Finding movie stars, sports heroes, and superstar singers attaching their names and images to beverages is nothing new, but anyone with an eye on compelling spirits can see that the market of high-end celebrity-owned tequila has exploded in recent years.
Spurred by the runaway success of George Clooney and Rande Gerber’s Casamigos line and the billion-dollar buyout that it garnered, household names from every corner of the entertainment world have jumped eagerly into the tequila game. With so many unique approaches, blendable recipes, and styles to choose from, there is plenty of room for each to put their own unique stamp on the category.
818 Tequila - Kendall Jenner
Launched in the summer of 2021 after being developed for years in secret, television/model/fashion mogul Kendall Jenner’s 818 tequila is the result of countless experiments with different blends and recipes, searching for the right flavor profile to fit her ever-expanding brand.
Roughly a year into the line’s life, Jenner has carved out a loyal and lucrative niche in the market both for herself and for the brand she lovingly named after the area code of her hometown in the San Fernando Valley.
Fans of 818 celebrate the center-stage sweetness achieved by the creative blending of tequilas aged in time-honored American oak and the much less traditional French oak, imparting creamy vanilla alongside a touch of aromatic spice more usually found in Cognac or French-oak-aged scotch.
Calirosa Tequila - Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo
When Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine and supermodel wife Behati Prinsloo decided to throw their hat into the tequila ring, they wanted to do it with a greater focus on the Mexican heritage and the traditions with which the spirit is crafted.
As such, you’ll find only minimal reference to Levine and Prinsloo on the website for Calirosa Tequila, the brand they helped design and launch. Instead, the focus is kept on their primary partners, the Real family, a multigenerational tequila-making family based in Amatitan, Jalisco whose roots in tequila production stretch back to the 1940s.
The “single origin” tequila they produce is then boldly aged in California red wine barrels, producing an intriguingly pink tequila with subtle red berry flavors and pepper spice.
Casa Don Ramon - Pierce Brosnan
Tequila has quickly become a drink synonymous with true class and style. No one on Earth may be more classy and stylish than the eternally handsome Pierce Brosnan, who recently became the Global Brand Ambassador for Casa Don Ramon.
Brosnan is already lending his charm to the brand and its wide range of offerings, from the bright clarity of their Diamante Silver to the carefully aged and Swarovski-adorned Limited Edition Extra Añejo.
Armed with Brosnan’s timeless, sophisticated appeal and a decidedly artful and refined aesthetic, Casa Don Ramon aims squarely at the lately bustling market of high-end sipping tequila.
Casamigos Tequila - George Clooney
The one that blew the doors open for celebrity tequila, the Casamigos story has become a modern industry myth.
Movie megastar George Clooney and high-end club owner (and Cindy Crawford’s husband) Rande Gerber celebrated their friendship by developing and bottling a tequila to their tastes and enjoyment. The pair claims that releasing the drink to the public was never part of their plan until friends and investors convinced them that it would be a good idea.
That ended up being the right move, of course, as Casamigos quickly became a rousing success and caught the attention of beverage behemoth Diageo, who purchased control of the famously soft, semi-sweet, and lightly spiced line in 2017 for a staggering $1 billion.
Cincoro Tequila - Michael Jordan
The result of a dinner among friendly competitors, Cincoro Tequila was born from a casual conversation among a collection of NBA team owners, including Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, Wyc Grousbeck of the Boston Celtics and his wife Emilia Fazzalari (CEO), Milwaukee Bucks owner Wes Edens, and a notable former player (and current Charlotte Hornets co-owner) by the name of Michael Jordan.
The whole group was in agreement that tequila could reign supreme among the sipping spirits but they wanted to see some extra, luxurious touches added, like the complexity of fine whiskey or the dark, lingering finish of Cognac. “After three years of work, we had our four expressions, all totally unique and delicious and like nothing else we had found,” says Emilia in her recent Behind the Brand interview. “It reflects exactly what we wanted. To this day, Michael and I taste-test every batch we create to ensure our quality and consistency.”
