails. [00:26:18] Speaker A: Two distillations. [00:26:20] Speaker B: Two distillations for sure. [00:26:22] Speaker A: Yeah. So we do distillations. Are you copper coil, stainless steel? [00:26:27] Speaker B: Yes. Okay. Yeah. So obviously we use our one road to do, you know, the, you know, those are the strosadores. And then we have another road that we do our rectification where we, you know, use it for the second distillation. And then we distilled at 55 so we articulate first second distillation breaks around 7880. And then we take that first, you know, 100, 250 liters out and then we, you know, all goes into the same tank until we get to 55. And then once it's on 55, then we cut the rest of the tails out of there. [00:27:06] Speaker A: So. Gotcha. [00:27:08] Speaker B: So it, it's quite delicious. I, you know, I don't have a, a steel strength for cell, but I did a few, few cases not too long ago and then I would probably say a bottle is quite, quite phenomenal. [00:27:27] Speaker A: Still strength's my favorite. Like to. I, I like a, an a repo and an anejo as like a dessert for me. But when I want the true taste of tequila and that agave, that still strength is. Just gives it all to you. You get it all right. [00:27:40] Speaker B: Yeah. It's, it's every time I'm there, I'm always tasting, you know, I'm tasting, you know, not only our ordinario, but I'm tasting the steel strength and director and it's, it's phenomenal. It's not for everyone and it's quite delicious. You know, hopefully next year we can, we can do a little batch of seal strength. So everyone to try, you know, you know, directly from the, from the steel. No no other things. No cuts, no filtrations. So they can really understand, you know, our, our juice. You know, one of the things that I don't, I don't know if I told Grover or not, but I need, I need to talk to him to, to tell him my, my opinion on, on one thing which is, I don't know you're going to call this controversial because it's not controversial, but you know, the agave awards are you obviously you a panel member and then you got to taste some products and, and everyone in that panel, you know, just like you and me like the higher proof stuff. And then so therefore if you look at the, you know, we got a goal on our blanco, which is phenomenal. We love it. But everyone that got double goal and got like, best, best in, you know, everyone was a on overproof item. So maybe, you know, if you talk to him, you know, before I do next year, then you keep the categories separate of, like at 40 and over 40, because I would say it's not a disadvantage for. From us because we got a goal and I'm very happy with it. But when you compare it to things that you like better and everyone on the panel likes a lot more of the, you know, hump on the, on the steel strength, then you never, you know, could be. It would be hard for us to compete against something that has more alcohol. So in my opinion, they should break. [00:29:33] Speaker A: That up into a couple categories of a Blanco 40. They should do a high proof. And then still strength should be separate because I know I, I look at those three, actually there's. To me, there's four because there are tequilas I get that are from Mexico that are in that 35 to 38, and I can't compare those to a 40. Somebody may have a 46 or a 44, but they're not going to compare to 55. Right. So there should be some, I think, categories within there. And I, I didn't get to be on the Agava awards panel. Hopefully I continue to work my way up that list. I get to do a lot of the blinds. [00:30:14] Speaker B: That. [00:30:15] Speaker A: That's a good point to make because it, it does make a big difference when you have an aficionado chasing through a Blanco. A 46 is going to be to 40 almost every time, unless the 46 is just not made very good. Right. I mean, you obviously, you stood out. You stand out to me as a good tequila. So you, you won there, so that's good. [00:30:36] Speaker B: Yeah, it is amazing, for sure. Like, we have the quality and, and, you know, to obviously to. To be. To get a Golden Agabos is not a joke. We're so proud of it because, I mean, experts are trying it, right? It is. You know, when, when my friends or my family was like, oh, this is delicious. I'm like, okay, you know me, you know, it's a little. Your opinion is a little rebias when. But professionals are saying so. And then, you know, we got a double goal in the San Francisco this year, and then we got gold in agaves. Then, you know, that really, you know, says something about our brand and it gets backed up by, by, you know, not just my Opinion. But the professionals, right, which is. Which is for us, amazing. Yeah. [00:31:20] Speaker A: So tell me the difference. How long are you aging your repo for and what are you aging it in? [00:31:26] Speaker B: So we age our reposado on average for four months. And then we age our reposado and anejo in new American oak. We try to do ex bourbon barrels at the beginning, but, you know, we want our blanco or reposado to stay agave forward and don't get a lot of influence from the whiskeys or bourbons or whatever, you know, you might get. So we. We decided to go new American instead. So. Okay, that helps us a lot