Rob Fitzpatrick, John Rizzo & Brock Felt: How We Built a $1B Tequila Brand | DSH #1534

Summary

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Digital Social Hour – Episode Summary

Episode: How We Built a $1B Tequila Brand (DSH #1534)
Date: September 15, 2025
Host: Sean Kelly
Guests: Rob Fitzpatrick, John Rainey Jr., Brock Felt (Founders of Naked Diablo Tequila)
Theme: Behind the Rise of Naked Diablo Tequila and Building a Global Spirits Phenomenon

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the entrepreneurial journey of building Naked Diablo, a burgeoning premium tequila brand aiming for a billion-dollar valuation. Host Sean Kelly facilitates an unfiltered, energetic conversation with founders Rob Fitzpatrick, John Rainey Jr., and investment partner Brock Felt. They share the accidental origins of the business, unique strategies for global expansion, the competitive celebrity-driven tequila landscape, and what makes their company and product stand out.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origin Story and Brand Formation

• Chance beginnings:
  • The founders stumbled into tequila through the UK bar and nightlife scene, with a plan to open a Mexican-themed tequila and taco bar. An offhand suggestion led to creating their own tequila brand.
    • "The crazy thing is, Sean, the Tequila we got into purely by accident." — John Rainey Jr. [01:34]
• Market Research:
  • Identified the rapid growth in tequila, and opportunities in both premium and flavored segments (inspired by trends in gin, vodka, etc.)
    • Flavors chosen: coffee, vanilla, cinnamon — with coffee selected due to its popularity worldwide, vanilla due to its status as top ice cream flavor, and cinnamon to echo Fireball’s dominance in flavored whiskey.
    • "We wanted to do, you know, eight different expressions... we made our flavors reposado aged, so it's aged in a barrel." — John Rainey Jr. [02:34]

2. Brand Positioning and Product Differentiation

• Premium Approach:
  • Strict focus on quality—no additives, longer-than-standard aging, and use of volcanic water for flavor.
    • "We're not adding anything to it that's not supposed to be added to it." — Rob [24:31]
• Unique Flavors:
  • Most flavored tequilas are made with blanco; Naked Diablo uses aged reposado as the base for its flavors, employing a proprietary method to infuse natural coffee, vanilla, and cinnamon oils.
    • "Our flavors aren't additive aids. They're almost proprietary blends... that's what gives us a leg up." — Rob [19:00]

3. Distribution Strategy & International Expansion

• Sniper Approach vs. Shotgun Approach:
  • The team intentionally concentrated efforts in specific high-potential markets (Florida, Las Vegas) before scaling out, rather than blanket distribution.
    • "Rather than taking a shotgun approach, we decided that we're going to take a sniper approach..." — Rob [04:45]
• Global Rollout:
  • Operations in select US states and recent expansion to the UAE, Dubai, and 27 European countries.
    • "We've just opened up in Europe. So that gives us 27 additional countries." — John Rainey Jr. [05:53]

4. Competition with Celebrity Tequila Brands

• Celebrity Influence:
  • Acknowledgement of the impact A-listers (George Clooney, The Rock, LeBron James, Mark Wahlberg) have in rapidly scaling brands and achieving billion-dollar exits.
    • "Everyone seems to focus on the US market and, and the right to do that... but everywhere around the world is literally going tequila crazy." — John Rainey Jr. [05:52]
    • "That was because of George Clooney, Randy Gerber and these guys..." — John Rainey Jr. [09:50]
    • "Having an A list celebrity behind your brand... goes for something if you're looking to try to create and get out as quickly as possible." — Rob [10:24]
• Naked Diablo's Alternative Path:
  • Emphasis on genuine product quality and documentary-driven storytelling rather than chasing celebrity endorsement.
    • Brand ambassadors like Vanilla Ice promoting the product out of genuine appreciation, not paid arrangements.
    • "We have never had anybody try the liquid that didn't come away and say, if it's not the best, it is up there with the best." — Rob [12:47]

5. Marketing and Media Initiatives

• Award-Winning Documentary:
  • Leveraged as a major differentiator—used documentary filmmaking (“How to Build a Billion Dollar Brand,” available on Amazon Prime) and a reality TV show to generate buzz and credibility.
    • "We got actually asked would we like to do a reality TV show... and that's called how to build a Billion Dollar Brand and that's actually won awards all over the world." — John Rainey Jr. [12:18]
• Brand Story and Trademark Battles:
  • The Naked Diablo name underwent legal opposition in both the US and Europe, but founders were resolute in keeping it for its dual meaning (natural/clean + “Devil” as a fun/boisterous figure).
    • "We created Naked Diablo and we got paused here in the US by naked wines... In Europe... it was Distillery Del Diablo that actually opposed us for the word Diablo." — John Rainey Jr. [23:09]