Thus was born Cincoro (its name a portmanteau of the Spanish words for “five” and “gold”) — a premium brand delicately blended from both Highland and Lowland region agave, resulting in a soft and exceptionally fruity spirit focused heavily on a bouquet of citrus. Careful wood aging pushes the darker fruits and sweet spices into the spotlight, with the 44-month aged Extra Añejo offering rich chocolate and cinnamon from its time in American Whiskey barrels.
Código 1530 Tequila - George Strait
Though billed heavily as “George Strait’s tequila,” the country music star is only an investor in the brand that was created and devised by former Crocs Footwear CEO Ron Snyder.
But the story of Código 1530 goes back much further than that. Produced privately by a secret recipe for five full generations in Amatitan, Jalisco, “the private tequila” was enjoyed exclusively by a small circle of families and appreciators before Snyder moved to Mexico and was invited into a private drinking club that had some of the secret spirit to sample.
Blown away by the depth of flavor and fruit-forward complexity, Snyder carved out a deal to bottle and distribute Código with backing from hockey star Brett Hull, retired football coach Mike Shanahan, and yes, George Strait, who literally sings the spirit’s praises in his song “Código.”
Dos Hombres - Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul
Leave it to beloved “Breaking Bad” stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul to toss out the rulebook and enter the game on their own terms.
Rather than chase the same kind of blue agave excellence that so many of their Hollywood peers are seeking out in the realm of tequila, Cranston and Paul partnered together on Dos Hombres Mezcal, exploring the unique possibilities of agave’s other varietal types.
Dos Hombres’ primary unaged expression places Espadin agave front and center, highlighting the varietal's enhanced smokiness and black pepper spice, a close cousin to the Blue Weber, the agave varietal used in tequila production.
Of course, if you really want to experience the true creativity and individuality of what fine mezcal can be, Dos Hombres also offers their limited edition Tobala. This expression is distilled from 30 year old “sacred” agave plants to create a spirit of dark plum and rich, smoky chocolate that’s like nothing else.
El Tequileño “The Sassenach Select” Tequila - Sam Heughan
Not a full line of tequilas, but a singular bottling of collaboration between 3rd Generation Tequilero and producer of Tequileño, Tony Salas, and “Outlander” star Sam Heughan’s own scotch whisky brand, Sassenach.
In the quest to marry the best of artisanal tequila with time-honored European whisky tradition, the agave for The Sassenach Select is distilled in a classic copper pot still before being matured in American white oak and finished in French oak, unsurprisingly imparting whisky-like notes of vanilla, caramel, and aromatic spice.
El Tequileño only produces The Sassenach Select in extremely limited quantities, making this celebrity collaboration a hot item for collectors and aficionados.
Espanita - Pitbull
Perhaps no one can personify tequila’s international and cross-cultural appeal better than Mr. Worldwide himself, Pitbull, who now serves as partner, strategic advisor, and global brand ambassador for Espanita Tequila.
The award-winning Espanita matures their aged expressions in American white oak barrels that previously held bourbon, ensuring not only an appropriately international character but a flavor bursting with caramel, spice, and a velvety smooth persona that rivals Pitbull himself.
Espanita’s use of traditional, batch-distilling alembic pot stills sets them apart from many of the other modern producers that have turned to stainless steel column stills, so you can rest assured that their reverence for tequila heritage is more than just lip service.
Flecha Azul Tequila - Mark Wahlberg
Launched in 2020 by Mexican golfer Abraham Ancer and entrepreneur Aron Marquez, Flecha Azul didn’t break out into a global brand until movie star and hamburger restaurateur Mark Wahlberg came on board just this year.
Impressed not only with the peppery, herbal tequila itself but also with Ancer and Marquez’s overall “self-made” mentality, Wahlberg jumped in and went to work helping the brand expand to worldwide success.
Ramping up production, Flecha Azul now offers a full line of aged tequila, including 36 month-old Extra Añejo as well as a rich, chocolatey, and crystal clear filtered Añejo Cristalino expression.
