A conversation between Lincoln Salazar & Rande Gerber
1You, George, and Mike recently launched your new Cristalino Reposado. This is unique as Cristalino is normally made in Añejo or Extra Añejo. What made you decide to go with Casamigos Reposado?
Casamigos Cristalino is made with 100% Blue Weber agave Casamigos Reposado Tequila. Most cristalinos are anejo-based, ours is reposado-based. It’s simple – we chose to use our reposado for the taste. People that have enjoyed other types of spirits have turned to Casamigos because of its quality. I see the same happening for Casamigos Cristalino. George, Mike and I made Casamigos out of our desire to drink the best-tasting, smoothest tequila. The same applies to our Casamigos Cristalino.
2What made your team decide to add a Cristalino to your family of brands?
George and I are passionate about Casamigos and everything we do. Just as we made our tequila and mezcal, we wanted to create a cristalino that we wanted to drink. There’s a growing population curious about Cristalino in the States. We have been working on this for a while and we’re really excited about the launch and for people to finally get the chance to drink it
3
Cristalinos are complex and subtle. The process is very unique. With our Casamigos Cristalino, we have a tequila that has the complexity and character of our reposado with the clear, crisp, bright notes of our blanco.
4How do you recommend drinking Casamigos Cristalino? Neat? On the rocks? Mixed?
It’s no secret we enjoy our Casamigos neat or on the rocks. Cristalino is no different. But simple cocktails also work well with the Cristalino. A nice Casamigos Cristalino martini – not too many ingredients. Keep it simple to preserve the integrity of the Cristalino.
5So, 10 years of Casamigos now being the fastest-growing, most sought after tequila brand ever. How excited are you? Is it everything you imagined, or did it exceed your expectations? Did you expect it to grow this quickly?
Success isn’t always defined by profit. I believe the success that we’ve created for Casamigos has been changing the perception of tequila. When we created it, we wanted something that was very different from every other tequila, something with no burn. The perfect tasting, smoothest tequila that we made for us to drink and share with friends.
The fact is that if you don’t have a good product, it’s not going to work. Some brands attempt to fool the customer with big marketing campaigns, made up stories and fancy bottles. For Casamigos, it has always been about what’s inside the bottle.
6What is the secret to Casamigos’ success?
We really haven’t changed our philosophy, number one it’s about the product. We have a great tequila and people understand the differences in that. And when you start with that, your job is to get people to try it.
I was confident, once they tried it, they would switch from whatever other brand they may have been drinking in the past. So many people are drinking Casamigos, more and more every day and they spread the word. A lot of those customers who were drinking vodka, whiskey, gin and other liquors are now drinking Casamigos. You can’t have a product that’s only a little bit better than others, because then people will go back to what they know. That’s why you have to create a product that’s much better than others, that really stands out. That’s the true secret to success.
7Want more? Subscribe!
Subscribe to Enthusiast Report for the latest coverage on lifestyle, fine wines, cigars and spirits. Save 58% when you subscribe for 1 year, and 62% when you subscribe for 2 years!