6. Production Details and Tequila Education

• Regulations and CRT Oversight:
  • Explained the strict regulations governing tequila production, including geographic and ingredient controls.
    • "You can't call it tequila unless it meets these strict guidelines... of the tequila... the commission?" — Rob [07:49]
    • "There's literally people from the CRT that are in there 8–12 hours every single day..." — Rob [08:02]
• Aging and Barrel Process:
  • Longer agave maturation (6–8 years) and barrel aging (minimum 10 months for reposado; 3 years for extra añejo), resulting in smoother, richer flavor profiles.
    • "To get a glass of that will be anywhere between 9 years and 11 years." — John Rainey Jr. [20:00]
    • "That's like a sipping tequila... That's the killer smoke with a cigar." — Rob [20:19]

7. Challenges: Distribution & Launching in a Pandemic

• Navigating Distribution Hurdles:
  • Distribution partners often demand exclusivity or margin but provide little active support.
    • "I'd rather do it myself than give it to a distributor... and all they do is they drive it in a truck to their customer for 35%..." — Rob [32:46]
• COVID Impact:
  • Launched Naked Diablo during COVID-19, facing shutdowns and supply chain problems, hand-labeling bottles to keep the brand moving forward.
    • "We actually rolled out a lot of this while in the midst of COVID..." — Rob [29:13]

8. Broader Spirits Portfolio

• Future Plans and Offerings:
  • The team is also developing award-winning whiskey, vodka, and beer brands to bolster distribution leverage and offer a multi-product approach.
    • "We have a scotch whiskey called Rare Ra, which is an award-winning whiskey... and we also have a healthy drink as well." — John Rainey Jr. [34:22]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On their scope and approach:
  • "Go big or go home. You know, obviously it's going to cost a lot more money to set up and drive the business forward." — John Rainey Jr. [20:43]
• On their differentiator:
  • "If it sucks, it sucks. And one thing that we know is we've got the premium product on the market." — Rob [26:38]
• On the tequila craze:
  • "It's the only spirit that is growing. Everything else is contracting." — Rob [33:57]
• On entering a crowded space:
  • "No one else has done it. So we're the first one. We're excited by that and we believe that it will reach millions and millions of people and we will be the next well known tequila brand." — John Rainey Jr. [35:17]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:34] — How accidental origins led to a tequila company
• [02:34] — Choosing flavor profiles and market research
• [04:45] — Strategic market entry and expansion details
• [05:53] — International growth and focus
• [09:50] — Celebrity influence in tequila branding
• [12:18] — Documentary and media-driven branding
• [13:00] — Quality comparisons: Naked Diablo vs. premium benchmarks
• [19:00] — The technical edge of their flavored tequila process
• [20:00] — How aging affects tequila taste and value
• [23:09] — Brand name trademark battles
• [26:38] — The foundation: quality over hype
• [29:13] — Launching and surviving during COVID-19
• [32:46] — Distribution headaches and lessons learned
• [34:22] — Multi-beverage portfolio for the future

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Conclusion

This episode provides a candid, entertaining, and in-depth look into the grind behind launching a new beverage brand in a crowded, celebrity-dominated space. The founders of Naked Diablo share their unique strategies, struggles, and wins—highlighting the importance of genuine product quality, storytelling, and adaptive business tactics in a rapidly evolving market.

Recommended for: Aspiring entrepreneurs, beverage industry professionals, and anyone curious about the power (and pitfalls) of branding, distribution, and going up against celebrity-backed conglomerates.

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Transcript

[John Rainey Jr.]

People will call you Tiki Devil. That just means someone who's fun going boisterous. So we kind of thought Naked for the natural, complete, pure, great product Tequila and put the Diablo to it as well. And that kind of matched.

[Rob]

Gotta admit, it's a great name for Vegas.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

All right guys, we got Brock, John and Rob here from Naked Diablo, all the way from the uk. Let's go. Thanks for coming, guys.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Great, thanks for having us.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah, it's an interesting space. I haven't had anyone on from Tequila space before.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Really?

[Sean (Interviewer)]

No.

[John Rainey Jr.]

You know, Tequila is so big around the world, I thought you might have had a lot more people on. But you know, appreciate letting us come on.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[Rob]

Good to be the first.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah, it is.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah. I gotta, I gotta hear how you guys met. Through Brock, right?