because, you know, you know, it brings a little bit of spiciness, but nothing to overwhelm the, you know, the star of the show, which is the agave. So. And then for arnejo, we do 14 months on average. And then I use, you know, I emphasize the word average because sometimes it's three and a half, and Japanese five. We blend some different barrels. So that being said, you know, it's. It's a average of 14 and average of 4. Four months. [00:32:25] Speaker A: You know, you say that on the barrel. I didn't know what your process was. And the oak flavor, to me is a little bit different in the reposado than in a lot of people's. [00:32:34] Speaker B: It. [00:32:34] Speaker A: You say that, and now I actually get the fact that there is a whiskey influence in that barrel. It's just an oak, just like a kiss of the oak to the agave. So that. That makes sense now that you've told me that, because that's what I was kind of tasting when I tasted. [00:32:48] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. It's, you know, like I said, I want the agave to. To shine. And then. So that is the first thing that you should. You should taste whenever you taste out of posado. And then obviously, the influence of the oat, you know, comes more towards the back of your palate, which you probably get a little bit of cinnamon or anise, depends on what bachelor you're trying. And then obviously, the. The oak, you know, it's there, but it's. It's brushes of oak and not just, you know, a bunch of oak in there. So, you know, and the beautiful notes that we get from the same barrel from white oak, which, you know, we do a number, almost a number two chart, you know, which is, you know, we could get some beautiful notes of caramel in there as well, but they're also very light. [00:33:30] Speaker A: So. So is there any plan for an extra on Yeho to Come out. [00:33:34] Speaker B: You know what, let me show you something. So I talked to you about those first barrels that we, the we start aging tequila and then there were export barrels that you know, obviously we didn't take the tequila out of those barrels. They're already in the barrels. So we just left our tequila there. And then to celebrate our five year anniversary this year, you know, I picked the three best barrels out of the lineup that I tried. And then we did a five year extra niejo. And then, you know, they're nice enough to call this reservoir de Pablo. And then it's five years Reservoir Pablo. And then we did out of 600 bottles, this is bottle 337. You know, very allocated, kind of like small, very small production which you know, we gotta, we gotta get some, some of this to your son too. Yeah, I want. [00:34:33] Speaker A: The bottle is beautiful too. [00:34:34] Speaker B: It's delicious. It's so good. It did not work with our reposado but I and this extra ninja version that now the, you know, ex bourbon are, is amazing. So like I said we're going to have to get you some so you can try it and do a little. I think we still have a little bit on the market. Nothing, nothing too much but. Because they're all gone. But I'm gonna have Brian send you some of these for you, for you to try it. [00:35:05] Speaker A: That'd be awesome. Now is that a project that you're gonna do again in the future? [00:35:09] Speaker B: You know what? I don't know. I don't, I don't know. I don't think so. I think we probably might have said about Pablo to be a special thing, different year or maybe every other year or whenever something that we try. It's amazing. I have some blanco aging and French oak from Casa Madera, Casa Madero barrels, you know, which is a, you know, Mexican winery. So but you know, we'll see what that tastes. And you know, we're constantly tasting different things and whenever we find somebody unique and somebody worth to put in a bottle, then you know, obviously 600 bottles. My intention for them is not to make any money. It's just to make sure that we do something unique and cool and, and to, you know, teach people, you know, about what, what else can tequila do, right? What else that amazing spirit can transform into? So when you age it different ways. [00:36:05] Speaker A: Well that, that's exactly where I was going to go next. Being a wine person and having so much wine knowledge. Are you experimenting with things like maybe a Rosa or some different types of wine barrels to do some Aging in. [00:36:19] Speaker B: So obviously wine was my, my first love and I'm always trying to make sure that, you know, I'm adding wine to or barrels. Who put them together. Obviously I'm married to, to tequila right now and you know, that's my commitment. But you know, I text my ex wine once in a while and I drink a little bit of wine. So. But you know, you never know. Like I said, we have some of these. I got 2017s French oak barrels from Casama in 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon that I bought from those guys as well. Some barrels in there, the m aging some stuff and we'll see what that takes. And that's the, that's the beauty. You know, you, you never know. It could be amazing, you know, could not. But you know, I think it's right now agave being, you know, not too expensive. You know, you can, you know, have the luxury to age some