Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagar Teamed up for a New Tequila, and It’s Actually Good

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Guy Fieri’s celebrity chef status isn’t just based on his Donkey Sauce, goatee, and bleached blonde hair—he’s also the consummate showman, as was on display recently during the launch of his new tequila. “Tequila is like pizza,” he told a rapt audience. “When it’s good, it’s good. When it’s bad, I’ll still eat it.” And then he gave us what we were all waiting for when he cued up the bartender to start mixing drinks—”Take us to Flavortown, brother!”

Rockstar Sammy Hagar founded Santo Spirits in 2017 with Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, and the first release was a mezcal-tequila blend called Mezquila. Hagar was no stranger to the tequila business—he founded Cabo Wabo in 1996, well before the current agave spirits craze, and sold it about a decade later to Campari for $80 million. In 2019, Fieri got a call from Hagar and decided to dip his toe into the tequila business (Levine now has his own brand called Calirosa). Covid may have slowed things down a bit, and Fieri was busy over the last few years raising millions of dollars for hospitality workers affected by the pandemic, but the pair still found the time to release a few new expressions.

Santo is a reunion of sorts for Hagar, as he’s working with the distiller he originally partnered with on Cabo Wabo, Juan Eduardo Nuñez, along with tequilera Karina Rojo at the El Viejito Distillery (NOM 1107) in Jalisco. The latest expression to join the Santo family is an añejo, aged in American oak barrels for about 24 months and bottled at 80 proof. And, like the other Santo expressions, the tequila is additive-free. Fieri is proud of this, but he’s also not throwing any shade. “We made a transition where [producers] started to put additives into tequila, they sweetened it, caramel’d it, vanilla’d it,” he said. “We did all these great things to it that made people think they like tequila, which I’m fine with. I don’t have any problem with it, no hate in the game. That’s that kind of tequila.” Santo, however, is that other kind of tequila.

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Fieri is a partner in Santo Spirits, but he says he lets Hagar take the lead when it comes to the actual liquid. “He has a great palate for tequila,” he said. “I ask him not to tell me his tasting notes until I’ve tried it because it’ll influence me.” He does use it in the kitchen sometimes to make marinades and sauces—”I cook with it all the time, and sometimes I put it in the dish,” he said with a laugh. “There’s a line between those who are mass producing [tequila] and those who look at it as tradition and believe it deserves respect and honor. Those are the people we get to play ball with. We have our flaws, but they’re not coming out in the tequila.”

Santo Tequila Añejo is available now from ReserveBar, along with other expressions in the lineup.

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