[Brock]

Yeah, yeah, we, we met through a couple of mutual friends. So I basically do investments or I help companies get funded. And I think back then we were, we were taking a swing at some pro sports teams, which we still are. It was Everton back then and, and Rob called me up, was like, hey, I'm gonna go down to Mexico and, and buy up some companies. Do you want to participate with us? And yeah, and then we, we just started. So our, basically our group, we just, we're all friends. We're not like an investment fund or anything like that. But we just love doing cool projects and things that are impactful. And so we got into the Tequila business.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And the crazy thing is, Sean, the Tequila we got into purely by accident. So in the UK for 20 plus years, we had bars, restaurants and clubs. And one of my partners, another one called John Rainey jr, Everyone seems to be JR he ran the food, food and beverage side of that business. And he said, you know, I want to open up a Mexican themed late night drinking place and I'm going to call it El Diablo Tequila and Taco Bar. And he, funny enough, he actually copied the concept from El Jeff in Scotsdale. And I was there last week. So in the process of that, my oldest son said, well, you know, why don't we create our own Tequila brand? And I went, whatever for it. And he said, well, you know, El Diablo Tequila and Taco bar going to sell a lot of tequila. So what we did, Sean, we looked into it, we had our analysts and Martin guys look into it and they said, this thing is blowing up. You've got celebrities, a listers put in millions if not tens of millions of dollars putting the name to it. We can talk about some of the big celebrities that you know, own Tequila brands. And they said, but look, if you position yourself in two main areas, one, premium so you're not this low, crappy, short tequila. And secondly, if you go flavor profile and create flavors, you're going to capture position of the market because the flavors will end up being like, you know, the gin space, the Bacardi space, the vodka, where they have a lot of flavors. So that's the reason why we did it. And what we decided to do is come out with, you know, eight different expressions. So you've got your blanco, your reposado, your nijo, an extra near. And then what we wanted to do because it's all about premium and quality, we made our flavors reposado aged, so it's aged in a barrel. And we went for coffee because it's the second largest drank beverage in the world after tea. So we kind of thought a lot of tequila drinkers, a lot of coffee drinkers. That makes sense. Another one that we created was vanilla. And purely because vanilla is the number one ice cream flavor, you know, the best flavored ice cream by far, tens of millions of people. And, and in the cinnamon we kind of went for because there's a whiskey called Fireball and that controls 54% of the whiskey flavored market.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[John Rainey Jr.]

So we kind of thought let's do the same thing, but under tequila. So that's why we went with cinnamon.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Nice.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And we also have a super aged or super strength Blanco, 55 proof, 110 alcohol volume. And literally that's in a red. It's a red color, John, isn't it? It's a sign of danger because. And also it looks great on the back bar. But one of the reasons we did it, red, sign of danger. But also because we're big Man United fans. So we wanted out there. And you've got naked Diablo. Diablo means devil. Red Devils, Man United. So that's how that all came about. Nice. Purely by accident. And obviously it's been a, an interesting journey so far, isn't it? Up to this point.

[Rob]

Excuse me. To say the least, it's been interesting. We've, we've been, I guess when the product first come into the US Three years ago. Three years. So since, since then we, we've opened up Florida. The largest, largest liquor chain in Florida is ABC Liquors. We're in every single ABC Liquors right now in Florida. We've obviously expanded into Las Vegas, starting to make some traction in Las Vegas. So, you know, the brand itself is starting to gain traction in the places where we want to gain Traction rather than taking a shotgun approach, we decided that we're going to take a sniper approach and build out and put as much effort and wherewithal behind the brand to make sure that we're successful in the markets that we're going at right now. Once we conquer this market, which we will, we're almost there now, we'll start opening up other markets.

[John Rainey Jr.]

I mean Sean, we, you know, we. California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Massachusetts.

[Rob]

Colorado.

[John Rainey Jr.]

We said Colorado, California, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts. Yeah, so we're, you know, we're in a few also international now. You know, we have product in uae, Dubai, we've just opened up in Europe. So that gives us 27 additional countries. And our philosophy always was that, you know, everyone seems to focus on the US market and, and the right to do that, Sean, because by far it's the biggest exporter of tequila in on the planet. But everywhere around the world is literally going tequila crazy.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[Rob]

And the numbers, don't quote me on exact numbers but it's like 90% of the tequila consumption is done in America. But it's still the fastest growing spirit outside of America. So the, you know, the tam outside of the US is huge.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah.

[Rob]

So even as it becomes the premium spirit in the United States, it is just starting to gain traction in the rest of the world. And the rest of the world is tight taking them.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow. I wonder what started this craze. This tequila craze.

[John Rainey Jr.]

I don't know.

[Rob]

I think it's quality.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

The Trilite from Therasage is no joke. Medical grade. Red and near infrared light with three frequencies per light. Deep healing, real results and totally portable. It's legit photo bio modulation tech in a flexible on body panel. This is the Trilite from Therassage and it's next level red light therapy. It's got 118 high powered polychromatic lights. You each delivering three healing frequencies, red and near infrared from 580 to 980 nanometers. It's sleek, portable and honestly I don't go anywhere without it.

[Rob]

I mean you get quality tequila and that's what it is. I mean tequila's got a very interesting background in that, in that it's very much like champagne. And that it can only be made in five states within Mexico. And not just made, it has to be distilled within those five states. And the blue Weber agave has to be grown in those five states.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[Rob]

So you can't call it tequila unless it meets these strict guidelines of, of, of, of the tequila. What is it called over there? The commission?

