(Photo: Patrón)

Patrón Tequila is tripling down on its additive-free marketing push with a billboard rollout that misspells all the important details. The move is the latest in a cheeky war of words with Mexican regulators, who’ve butted heads with the brand over the verbiage of its past campaigns.

In July, Patrón began introducing murals and digital kiosks across major US markets including New York City, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Austin and San Francisco. In each city, passersby will find slogans like “No Atrificial Flvaor” and “No Atrificial Swetness” plastered with enough confidence to warrant a second glance. Some billboards obscure the brand’s bottle behind a swarm of bees or agave leaves, while others use needlessly complicated phrases like “100% caramel-coloring-well-actually-any-kind-of-coloring-free.”

No, these are not the errors of an unchecked AI bot. The tequila maker is taking a jab at additives, one of the most talked-about topics in the agave spirits landscape over the past decade. Regulators currently permit the use of four additives — glycerin, oak extract, sugar-based syrup and caramel coloring — in 100% Blue Weber agave tequilas, and brands aren’t required to disclose their presence so long as they make up less than 1% of the total volume.

Patrón maintains that its recipe only uses agave, water and yeast — a claim that has ruffled more feathers than you might expect within a quarrelsome, and at times combative industry.

In early 2025, the brand unveiled a nationwide campaign that plainly described Patrón as “100% Additive-Free.” The news was not received kindly by the Tequila Regulatory Council, which has long sparred with brands and third parties that purport to detect additives or the lack thereof in spirits. Patrón was slapped with a four-day global export ban, repealed only after the brand removed the offending language from its website and marketing.

Months later, Patrón doubled down. The brand rolled out “Censored Truth” billboards that bleeped out words like “additive-free” with oversized black rectangles, prodding consumers to research what couldn’t explicitly be said in regulator-friendly messaging.

Now, Patrón is swapping the censorship for intentional typos. In New York City, the campaign has made a complete takeover of the shuttle between Grand Central and Times Square, in addition to media placements encompassing the entirety of the Times Square 1/2/3 station. The push also includes two 3-D billboards, one at 7th Ave and 33rd Street in Manhattan, and the other on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

“This campaign turns a creative challenge into some of our most original storytelling yet,” Laila Mignoni, VP of Global Communications at Patrón, remarked in a news release. “Each of these concepts in the campaign hands the audience a puzzle: a typo, a workaround, a hidden bottle. It lets them arrive at the truth on their own, and the truth is a simple one: Patrón is a tequila made with just three ingredients and nothing else.”

(Photo: Don Julio)

From margarita cocktails to overpriced club bottles, tequila has spent the last decade and change dominating the spirits landscape. So what happens when two of the market’s most iconic brands suddenly post double-digit declines?

Last week, British spirits giant Diageo announced that its U.S. tequila net sales fell by 21% in fiscal 2026. According to the company’s preliminary financial results, the shift was driven by a 19.2% drop in sales for Don Julio — the blockbuster tequila brand that reported over 40% growth just a year prior. Diageo’s other flagship agave spirit, Casamigos, posted a net sales decline of 27.7%, deepening from an 18% drop in 2025.

These figures weren’t an anomaly. Diageo posted declines across most of its spirits segments in the United States, including a 15.9% drop for whisky brands like Crown Royal, a 1.1% drop for scotch and a 1% drop for vodka. Ready-to-drink cocktails were the only category that saw explosive gains, growing by 35.1% thanks in part to tie-in releases with the FIFA World Cup.

For the most part, Diageo’s ailing sales fall well in line with industry trends. The spirits boom that followed on the heels of the COVID pandemic cooled, flattened then iced over as people of all ages began drinking less. Whether that’s due to marijuana legalization, wellness trends, GLP-1 medications or some combination of the above is the subject of much debate. What we do know, however, is that tequila was long touted as the sole exception — the only category projected for growth in years to come; a glimmer of hope among a younger generation that (supposedly) had given up alcohol altogether.

Don Julio’s abrupt downswing changes the narrative. Last August, we wrote a piece that opened with the line: “Few success stories have baffled expectations quite like Don Julio.” The brand had just posted its biggest sales bump in history, and we attributed its successes to a string of savvy partnerships with the likes of Popeyes and Apple Vision Pro. So we ask again… what happened?

No, this isn’t the end of the tequila boom. Though it might be the waning of the tequila boom as we know it. According to Nielsen IQ data, the top 20 tequila brands in the United States — Don Julio, Jose Cuervo, Patrón and Casamigos, among them — witnessed a 1.5% sales decline in 2025. During the same time frame, craft tequila brands grew 28.5%.

