This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
News
Santo Spirits brings back Mezquila expression
Tequila and mezcal blend Santo Mezquila returns with new packaging and wider distribution.
Mezquila, a blend of Tequila and mezcal, was the first product from Santo Spirits when it was introduced in 2017. Now, the Tequila brand, founded by Sammy Hagar and Guy Fieri, is reintroducing the hybrid bottling to a wider audience.
The relaunched Santo Mezquila is bottled at 40% ABV and priced at US$70. It will be available in all 50 states in the US, Canada, Japan, and Puerto Rico later this month.
“I launched Santo Mezquila as my long-awaited return to agave spirits after the sale of Cabo Wabo to Campari Group,” Hagar said. “My vision was to create something that was totally different, packed with personality, but still created using very traditional techniques that let the agave and a light smoke essence shine through.”
Mezquila uses a proprietary process of blending 100% additive-free blanco Tequila, made by third-generation distiller Juan Eduardo Nuñez and tequilera Karina Rojo at El Viejito Distillery (NOM 1107) in Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco, with undisclosed joven mezcal from Oaxaca. The resulting spirit aims to provide an entry point for those new to smoky flavours.
“I’m not a fan of big, smoky mezcals, which can overpower your tastebuds,” Hagar said. “It was a full year of receiving samples from Juan Eduardo before we felt the blend was right, capturing the bold, agave-forward signature note of Santo Tequila accompanied by a pronounced, but not overbearing, essence of smoke.”
In addition to updated packaging, the new version of Mezquila will receive a dedicated digital marketing campaign, dubbed ‘A Reputation Earned’, and its first in-store and in-bar promotional support.
The Spirits Business spoke to Santo CEO Dan Butkus in February about the brand’s market position and upcoming innovations, with Butkus saying that Santo will release a 110 proof (55% ABV) blanco Tequila this year as well.
“We’re seeing a ton of excitement from aficionados who are looking for cask strength Tequila because it’s so flavourful and backs up a cocktail so well,” Butkus said. “So that will be our second-half innovation for 2024. And then in 2025 and beyond, we might get a little funky and use Guy to get into some interesting and off-the-path innovation.”