[John Rainey Jr.]

Crt.

[Rob]

Crt. The CRT is a commission and basically like an hour distillery, which is one of the. The most awarded distilleries for tequila in the world, I should say, obviously, in Mexico, but there's literally people from the CRT that are in there 812 hours every single day if that. If the distillery is open, they're in there and they're checking sugar levels. Chromograph, it is so regulated. Is unbelievable. In fact, they're starting to use blockchain on the agave so that they can find out from seed to bottle.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[Rob]

So it is now. Yeah, it is now so strict that the premium tequila is where the market's going. Yeah, we have the premium tequila with the premium. With the premium distillery. And again with our distillery, you know, it's called a brick contents, which is the sugar inside of it, which makes the tequila the best. We only use the highest brick in our agave, which means they're probably two to four years or two to three years older than everybody else in the market.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And the interesting thing about the international expansion, if you look at the number two exported country in the world is Spain. Number three is Germany, where they've actually just flipped on the south. It is. It's two Spain, three, Germany, four is France. Number five is Canada. Number six is the U.K. you know, I think Latvia or Italy is number seven. So we've got a, you know, in the top 10, Sean, it's in Europe. So we're focusing on that. We're focusing, obviously, the Far east, the Middle East. We're going into India, all over the place. And that's one of the reasons why, you know, we created a documentary, we created a TV show around the brand to try and compete with the big brands that have the big A list celebrities. You know, you look at the, you know, Kazamigos, they got a billion dollars that was because of George Clooney, Randy Gerber and these guys. Then you get, you know, the rock. Dwayne Johnson jumps in, pays a lot of money to. To buy in or create Taramana. You got Mark Wahlberg, you got Matthew McConaughey, all these guys. And they're in it for a couple of reasons. One, cash flow is awesome, and the profits per bottle sold or case bowl. But ultimately, it's the. The cash out, the asset value, the exit.

[Rob]

They're in it for instant gratification.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah.

[Rob]

You know, and, you know, obviously, having an A list celebrity behind your brand, you know, goes for something if you're looking to try to create and you know, get out as quickly as possible, which is what they were doing and you know, more power to them. But you know, for people that don't necessarily have that background behind them, you got to do it the old fashioned way, which is quality product, you know.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And that takes time as well.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Rob]

And you know, and you know, and speaking of which, you know, you know, we've got, you know, some of the people that are our brand ambassadors, not paid brand ambassadors, just people who love it and have no problem saying it. I've got a friend of mine, Vanilla Ice, who's, you know, Ice, Ice baby. Baby loves Naked Diablo. You can see him, you know, he's post all the time about it.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Real estate mogul now, right?

[Rob]

Yeah, he's, he's, he's a flavor too big and charity. Wonderful guy. Should get him on here too.

[John Rainey Jr.]

But the, the, the reason, Sean, to try and compete with, you know, the, the A list celebrities who put the name to the brand. You know, you've got the LeBron James, you've got the.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Oh, LeBron has a tequila.

[Rob]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Low boss. Oh, okay.

[John Rainey Jr.]

So he, so he, he bought into that as well.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Dana White has his own too, I think.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah, I think.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Oh, no, that's whiskey, my bad.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah, so what we, you know, to create awareness, create followers, generate distribution, interest from around the world, generate sales and increase the asset value. That's why originally we were going down the track of creating a docu series and that was following a couple of those guys flying around the world, meeting with distributors, you know, a bit of the lifestyle, but doing deals as well. And in the process of that, we got actually asked would we like to do a reality TV show, you know, to really create that awareness. So all this filming that we did, going all over the world for the docu series, we ended up putting it into a documentary that's currently on Amazon prime, going on to Apple TV next month. And that's called how to build a Billion Dollar Brand and that's actually won awards all over the world.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Crazy. For best documentary in New York, London, Paris, Milan, Cannes Film Festival, Miami, Hollywood, golden, you know, just crazy. Best document Rome as well. There's that many I can't remember. So that gives us the, you know, the, the platform, if you will, this brand. So when they all air at some point, Nikki Diablo should be the next well known tequila brand.

[Rob]

Well, the thing of it is also too is we have never had anybody try the liquid that didn't come Come away and say, if it's not the best, it is up there with the best.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow. Up there with Don Julio 1942.

[Rob]

I. I will put, I will put our extra niehau up to Don Julio.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Anyway, you should do a blind taste test video and get people's reactions done.

[Rob]

With Michael Burton's Senkoro Tequila that cost eighteen hundred dollars and damn didn't win. I've done it with Elon Musk, Tesla Z and just involved in that. It's beaten both of them. But they're also made from the same distillery that we are. It's just we've got different secret sauce.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Interesting. Yeah. So, you know, talking about the distillery side, if you look at it, the interesting thing is the reason why we went with that distillery, most awarded distillery, but the capacity to produce, you know, we didn't want, you know, at some point, everyone going crazy for Naked Diablo and not having the ability to supply that demand. So that's one of the things that obviously Michael Jordan looked at, you know, people like 21 seed. That's 21 seed as well. And that's just purely a blanco with either jalapeno or orange infused. Yeah. And they just.24 leafs in it and they, they got 200 million diazual.

