It’s likely you’ve heard of Casamigos, the tequila brand founded by actor George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman in 2013, which later sold to Diageo for nearly a billion dollars.
It’s also increasingly likely that you’ve heard whisperings of cristalino, a style of aged tequila that has been filtered to remove the colors of the aging process. With high-end tequila on the rise over the past few years, cristalino has emerged as a new buzzword: independent and major brands have capitalized on the style as a premium innovation and landed new luxury-leaning partnerships. Mostly made with tequila añejo, the subcategory represents 19% of the dollar share of tequila añejo, up 30% since last year. Casamigos leads sales in brand families of tequila (+10% in the last 52 weeks ending July 15 off-premise compared to last year) but has been slower on the innovation front than its competitors – that is, until the brand celebrated its 10th anniversary last month by releasing its own cristalino expression.
We caught up with Gerber, a former model and nightlife magnate, about how the brand has changed the tequila industry, why they are releasing a new expression now, and what factors make a celebrity brand successful.
How does the Cristalino expression broaden the Casamigos business?
Casamigos Cristalino is made with 100% Blue Weber agave and essentially a variation of our Reposado Tequila. Most cristalinos are anejo-based, but we wanted ours to be reposado-based. We decided on this after many taste tests and our reposado was the perfect choice. People that have enjoyed other types of spirits have turned to Casamigos because of its quality. I see the same happening with Casamigos Cristalino.
This is the first new release since your mezcal in 2018, why now, why not sooner?
We have been talking about launching a cristalino for some time but wanted to make sure that what we were creating was the best. We are involved in every aspect of the brand and business, so it took many samples for us to create the perfect one. We only do things that we are proud of, no matter how long it takes.
Are you (and other founders) still involved since the sale to Diageo, and how?
Yes. Part of the deal was that I would stay on as chairman and George and Mike’s role remained the same. We don’t work with any outside agencies; everything is done in-house. We continue to control the brand. Diageo’s role is to help with the production of the product and everything else is left to us and our team.
Since Casamigos launched, the tequila and broader agave spirits category has experienced a rise in sales with more and more brands entering, what are some of the factors that have kept Casamigos at one of the top spots?
We really haven’t changed our philosophy, number one it’s about the product. We have a great product and people understand the differences in that. We continue to be the fastest growing brand in the country. Many customers who were drinking vodka, whiskey, and gin 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 and immediately taste the difference. That is our true secret to success.
Celebrity-backed tequilas have become the norm now, but what makes a new brand stand out celebrity or not? What could be some of the pitfalls of being a celebrity brand?
We launched Casamigos back in 2013. It has never been a celebrity tequila. George just happens to be an actor but it was born out of our desire to create the best tasting, smoothest tequila for us to drink and share with friends. It was never intended to be a business. We made Casamigos for us to drink. I’m proud that we helped grow the tequila category to what it is today, and I wish everyone luck. Many will learn that it takes time, dedication, the quality of the liquid to stand out and most of all, authenticity. Consumers are smart. Putting a celebrity’s name on a brand may get it out, but it won’t get people drinking it if it’s not good. Many of those celebrity names are just putting a label on a basic tequila from distilleries making 100 different labels.