stuff and leave it there. Yeah. You know, before it costs a lot more money to fill a barrel. [00:37:21] Speaker A: So a little easier to experiment right now than what it was a few years ago. So let's talk about the coolest thing I think you have going on and that is the fact that every time I get on an American airline, I can ask for tequila and they didn't used to have any. And it's your brand. What, what was the process to get your tequila on all of the American airline flights? [00:37:45] Speaker B: It is not crazy that we are in the American Airlines. We. I pinch myself every day because we are Brad. We're a tiny company. We're compared to everyone else. We're small people. We are in Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and then we recently opened this year, Tennessee, but just on Nashville area. So we're, we're just small company. And the idea came, I go to Jalisco 25 to 30 times a year. So, you know, every time. And I, you know, Dallas, it's an American hub. So always fly Dallas from our fly American. And you know, there was never tequila or tequila. And you know, two years ago I was like, I think I know somebody from America. And my first good friend, Elsa, I called her, I was like, do you know anyone that we can get in touch? He's like, yeah, let me send you a contact. And that's where all my work stopped. Then Lindsay, which is, you know, our president and she's, you know, one of our executive took it from there. And then we did a follow up email and another follow up and another follow up and you know, two years later, you know, early this year, they contact us and they're like, hey, we, we're doing this RFP for tequila. You know, obviously I seen you 600 emails. Yeah, come. Yeah, they're like, come and drop a sample. And you know, in that moment we went Amazon, you know, order some 50 ML plastic, because with something that we're not producing, you know, print some labels, you know, and you know, draw some samples. And there were 80 friend tequilas presenting and you know, early March, they call us and they're like, guys, you've been awarded to, to the Tequila and American Airlines. You beat, you know, every other brand and not only presentation and flavor profile, so. Which was amazing for us and you know, amazing to know the American Airlines, such a large corporation. We'll give a chance to, you know, somebody like us. And we're so proud of it and we're so happy and it feels unreal still. So almost 5,000 flights a day. That crazy. Yeah. [00:40:05] Speaker A: I'm told that there is. There's two bottles in first class and two bottles in the regular cabin. [00:40:12] Speaker B: Yes. [00:40:13] Speaker A: My last flight I had all four bottles. [00:40:17] Speaker B: There you go. [00:40:18] Speaker A: Then on my flight coming home, I had, you know, we had two flights, right. We were flying home from Cabo, coming into Dallas, our plane was late. And they're like, you're. We're going to miss our flight from Cabo to Indy. And the flight crew looked at me and they're like, you're not going to miss your flight because we are your Indy flight crew. So they're going to wait for us. Right. So when we got settled on the flight, the flight attendant looked at me and she just went. And I went. And then two bottles came in one glass and then the two bottles came in the next class. Yep. [00:40:52] Speaker B: You know, Brad, I got good news for you. So I think the first week of November, they adding more tequila into those. Those drawers. [00:41:01] Speaker A: So that's good. [00:41:02] Speaker B: They obviously the demand, it was high. And then everyone was like, what two bottles? What else the other 200 people are gonna drink? I'm gonna take all two bottles. So they're gonna add. I think they're gonna go four or a little more per drawer. Which is. Which is, you know, amazing. [00:41:20] Speaker A: That's pretty exciting. So what was it like bottling here and all of a sudden going, okay, now we have to bottle all these 50 milliliters. Like did the distillery easily come up with a process? [00:41:32] Speaker B: So, you know, we did this crazy thing maybe slash borderline stupid because they go in middle of March, they go like, you guys Been awarded. We plan to launch June 1st. And then I'm like, april, May. I'm like, josh and Lindsay, look at me. I'm like, let's do it. I can make it happen. And then it was so much work because no one has, like, because whenever you're talking about American Airlines, we're not talking about 100,000 bottles, right? You're talking about a lot more of the little bottles to make sure that you would, like, put enough tequila and all these different hubs of American. So we're like, okay, where do we find a million of these little tiny bottles? Okay, we. We find that first. I was like, okay, the tops. Now let's get the label going now. Then we have everything. I was like, okay, who. Who's going to battle this, right? Because you need the aluminum tabs. Have a coal machine, which, I don't know. Would it be in English, but it's called Encarboladora. And then not everyone. Like, everyone that I talk to, because our Distiller, they're like, we can do plastic. And we're like, no, we got to do aluminum tops. And then we went to so many