[Rob]

300.

[John Rainey Jr.]

300 was it. So, you know, so we know we're on the right track. Ultimately, you know, my background is I have my own family office.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Predominantly we invest in three major areas. Renewable energy, real estate and private equity. And that's how we got into the tequila space by accident. But this is, you know, this is an exciting project. Ultimately, by having a, a documentary called how to Build a Million Dollar Brand, we're ultimately looking to sell it for a billion dollars. So we wouldn't sell it, I don't think. I know. We have to have that conversation. Somebody comes along and says, you know, here's 400 million or 500 million, we'll probably have that conversation.

[Rob]

Good conversation.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Good problem.

[John Rainey Jr.]

But I think we'd probably be selling us out short because I think, you know, based on the current values, I mean, you look at the Teremana, the Rock. No, I know. He's a different animal in terms of, you know, social media, you know, and the followers on Instagram, that's probably worth $4 billion. Sean. Wow.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

I hope you guys are enjoying the show. Please don't forget to like and subscribe. It helps the show a lot with the algorithm. Thank you.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And that's just based on the US.

[Rob]

Market, I think he said that valuation. Why is 4.5.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah. You know, so that's crazy.

[Rob]

So he's at like 300,000 cases.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Oh, my gosh. He owns all of that or how did he get there?

[Rob]

I don't know what his ownership is.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah, the story is, I think, you know, he invested $42 million.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Okay.

[John Rainey Jr.]

To buy into that startup brand. I think people like Mark Wahlberg was in the 26 million dollar.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow. Shout out to Mark. He lives out here.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah. So, you know, these guys are in it for the. You know, obviously, they love tequila. They all say the same thing. It's the best tequila.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[Rob]

Well, everybody's on paleo and keto. It's the only keto Paleo drink you can get.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

I have heard guys like Tai Lopez say this healthiest alcohol to drink. Right.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Which it is, Sean. Yeah, that's. That's a fact.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Because people say red wine, but I get a headache the next day.

[Rob]

Sulfates.

[John Rainey Jr.]

You know, it's. You know, you mentioned that. I know we spoke about 21 seed and John said they got $300 million from Diageo. And when we were down at this, you know, the same distillery, our distillery, Diageo kept the production still in house. They didn't want to move facility. So that was the exciting thing about that. But the reason the lady. Three women owned of that brand, the reason they started it is because they had headaches and. And having issues, and they were at that age going through women things. And it was her doctor that said, you should start taking tequila.

[Rob]

Well, actually.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Wow.

[Rob]

Ironic things of that is also. Is. Is they were also done with Casa Maishi, which is our distiller, and we were down there with them. And after they had gotten purchased from Diageo, the master brewer from Diageo asked them, is there anybody else I should be keeping an eye on? And he says, yeah, you should be keeping an eye on these naked Diablo guys.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Nice.

[Rob]

I got a feeling that's the next one that's going to be.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

That's a good sign.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

I mean, you guys got the distribution, so. And you got the experience from running your companies. It's a good combo.

[Rob]

You know what I was saying, too. It's like you're not getting political or, you know, anything remotely like that. But, you know, we. I had the opportunity to, you know, do some charity events with the Trump family in. In. In Florida, obviously, you know, and since that time, you know, we have been, you know, doing all of the events, the charity events with. With, you know, the Trump family and all of their Events don, things of that nature. Yeah, Dungeons.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Oh, nice.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And that was for veterans, Sean. And also toys for ties.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

I love it.

[Rob]

Yeah. So. So, you know, we go. I go do it for them two or three times a year. You know, I'll go set up everything for them at their house and bring our bartenders and articulate and have people throw bottles and make a real good looking scene. But it's all for charity.

[John Rainey Jr.]

John, where the homes are?

[Rob]

Well, theirs is Admiral's Cove.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Admiral. Cause. Yeah. So obviously we then went in Admirals Cove because, you know, the people that. I think they did the, the event. Did they for Dawn.

[Rob]

Magnum Cove did the event at that time.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah.

[Rob]

At this point, I'm working on all the rest of the Trump properties too, which will probably happen sometimes.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Nice. Trump Tower in Vegas.

[Rob]

Yeah, Trump everywhere.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah, they got them everywhere, right?

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah, they have, yeah.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah. Well done.

[Rob]

Premium tequila, premium brands.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

I can't wait to try these. I've never heard of a coffee tequila, actually.