There is no legal definition for “small batch” or “craft” spirits, though drinkers who use these words in the agave scene usually have a particular type of brand in mind. These are tequilas that almost always tout themselves as additive-free, and increasingly, as either artisanal, single-estate or tahona-crushed. Their websites might talk at length about the importance of transparency, and they may even harken back to those ill-defined “old-school” production methods that agave nerds are always talking about on Instagram.

A recent list from The Tequila Report suggests that brands like LALO, La Gritona, G4 and Tequila Ocho are witnessing some of the biggest gains in the $1 million-plus in sales category, while up-and-coming favorites like Aguasol, Wild Common and Cambio are showing strong velocity growth in the less than $1 million in sales segment.

Chances are, none of these brands will ever enjoy the broad, celebrity-friendly appeal of a titan like Don Julio. But their success signals a changing of the guard for consumer preferences, reflecting the shift toward “better living” that’s made its way into every nook and cranny of the zeitgeist over the past few years.

(Photo: GDA via AP Images)

Juan Domingo Beckmann, the billionaire CEO behind Jose Cuervo, Maestro Dobel and Gran Coramino, has joined the Los Angeles Football Club’s ownership group.

The deal was finalized earlier this year when 6% of the club’s equity reportedly changed hands at a $1.25 billion valuation. The transaction marked the departure of Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai and Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan. At the time, it was announced that they were being replaced by Carlos Vela, a former LAFC player, alongside two new anonymous partners  — then identified as “a prominent Mexican businessperson” and a “Korean American investor.”

It has now been confirmed that the partners are Beckmann and James Cha, the managing partner of an investment firm focused on technology, healthcare, real estate and sports.

A recent update on the LAFC website lists Beckmann as a Director and Owner of the club. Other notable celebrity owners include comedian Will Ferrell, NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Marc Merrill, co-creator of the popular video game League of Legends.

Beckmann is one of the wealthiest business magnates in Mexico, and arguably the single most important decision-maker in the tequila industry. Earlier this year, the billionaire inherited a nearly 51% stake in Becle, the firm behind Jose Cuervo, Bushmills and Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey. His sister, Karen Beckmann, owns an additional 36% stake, leaving the family’s combined ownership at roughly 85%.

Becle has been run by successive generations of the Cuervo and Beckmann dynasty since its founding in 1758. Juan Domingo Beckmann represents the eleventh generation in a row responsible for the firm, which generates approximately USD $2.3 billion in revenue per year.

The investment does not reflect an official connection between Cuervo and LAFC, though it might soon. 1800, currently Becle’s second-best-selling tequila brand, has been partnered with the club since 2021. Elsewhere in the sports world, Jose Cuervo is a sponsor of both NASCAR and the UFC, while Maestro Dobel is the official tequila partner of the PGA Tour.

(Photo: Cabo Wabo)

On Wednesday, Italian spirits giant Campari Group announced the sale of Cabo Wabo, widely agreed to be the first celebrity-backed tequila on the market, to Ireland’s Cobblestone Brands. The changing of the guard is the latest in a legacy of ups and downs for the tequila that helped jumpstart the now-prolific category and reshaped the entire alcohol industry along the way.

Cobblestone Brands has taken ownership of Cabo Wabo, founded by Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar in 1997, and Bisquit & Dubouché, a historic cognac house founded in 1819. The deal comes less than a year after Campari announced that it was streamlining its portfolio due to “unprecedented” pressure from inflation and changing consumer preferences. The firm reportedly plans to refocus its attention on drivers like Campari liqueur, Aperol and Espolòn tequila while shedding its non-core assets.

The deal is expected to close by Oct 31, 2026, at an undisclosed price. Brian Fagan, CEO and founder of Cobblestone Brands, says that his company is excited to elevate its legacy to the next level.

“We have spent the past several years building a best in class route-to-market platform which will allow us to take great, but previously less-priority brands and give them the investment, focus and commercial firepower they deserve,” Fagan said in a statement. “Bisquit & Dubouché and Cabo Wabo are exactly the kind of brands we built this platform for.”

At its peak in 2006, Cabo Wabo was the second best-selling premium tequila in America, moving roughly 150,000 cases per year. It was the first brand to score an A-list benefactor, and one of the first to popularize 100% Blue Weber agave spirits north of the border. Hagar sold an 80% stake to Campari in 2007, followed by the remaining 20% in 2020. Overall, Campari shelled out around $91 million for the up-and-coming favorite.