different places to see, and then, you know, we find a couple places, and actually in Amatitan and then one in Tequila. They will help us at the beginning while we get our distillery, the machinery that they needed to. To get this project going. We all settle up now. We are, you know, bottling in our own distillery. And. But it was. It was. It was crazy. I was spending a lot of time in April and May in Mexico, you know, trying to make sure that we. We got to this part. And then our team here, Lindsay, Josh, and Mariana, were, like, amazing at making sure, like, we gotta open different states, and every state, there's different rules and different labels and different taxes, and it's so many different things you have to do per state. And then we got that going, and we set up with the distributors, and it was a lot of work. But once we saw that in the menu, we were, like, so happy, so excited. So it is. It. It's a lot of work, but, you know, it was fun. I will do it a million times over and over again. [00:43:57] Speaker A: Well, congratulations. I know that's a. That's a big win. And you're allowed to use that in your marketing too, right? You're allowed to say, you know, we. [00:44:05] Speaker B: We. We kind of put a billboard already. But obviously American had a. You know, it's a big corporation, so everything that we do has to be approved by then. So, you know, as long as they let us do stuff, then we're going to keep pushing it. You know, most important is just like you, then we get liquid to lips. You know, people are ordering and liquid tulips is the most, the best marketing we can do. Whenever you have a good product. So the more people are drinking it, the more people are tasting it. Maybe not today, whenever you try for the first time, but the next time you're like, oh, let me look at it again. Right. It's all a. Marketing is all about repetition. So people are seeing over and over again. You know, it's a big impact for our brand. [00:44:46] Speaker A: I posted every flight, every flight I get. I even have them. If they pour the bottle, they got to bring me the bottle so I can get a picture and post it. So I want people to know you can now get great tequila on any American airline flight. So that's pretty awesome. [00:44:59] Speaker B: Yeah. And then let's just. Let me not talk smack about other airlines, but we are the best tequila in every other airlines. [00:45:08] Speaker A: I'm not going to fly the other airlines. That's just how it goes. [00:45:12] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:45:13] Speaker A: So let's, let's talk about the name because that means a lot. The name means the word help. And how did you guys come up with that name and that idea and then what, what's the philosophy behind it? [00:45:26] Speaker B: So Socorro, it's not only a female name in my culture. Right? Socorro, little translation is help, assistant, aid. You know, you won't find a lot of younger girls named Socorro. But you know, there's everyone you know, always gets like, well, my grandmother name is Socorro, my aunt is Socorro is what would be for you, Brad, an old school American name for. For a lady. [00:45:56] Speaker A: My grandma's name was Lois. [00:45:58] Speaker B: That sounds like an old school name. Yeah. [00:46:00] Speaker A: No one names their kid Lois anymore. [00:46:02] Speaker B: Yeah. Was it Lois or Ethel or you know, some of those, you know, names. So you know, Socorro is like old school name. But you know, we didn't choose, you know, our tequila because of that, which was because Mexico was such a amazing. Has amazing culture and open arm culture. Not just to me, but you know, to my business partner. You know, we, we knew we had to do something to reciprocate the love that we got from everyone, everyone locally. You know, it's unexpected things. People, this is how crazy, how hospitable, you know, people in Mexico are. The one of the first times that we went, one of the first trips that we had, then we came back again and one of the guys that we met in the trip before. Be like, oh, see it, check my truck. You can take it. Bring it back in three days. And you're like, are you sure? We're like, yeah, no problem. You know, now he's a very good friend of ours. You know, Juan Carlo is, you know, I see him quite often and. But, you know, that's out of the blue. And then there, Josh and myself were not the most philanthropic person or people before the industry. But, you know, we. We run across, you know, some sad cases of a lot of kiddos working on the streets. And, you know, we're like, well, you're supposed to be in school right now, and you selling marza pan on a Tuesday mornings, which is. Should not be the thing, right? So we did a little research and, you know, we started with something called case for a case, which, you know, for every case of tequila we sold, we donate a case of water to orphanages in the highlands. We work with two in Atotonilco, four in Tepatitlan, two in Arandas, and then we have two nursing homes in Tepatitan as well. We've donate water. We donated water in, you know, in a small town in Guanajuatu as well. So we work all the different places. And then now recently, and this is probably going to be news for a lot of