[Rob]

So you, you won't and you haven't. There's nobody else who has it really. First and again, the difference is, is you have. I don't even know what you call them. I don't want to call them flavored or whatever you want to call tequilas, but they're, they're infused, they're, they're. There's something in the bottle that's giving it the taste and it's usually a blanco tequila that's giving it a bottle. What we do is, is first of all, not only just with blanco, we're taking our already urban barrel aged reposado and at that point, then we're adding in in the flavors. Our flavors aren't additive aids. They're. They're almost proprietary blends because, you know, the way we can make coffee and cinnamon and vanilla and to keep it consistent is we have a proprietary method where we're taking all the oils. So that is what gives us a leg up on everybody with our flavors.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And also the volcanic water that goes through the distillery that helps with the taste profile. But one of the things that we wanted to do, you know, Tequila, traditional flavored tequila. Sean will be literally using the blanco, but like John said, super premium. We wanted to have it aged and have that better quality taste profile. Most repositories will be aged in a barrel for six months. We're minimum of 10 months and up. And if you look at the extra near ho, for instance, you know, that's. As John mentioned, that's three years age in a barrel. So the agave plant literally is in the ground for six to eight years traditionally.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[Rob]

Well, for us.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah, yeah, for us you get the.

[Rob]

Smaller companies taking out of the ground in three years.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Geez, three years, four years and stuff like that. So that's where you get that bitter taste profile. So if you look at the extra near or six to eight years, you know, agave plant and then three years in the barrel that, so to get a glass of that will be anywhere between 9 years and 11 years.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Holy crap.

[John Rainey Jr.]

You're paying for that price. And the super premium demand and also.

[Rob]

The extra nie, how that's, that's like a sipping tequila. That's the killer smoke with a cigar.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

It's like a Louis XIII shot.

[Rob]

It takes the place of a, of a Louisiana, of a, of a heavy, you know, quality bourbon or a whiskey. Yeah, it's just, that's our competition.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow, that's super impressive. Yeah, you guys are going all in. Starting off with a show, eight flavors. Usually companies just launch one at a time, right?

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah, I mean a lot of people said one go big or go home. Yeah, no, that's it. You know, obviously it's going to cost a lot more money to set up and drive the business forward. So you know, but we've, we, you know, to set it up we spent about just over $5 million. Spent a lot more since then, obviously. And obviously the shows don't come cheap. A documentary traveling around the world doesn't. But we, we know our end game is obviously to build this. Build it, scale it and sell it. Isn't it?

[Sean (Interviewer)]

What goes into the barreling? Like why does it taste better when it's in there longer?

[Rob]

Well, the way that it works, believe it or not, is why a guy.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Trip planner by Expedia. You were made to outdo your holiday, your hammocking and you're pooling. We were made to help organize the competition.

[Rob]

Expedia made to travel said blanco tequila so healthy because there's only three ingredients. It's at least ours. Tequila, volcanic mineral water and yeast. That's it. And the way it comes out when you go to the distillery, it literally, it looks like it's.

[John Rainey Jr.]

We'd love to take you down. Yeah, I'd love to see the process and actually see the distillery.

[Rob]

You grab a glass and you put it underneath and you're drinking tequila. But the first pass is 110 proof. So that's where we got our 110. And what we did is then what we did is just we used an all natural, FDA approved color, you know. All natural.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[Rob]

So then what happens is the difference between this and this is you take a block of tequila and you put it in a bourbon barrel and you age it. I think tequila says, you know, the CRT says it's got to be minimum three months. Right. But we're going for eight to 10 months in our tequila. So it's sitting in a bourbon barrel, aging, and it takes on those flavors. So you've got this white block of tequila taking on that flavor. It becomes that replica really, just from.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Being in the barrel.

[Rob]

That's it, being in the barrel.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[Rob]

The difference between that rep on that extra yeho is two years.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Oh, this one.

[John Rainey Jr.]

This one? Yeah.

[Rob]

That's the coffee. Oh, yeah, yeah. So. So this has been sitting for a minimum of three. So it started out as this, came that and ended up as that.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[Rob]

So that's.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And that's a valuable asset as well because it's aged. It's like age whiskeys, age bourbons, you know, age tequilas. There's a value behind it. But a lot of these brands will just push the blank or Sean. Because it's simpler, easier and faster to churn the money.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Makes sense.

[John Rainey Jr.]

We're in it to be completely different from everyone else, stand out. And, you know, and we are, we think, not just because of, you know, a great tasting product, but also I think the branding is awesome. And there's a little story behind that, Sean, that, you know, we created Naked Diablo and we got paused here in the US by naked wines. So we had to get our lawyers involved in Laguna Hills, California to fight them. We ended up with Coexist. And in Europe, there's one of the, I think that the biggest wine, One of the biggest wine company. Well, funny enough, Naked Wine here and in Europe, it was Distillery Del Diablo that actually opposed us for the word Diablo. So again, we've got our London lawyers involved because we felt like, you know, we don't want to give up the name. You know, it's a great name. And if you look at Terramana, you know, the rocks, you know, I. I don't think it's a secret in saying this. Initially he wanted it to be called Mana, but someone else had the trademark and actually opposed that. So they had to go to Terramana. So there is, you know, tequila companies out there that might have the second or third or even fourth choice name. We got that. We wanted to stick with that, you.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Know, so got a trademark now.