The rest is history. Two years later, George Clooney and Rande Gerber teamed up for the blockbuster launch of Casamigos; five years after that, they sold their brand to Diageo for a record-breaking $1 billion. Celebrity-backed tequila became the trend of the decade, inspiring the likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kendall Jenner and Kevin Hart to join the industry. Hagar later returned to the genre that he helped jumpstart, joining forces with “Mayor of Flavortown” Guy Fieri for a new project, Santo Spirits.

Cabo Wabo lost some of its luster amid the shuffle and is no longer the liquor store favorite it once was. Nonetheless, those in the know still recognize it as the progenitor of the modern tequila boom.

“Cabo Wabo is a brand that helped change the tequila category,” Fagan added. “It has authenticity, a remarkable story and a consumer loyalty that most brands never achieve. Bringing it onto our US platform – alongside our existing portfolio – will allow us to transform our ability to service all our distributor and retail partners in America and beyond.”

(Photos: Pantalones Tequila)

More than 30 years after the premiere of “Dazed and Confused,” Matthew McConaughey is bringing back one of his most memorable movie quotes — this time to promote his tequila brand.

Matthew and Camila McConaughey’s Pantalones Organic Tequila has partnered with YETI to release the “A Lot Cooler” limited-edition cooler, a custom-designed model sized to hold a full case of six bottles of Pantalones Organic Tequila.

The collaboration plays off McConaughey’s famous “It’d be a lot cooler if you did” line from the 1993 coming-of-age classic, which has become one of the actor’s most recognizable catchphrases. While not as iconic as his “Alright, alright, alright” line from the same movie, the “cooler” quote certainly better aligns with a YETI collaboration.

The launch is accompanied by the latest installment of Pantalones’ “Official Tequila Of” advertising campaign. In the spot, McConaughey tells viewers that while they may not currently be holding a Pantalones Organic Margarita, “it’d be a lot cooler if you did.”

Camila McConaughey joins him as the pair relax on the tailgate of a pickup truck alongside the custom YETI cooler, showcasing the margarita during a variety of summertime activities, including gardening, grilling and even showering.

The campaign arrives as summer reaches its hottest stretch and is designed to position the tequila brand as a go-to warm-weather cocktail option.

Alongside the cooler launch, the couple is also sharing the recipe for their preferred summer serve: the Pantalones Organic Margarita.

Pantalones Organic Margarita Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Pantalones Organic Tequila (Blanco or Reposado)
• 1 oz Organic Lime Juice
• 0.5 oz Organic Agave Nectar
• Organic Lime Wheel (Garnish)

Instructions:

• Rim the edge of a rocks glass with a lime wedge, dip the rim in salt.
• Add the Pantalones Organic Tequila, organic lime juice, and organic agave nectar to a shaker with ice. Shake until well-chilled.
• Strain over fresh ice into the prepared glass.
• Top with a lime wheel.

Pantalones Organic Tequila was founded by Matthew and Camila McConaughey and has leaned heavily into humorous, lifestyle-focused marketing since its debut. The new collaboration continues that strategy by pairing one of Hollywood’s most famous tequila founders with one of his most iconic movie moments.

(Photo: Herradura)

Herradura Tequila has announced the return of Directo de Alambique, the highest-proofed spirit ever made by the distiller and the strongest permitted by law in the United States.

Last week, the brand revealed that the release, originally introduced in 2012 as a small-batch experiment, will be back on shelves in limited quantities at a suggested retail price of $79.99. It marks the latest in a high-proof tequila trend sweeping distillers small and large, redefining a spirit that has historically been bottled at little higher than 40% ABV.

Directo de Alambique is an unaged, still-strength tequila, indicating that it was bottled directly from the still without any dilution (hence “Directo de Alambique,” which translates simply to “straight from the still”). According to the team, agaves sourced from a variety of terroirs were cooked in traditional clay ovens for 26 hours, followed by open-air fermentation among 15 different fruit trees. The resulting spirit was then bottled at 55% ABV, yielding flavors of citrus, dry herbs and a subtle touch of olive oil, per Herradura.

“Directo de Alambique reflects Casa Herradura‘s longstanding commitment to traditional tequila-making, offering an authentic expression of the distillery’s heritage while meeting the evolving tastes of today’s consumers,” William Brooks, Global Brand Ambassador of Tequila Herradura, remarked in a news release.