Gran Coramino Tequila - Kevin Hart
Box office heavyweight and stand-up superstar Kevin Hart didn’t play around when searching for a partner for his own tequila brand. He went right to 11th-generation tequila-maker and Jose Cuervo CEO Juan Domingo Beckmann.
With Beckmann’s years on the cutting edge of distillation and aging techniques, the pair set about crafting a premium spirit that would satisfy their craving for both purity and a rich, heavier depth of flavor.
The result is the brand’s singular expression, a Reposado Cristalino, filtered until immaculately clear but boasting dense vanilla, oak spice, and even natural honey notes from European oak barrels.
Hart and Beckmann also share a love of philanthropy and have pledged a portion of all Gran Coramino proceeds to small business outreach programs designed to bolster community development and to address the growing wealth gaps in both the US and Mexico.
Lobos 1707 Tequila - LeBron James
A truly multicultural undertaking, Lobos 1707 is the brainchild of Spanish actor and entrepreneur Diego Osorio, who sought to honor his family’s history of shipping Pedro Ximénez sherry from Spain to Mexico by developing a tequila matured in the sweet, creamy sherry barrels.
But the brand hit the stratosphere when modern basketball legend LeBron James came on board as one of the lead investors.Never one to do anything lightly, James was taken by the spirit’s luxurious notes of sweet vanilla cream and toasted almond, all thanks to the PX barrels and the decision to present a soft, lightly-aged “Joven” expression in lieu of an un-aged “Blanco.”
The brand’s appeal has been spreading, thanks in part to the undeniable sway of King James himself, who has enticed other NBA stars like the Warriors’ Draymond Green and James’ Lakers teammate Anthony Davis to recently jump on board with Lobos as well.
Próspero - Rita Ora
Meticulously and lovingly crafted by Stella Anguiano, one of the world’s first and only female master distillers of tequila, Próspero truly stands out from the pack for its important and empowering diversity, as well as the care and attention to detail that goes into every bottle.
That level of female-powered excellence attracted British singing sensation Rita Ora to the operation, becoming Chief Creative Partner for Próspero and propelling the line to new heights.
Nearly every step of the process, from harvesting to distilling to bottling and even applying the label, is all done by hand, and that human touch pays off in the spirit’s delicate balance of floral spice and soft vanilla.
Teremana Tequila - Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Not content to simply buy into an operation already underway, action movie/wrestling megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson saw the culmination of a years-long dream of his own tequila brand when he personally launched Teremana with its own bespoke distillery and guiding principles.
True to the line’s name, meaning roughly “spirit of the earth,” Teremana’s overriding goal is sustainability and environmentally reverent production, using spent agave mash as fertilizer and filtering their own wastewater for reuse. The result is a notably fresh, fruity spirit bursting with lemon zest.
Buyers have clearly responded to Teremana’s philosophies and the endless charisma of creator Johnson, propelling the tequila to become one of the fastest-growing spirit brands in the world since 2020.
Villa One Tequila - Nick Jonas
Though the branding was the brainchild of singer Nick Jonas and fashion mogul John Varvatos, who discovered a mutual love of tequila on a joint trip through Mexico, the true art behind Villa One comes from distilling legend Arturo Fuentes.
With decades of experience producing Cognac, Champagne, and even Mexican rum, Fuentes brings an artisanal eye and palate to his recipe combining the best of earthy, spicy Lowland agave with the fruitiness and brightness of the Highlands.
Fuentes has long been at the forefront of elevating tequila into the high-end sipping echelons, and with Jonas and Varvatos behind the brand, a whole new generation stands to discover the beauty and versatility of the spirit.
In Closing
With tequila enjoying a meteoric and continuing rise in popularity worldwide, and with new stars and personalities always looking to celebrate and be a part of the next big thing, you can be sure that this list will keep expanding and evolving with the market. We’ll keep adding to this list of high end celebrity tequilas as more become available on the market. In the meantime, shop all of our Celebrity Spirits Here.