[John Rainey Jr.]

So that kind of put us back, you know. Yes, you get opposed. You've got to go through the legal process. But, you know, I think the name stands out. Yeah.

[Rob]

And part of the name which we didn't really get to like the naked is because we got no additives, you know, we're clean as can be. It's Tequila. It's. We're not adding anything to it that's not supposed to be added to it.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

And that's a hot movement right now, the Maha movement. So you could kind of piggyback off them. Yeah, there's a lot of food dies getting banned now in the US and.

[Rob]

As well it should be.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah, yeah. And there's a saying and where we got the Diablo side because from, you know, no way, shape or form are we promoting the devil because, you know, diablo means devil. We also have obviously the trademark for distilled. This student Del Diablo as well is in the uk People will call you, you know, cheeky Devil. That just means someone who's fun going boisterous, you know, always have after having a good time. So we kind of thought naked for the natural, you know, complete pure great product, Tequila, and put the Diablo to it as well. And that kind of match.

[Rob]

Gotta admit, it's a great name for Vegas.

[John Rainey Jr.]

It is, it is. And you. And you'll see Sean, in one of the episodes, I think it's episode three.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And Tequila Empire, we, you know, Simon calls me into the boardroom saying I've got a great idea for, you know, the rollout of Las Vegas. And you have these two mid two models all dressed in devil's costumes, you know, with the horns and dancing around. And I go in, I go, no, that's, that's not the look that we're looking for. But it makes it a fun, interesting, you know, episode.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah. So you want to class your look.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah, exactly. We're premium, you know, we're proud about it. We're good Christians as well.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Oh yeah.

[Rob]

We're proud too because, you know, we have only been. It takes a long. It takes a long time to get this in the United States. Right. And so now that we're here, you know, we're pretty proud that we have made pretty large footprint in a short amount of time, you know, and we've been able to do that for a couple of reasons. One is contacts, okay. Which always helps. But two, and more importantly is quality of the product. Product isn't going to sell and people.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Don'T like the product.

[Rob]

They're not going to go. They're not going to buy it, no matter how much they like or what they believe in you, whether your, your past history or anything like that. If it sucks, it sucks. And one thing that we know is we've got the premium product on the market.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah.

[Rob]

So it's our goal right now to get the more people to know about it, more people to taste it.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[Rob]

Because I personally, I have no qualms about anybody tasting it and no one for a fact that they're going to come out and say, and this stuff is amazing. Okay.

[John Rainey Jr.]

No, it's true. And I think that's one of the reasons why you invested, John.

[Rob]

Well, of course, it's also one of the reasons why I kept, keep getting invited back to, you know, charity events and all these things back that we're doing. Because it's not only, it's not only that we're giving back to the community, but it's also we're bringing a premium product to a premium charity.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah, yeah. It's a win, win.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And for me, Sean, when it all became real was when you go to a store or go to a restaurant, maybe, you know, maybe I mentioned the Ritz Carlton south beach in Miami, and you go and order a naked Diablo or you see your bottle on the shelf like it's in these liquor stores here in, in Nevada, you go, wow. It was worth all that time, effort, money, challenges. Because we've had challenges as well. You know, you don't just create a brand and all of a sudden, you know, you fly off the shelves and you get all these orders. You know, challenges with, you know, the. John mentioned the, you know, the blanco extra strength, the red one. Initially, when it was getting sent in, the TTB said, whatever you're making that color go, red is not legal in the United States.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[John Rainey Jr.]

And it was actually the TTB that give us three options that we could use to make the, that, that blanco, if you will, red. And that's where we came up with a natural carmine color, wasn't it? So it was, you know, so beautiful bottle.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Oh, so this was red at first?

[Rob]

No, no, this, it's red with a red label. See, all of our labels are metallic, so.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Oh, wow.

[Rob]

It is 110 proof blanco tequila just as it comes out of the distillery with a red. Red label.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah. And Sean, again, you know, obviously that's a no back label and you know, for sampling and stuff, but again, the reason we went metallic is to stand out from everyone else on the, on the shelves, you know, especially in the retail stores, you know, because you've got so many Tequilas to choose from.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Why would people go and pick up a naked Diablo? But people pick up. What is this? This is a cool looking classic product.

[Rob]

We had. We had to fight covert in the beginning.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Rob]

We had getting these bottled. We had purchased, you know, labels and we had putting them on hand. So we were getting labels put on in hand in the beginning because it was just. We couldn't get everything done. The COVID We wanted to get everything, everything achieved. So we. We actually rolled out a lot of this while in the midst of COVID Wow. Yeah.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Tough time to launch. Retail was shut down.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Damn.