Few trends have captured the attention of tequila enthusiasts quite like high-proof blancos. Popularized by brands like Fortaleza and Tapatio, these releases highlight roasted agave — alongside punchy hints of black pepper, vegetables and minerality — as the dominant flavor profile. For lack of a better phrase, these are agave spirits for people who want to taste the agave in their spirits, and they’ve become increasingly enjoyed thanks in part to the additive-free movement of the past few years.

Herradura last forayed into the genre with the rerelease of its Blanco 46, a 92-proof tequila originally conceived in 1870. If you ask us, it’s still one of the best bang-for-your-buck options on the market when it comes to mixology. Reviewing the tequila at launch, we found a lot to like in its distinct flavors of jalapeño, white pepper and macadamia nuts, followed by a twang of rosemary and celery perfect for a homemade Ranch Water recipe.

Directo de Alambique clocks in at around double the price of Blanco 46, and we don’t imagine that cocktail mixing is what the team has in mind this time around.

(Photo: Jose Cuervo)

Jose Cuervo is expanding its high-end Reserva de la Familia line with a touch of oak, dried chiles and cocoa.

On Wednesday, the spirits juggernaut unveiled what it says is the world’s first tequila finished in mole-seasoned barrels. The tequila — named, * deep breath*, Reserva de la Familia Private Cask Collection Edition No. 2 Mole Cask — begins with 100% Blue Weber agave aged in a combination of new American and French oak, before finishing for three to four months in red Oaxaca mole-seasoned medium-toast barrels.

The brand didn’t dive too far into the details of the mole itself. The recipe it’s based on, however, typically makes use of red chilies, such as ancho or guajillo, toasted nuts, chocolate, warming spices and dried fruits.

“Mole is one of our country’s greatest culinary traditions, built layer by layer over generations, much like tequila itself,” Alejandro Coronado, Maestro Tequilero for Reserva de la Familia, remarked in a news release. “Our challenge wasn’t simply introducing mole into the barrel. It was finding the point where its notes of cacao, dried chile and spice would complement, not overpower, the natural elements imparted from the agave like fresh pepper and melon.”

The limited-edition release is now available for preorder online at a suggested retail price of $120. The tequila is bottled at 40% ABV and is expected to hit shelves nationwide in September.

Jose Cuervo may be the first brand innovating tequila plus mole, but it isn’t the first distiller snagging onto a similar concept. In fact, the most recent example hails from none other than Vermont.

At the end of last year, the always flashy WhistlePig unveiled a $600 rye whiskey finished in barrels seasoned with pulque curado, which the brand recreated with a blend of agave, cacao and a mix of Mexican chiltepín, guajillo and pasilla peppers.

It was one of the best spirits of 2025. If Jose Cuervo’s latest experiment can hold even a fraction of the same flavor, then drinkers are in for a treat. Reserva de la Familia Extra Añejo has long been our favorite bottling from Cuervo, and it would be cool to see the centuries-old brand expand with something truly new.

(Photo: Tipsy Scoop)

Celebrity tequila? Sure, you’ve heard of it. Celebrity ice cream? Look no further than Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert’s years-long collaborations with Ben & Jerry’s. Celebrity tequila ice cream? Thanks to the patronage of Mr. “Alright, Alright, Alright” himself, the unlikely dream is now a reality.

On Tuesday, Pantalones Organic Tequila partnered with Tipsy Scoop to unveil a duo of booze-infused ice creams featuring Matthew McConaughey’s liquor brand, launched alongside his wife Camila McConaughey in 2023.

As is often the case with McConaughey, Texas pride is the name of the game. The flavors are now available for order online in Dallas Margarita Sorbet and Peaches & Cream varieties. The dairy-free, vegan Margarita combines Pantalones Reposado with citrus sorbet, orange liqueur and fresh lime juice, while the Peaches & Cream balances reposado-infused peach ice cream with a hint of tangy lime. Each pint is batched no higher than 5% ABV, around the same alcohol content as a standard beer.

The flavors will be available from now through August at all Tipsy Scoop Barlours nationwide at $8.50 per scoop or $16 per pint. Alternatively, fans can pick up a variety four-pack online that costs $109.95.

“We love transforming iconic cocktails into unforgettable frozen desserts, and margaritas have always been a customer favorite,” Melissa Tavss, Tipsy Scoop founder and CEO, said in a news release. “Partnering with Pantalones Organic Tequila allowed us to create a flavor that captures everything people love about a refreshing tequila cocktail in a fun, scoopable format.”