people, we are, you know, changing a little bit. You know, it's from the case, we're still going to do the water donations, but we moving into a thing called spirit, the Spirit of Socorro, which we want to be able to help in this side of the water as well in the US and, you know, not just do water, but do many more meaningful things when it comes to charity or anything that we need our help, that people need help with. So that is probably our number one focus to end this year, so we can launch the Spirit of Socorro next year, and then we can do many, many more things in, you know, not only in Mexico, but in the USI as well. [00:48:51] Speaker A: So, man, that's. That's fantastic and thank you for doing that. That's a lot of. There's a lot of charitable things that. That we're a part of, and that's a lot of why I do this. And it's good to see a brand that's doing something like that. So I appreciate it. [00:49:06] Speaker B: It is not my intention for you to drink my tequila based on what I do. I want you to drink Socorroviro because you like it and you love it. You respect what we do. The philanthropy Side it's more for me and my business partner than anyone else we do it for. Because it feels amazing. I tell people all the time, if you have not have the chance to donate your time or anything you could to something selfless, then you should do it right away. It's very, very, very addicting feeling. It feels, it's up and down feelings because you go and help. For example, I was there this past week and then one orphanage in Arandas and we, we went in there and we've been going there for the last five years. And then we go in there and then we're just like, where is Brisa? Brisa is one of the girls we met a long time ago. Smart, you know, she was there and then she learned how to speak the language, but just by reading it English book and the orphanage, no class whatsoever. But she spoke the language obviously not perfectly, but quite well for not having one single class, right? And then we're like, where's Brisa? And then you know, the girl, the lady from the orphanage, like, you know what? Brisa and her sister been adopted. And then you're like, you feel sad because you really want to see Brisa because you have a relationship already every time you go. But then you're so happy because she's not there anymore. And then that have happened several times with us and with people that. With kids that we really connect. And we're like, I cannot wait to go in there and see Fernando. And they're like, oh, you know, Fernando is no longer here. Which is like, I don't really want to see Fernando. But I'm so happy he's not here anymore. So that's a pretty cool, you know, feeling to have to know that people are doing something better in the imperium life. So we gotta take your next. Next time you're in there, you gotta let me know. [00:51:10] Speaker A: 100. And you said selfless and that I say it's. It's also selfish, you know, the feeling of doing it. So this, this week I was in Cabo San Lucas. We've done this my fifth year. We play. I play guitar and sing. So a buddy of mine from Chicago, we come down and we play for this year, four and a half hours at Sancho's bar on the Marina in Cabo for a children's charity. The money goes to an orphanage in Cabo. And this year, in our four and a half hours, we raised 58, 340 pesos. [00:51:44] Speaker B: That is amazing. [00:51:45] Speaker A: Hours. And, and then, you know, we, we get to meet the People that come and pick it up. And we hear what that does for the, the, the, the people there. And you're like, I had so much fun doing this, you know, and it's so great to have that feeling of knowing that you did something that you enjoy, but it really helps somebody else. And then my wife and Al. My wife and I also work with the Hint of Wina foundation, which is a foundation that's bringing running water to San Pedro Los Lenderos, which is just outside of the town of Tequila. And now we've helped a lot of brands come on board and they've installed 10 cisterns that help 21 people have running water in their house and water security. And I just found out recently that they've hit their numbers and the rest of the cisterns are going to be able to be installed before Christmas. And that's taken a town that the people had no run, no water. Right. They had to get it when it was delivered and if they didn't have a way to store it, they didn't get any. And now those people have water security by having cisterns and sold at their home. And that, that's the stuff that makes, you know, so worthwhile. And for me, I feel like I do nothing but take from Mexico. [00:52:55] Speaker B: Right. [00:52:55] Speaker A: I drink all of their tequila, I enjoy their food, I enjoy their vacation areas. And for me, it's just trying to figure out how to give back to those areas that I feel like I take from. And it's, it's, you know, you said selfless, but to me, I almost feel selfish of how good I feel about seeing that person get helped. You know, it, it gives back so much more than what it, what I'm really giving, if you know what I mean. [00:53:20] Speaker B: 100. Sure. You better. And I'm holding you accountable to contacts, to any initiative that you have either in the US Or Mexico. We'll be happy to, happy to help, anything that we can do. Please continue on. Yeah, the more opportunities we get to do stuff, the better for us. It's, it's like I told you, right? It's an addicting feeling. And we're here to, to do as much as we can every time. So I'm holding you accountable to bring to us opportunities for us to keep doing whatever we can do to, to get this going. And then the water part that you mentioned is so important. You know, we did a little research and then Mexico has almost 10 million people that suffer from portable water scarcity. 