It isn’t the first (nor is it likely to be the last) time that the McConaugheys thought outside the box to promote their nascent tequila brand. When Pantalones hit the market in late 2023, the couple rode pantless through the agave fields of Mexico in a stunt that instantly went viral across the Internet.

The brand has so far released a Blanco, Reposado, Añejo and Extra Añejo, all of which are produced at Tequilera Tap — incidentally, the same distillery that makes Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul’s Dos Hombres.

“Most margaritas are served on the rocks. This summer, we’re deciding to serve ours by the scoop,” added Persia Tatar, CMO, Pantalones Organic Tequila. “National Tequila Day is one of our favorite holidays, so partnering with Tipsy Scoop to turn a summer margarita into ice cream felt like a no-brainer. It’s fun, unexpected, and proof that tequila belongs in more places than just your glass.”

(Photo: Gran Centenario)

Mexican health authorities have issued a public alert over an adulterated batch of tequila recently linked to five deaths in the state of Guanajuato.

Last Monday, the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) warned that bottles of Gran Centenario Añejo labeled with the lot number L 06124 had been flagged for “product irregularities” by brand owner Casa Cuervo. The 950-milliliter bottles were sold through online platforms and appear to have been tampered with by an unknown third party.

Concerns were raised in early June, when a quinceañera party in Salamanca, Guanajuato, resulted in five deaths and nearly 40 hospitalizations. Sources interviewed by People Magazine reported that individuals experienced vomiting, headaches and blurred vision after they consumed the adulterated tequila. The tragic incident has now been linked to the same lot number warned of by COFEPRIS.

The government says the counterfeit bottles can be identified by a detached cap and a front label that lacks embossing.

“The counterfeit and adulterated product was sold through online sales platforms and does not comply with the specifications set forth in [regulation] ‘NOM-142-SSA/SCFI-2014. Alcoholic Beverages: Health Specifications, Health and Commercial Labeling.’ As a result, it poses a risk to public health, since the raw materials used are unknown, as are the conditions under which it was produced, bottled, stored and distributed,” COFEPRIS said.

Mexican newspaper Milenio claims to have obtained one of the offending bottles and has published an extensive list of additional warning signs, most of which have not been independently confirmed by health authorities. According to Milenio, the adulterated tequilas contained superimposed stickers, fake Tax Administration Service labels, hidden expiration dates and evidence of recycling. A QR code on the side — which would typically link to the message “If you’re going to drive, don’t drink” — reportedly opens a web page that never finishes loading.

Gran Centenario is one of the most popular tequila brands in Mexico, and is produced by the same parent company as Jose Cuervo, 1800, Gran Coramino and 400 Conejos.

It is not unheard of for recognizable spirits brands like Johnnie Walker or Casamigos to be counterfeited on the black market. However, filling a once-legitimate bottle with fake booze makes it all the more difficult to ascertain a spirit’s authenticity, especially when those bottles appear to have been sold through standard retailers.

Anyone who has information about the “possible commercialization” of lot 06124 is encouraged to file a sanitary report with COFEPRIS.

(Photo: Teremana Tequila)

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s tequila brand just added a Guinness World Record to its résumé.

Teremana Tequila set a new Guinness World Record over the weekend after hosting hundreds of fans from 48 countries around what organizers called the world’s longest foosball table during an event in New York City.

The activation, dubbed The World Table, took place at Brooklyn Navy Yard as part of Teremana’s Share the Table, Share the Mana campaign, which encourages people to put down their phones and connect in person through shared experiences.

The event coincided with this summer’s international soccer tournament and brought together supporters from dozens of nations to compete in a record-setting foosball match while celebrating the sport’s ability to unite people across cultures.

Comedian and actor Jay Pharoah and sports broadcaster Laura Rutledge hosted the festivities, interviewing fans, providing play-by-play commentary and celebrating as Guinness World Records officials confirmed the record-breaking achievement.

Beyond the record attempt, attendees sampled Teremana cocktails and tequila-infused popsicles, customized soccer jerseys with patches representing the tournament’s 48 participating nations and played pickup foosball matches throughout the day.

The event was designed around Teremana’s broader message that “connection is better than competition,” using soccer as a backdrop to encourage conversation and community regardless of which team supporters were cheering for.

Teremana said the Share the Table, Share the Mana initiative aims to create more opportunities for real-world connection by bringing people together around food, drinks and shared experiences instead of screens.

Founded by actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his partners in 2020, Teremana has become one of the fastest-growing premium tequila brands in the United States, regularly using large-scale experiential events to promote the brand’s community-focused marketing platform.