10 million that is under the size of the State of Colorado. I think Colorado has 9 million people or 6. I don't know a lot of people. [00:54:20] Speaker A: But it's amazing to think that the. The water insecurity. But that insecurity causes so much stress and pain in their life because everything revolves around water. Your house, water's life. [00:54:33] Speaker B: Yeah, we. We got it so good. We got it so good that. Listen to this. I'm going to tell you something that's going to blow your mind. We go number one and number two in drinking portable water. It's. Is that insane? [00:54:49] Speaker A: And. And think about it. [00:54:50] Speaker B: You. [00:54:50] Speaker A: You. If you're like me, you. I counted them one time. I think there's 29 places that I can get running water out of my house. Drinkable running water and also hot water. Right? I mean, just. It's. We. Yeah, we're very spoiled. And when you go to other places and you see that some places don't even know that that's a thing. And you can bring that. That's. It's so important. It's so helpful. So I appreciate you having that mindset along with making such a great tequila. It's pretty awesome. [00:55:19] Speaker B: No, our. Our pleasure. Hopefully we can help more and more and more and more and, you know, people, whoever is watching this and you have something or an opportunity, just, you know, let us know. We, you know, we'll do everything in our hands to help. [00:55:32] Speaker A: So. Okay, so I'm going to ask you a question. This is. [00:55:35] Speaker B: This. [00:55:35] Speaker A: I like to. I like to round this out with this question because I always feel like these. You guys that are brand owners and creators of brands, this is. This is like a. This is like your baby. This is your child. Right? This is something that is very, very special and I love to hear these answers. So if you could sit down with absolutely anybody alive, not alive, famous, not famous. Sit down and share your tequila with them and tell the story and want to hear what they have to say about what you've done. Who. Who would that person in your life be that you'd want to sit down with and share this? [00:56:13] Speaker B: So you're trying to make me cry and you're going to succeed. No, you know what? My. My dad passed away in 2018. [00:56:25] Speaker A: Okay. [00:56:26] Speaker B: And then I would love for to share maybe one. One shot of tequila with my dad. [00:56:35] Speaker A: That's awesome. [00:56:36] Speaker B: He didn't get to see it. And, and he was a. A cool dude, bohemian guy. They love alcohol and wine and whiskey. And then he didn't get to see this part of his son. And that will be for Me, probably. You know, what I would do then, you know, Or Messi. I would love to have a glass of tequila with Messi, but if I get to choose with my dad, but my second option will be Messi, you know, but that's what my answer is. [00:57:11] Speaker A: Well, I'm sure your dad would be incredibly proud, not just of the product that you've put together, but from the person that you are and the vision that you have behind this and how helpful that you are to people with this brand. It's very impressive. And I just want to say thanks for taking your time tonight on a Friday and at the end of the workday and spending an hour with me and talking about your brand and your tequila and your passion. I just really appreciate you and what you do. [00:57:39] Speaker B: No, my pleasure. Thank you for the opportunity to, you know, to talk about my brand and talk about who we are. Please come me in next time. I would love to. To keep doing this. And next time you're in Mexico, let me know. I would love. I know you've been going a lot, so if you ever go or, like, be like, hey, I'm planning to be there in April, I would love to meet you. And, you know, obviously you've been to the slurs before. Before, but, you know, I can show you a little more about what we do when it comes to orphanages and. And then, you know, give you the best tackles on the road to, you know, what. At least to my opinion, so. And then see what we can do, so. [00:58:19] Speaker A: Well, that'd be fantastic. I'll definitely let you know. And I want to say thanks and have a fantastic night and a great weekend. [00:58:25] Speaker B: Hey, same for you, baba. Appreciate it. [00:58:28] Speaker A: Cheers. [00:58:29] Speaker B: Salute. Salute. I'm out. But, you know, I know I have a teeny bit. I was drinking mine. [00:58:37] Speaker A: All right, fantastic. All right. Thank you, my friend. Have a great night. [00:58:40] Speaker B: Okay, thank you, baba. So just here. [00:58:45] Speaker A: Cheers. Look right at the camera.