[John Rainey Jr.]

It was a painful time because nobody knows ultimately what the outcome was going to be. Because it did. No one.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yes. I thought it would last a long time. I think we all did, right? Yeah, it was. It was rough out in Vegas. Oh, man, the casinos here, they put glass windows in between you. You got to wear a mask when you're playing poker. Yeah, it was nuts. I'm glad we're past that.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Yeah.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Hopefully that doesn't happen again. Well, where could people find these? You guys sell them online too, or just in stores?

[John Rainey Jr.]

Do online. So we're Reserve Bar. We're also with Bev Stack and Bev Stack gives us the capability in 40 states.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Nice.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Sure. Obviously here in. Here in Nevada, we're in Lee's Liquor Stores in Florida, in a number of hotels and bars and restaurants here in Nevada. We've just got approved for the Caesars National Beverage Program.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Nice.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Which means literally in all their facilities all over the. The uk Sorry, the US and then, you know, we're in a lot of the Ritz Carltons. Couple of friends of mine own some of the Ritz Carltons in Florida, New York, Nomad and places like that. So we're in the places where we really want to be. Sean. But I have to give a shout out to Nevada Beverage and Ricky manager here because he's one of the few distributors, if you will, who's really got behind the brand, believes in the brand and really pushes out sadly. You know, a few years ago when we started the Tequila brand, we kind of heard about how it works here in the US you get a distributor, the distributor is meant to distribute into all the outlets or the sales funnels, if you will. So you go, hang on a minute. You sign up with one distributor, they might have 80,000 accounts in one state. You put your feet up, sit back and discount the money. That's not the case once a day. The distributor was really pushing your brand. Now they Just literally, just delivery companies, aren't they. They expect you to do all the marketing, do all the promotion, and they just make their margin.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[Rob]

The big ones, the big ones want exclusivity all across the whole country. And sometimes, I mean, I don't want to go say anybody particular, but they'll, they'll take a brand, not do anything with it. It's just because it's going to interfere with one of the brands that they've already got. You have to really be.

[John Rainey Jr.]

John. That's a great point. They can either make or break you.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Some of the celebrity brands in the tequila space that they had to give equity them to get the, the distributor they wanted to go with.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[John Rainey Jr.]

So it's not just literally, I'm an a lister and I get everything handed on a plate. No, they've had to give equity.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah. That sounds like a conflict right there.

[John Rainey Jr.]

No, and like, that's a great point that John said, you know, if there's a tequila brand or a vodka or that you may compete with if you're in the vodka space or you're in the whiskey, whatever. They're actually slowball you.

[Rob]

Yeah. I had, I was, I was about to pull the trigger on a distributor in Florida and just paused everything.

[John Rainey Jr.]

You can mention the name.

[Rob]

Yeah, no, I just, I paused everything just because.

[John Rainey Jr.]

I'd mentioned the name. Because that, that you never know.

[Rob]

It always comes back. Things come back. You never know.

[John Rainey Jr.]

It's in, it's in the TV show anyway. We filmed. You can signed it. So.

[Rob]

But we, we had a distributor that we, you know, we, we let go. Just because of. The reason being is that you need people. When you're a small brand like this, you need, you need people to get behind you. I'd rather do it myself than give it to a distributor. Take 35% margin. Sheesh. And all they do is they drive it in a truck to their.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Your customer for 35%.

[Rob]

Correct.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Sign me up, I'll do that. The producer, probably. 35%. Yeah.

[John Rainey Jr.]

That's the crazy thing. And that's it.

[Rob]

You don't give them the margin, they don't want it.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[Rob]

And. But at that point too, they, they. Just because you give them the margin doesn't mean it's going to fly off the shelf still.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

It still has to sell off the shelf.

[Rob]

And if they're not going to help you, you have, you know, you're in. You're on your own.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Wow.

[John Rainey Jr.]

No. And that's another reason why we're grateful to be here. Sean. Because, you know, the reach that you have, the. The credibility the name is, you know, just being here and having the ability to speak for, you know, 30 minutes about our brand and a little bit behind about ourselves. You know, we're very grateful. I know I mentioned.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah, no, thanks for coming. It's interesting to learn more about the space and what's going on behind the scenes. It was really cool. Anything else you guys want to close off with?

[John Rainey Jr.]

Tequila space is just literally gone crazy, isn't it?

[Rob]

Yeah, it's the only. It's the only spirit that is growing. Everything else is contracting.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Really?

[Rob]

Yep. Every single spirit is contracting. Agave spirits are the only thing that's growing right now.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

It's got to be because of health. I'd imagine people are more health conscious.

[Rob]

Just like I said, there's just, there's 90 of the world that is just getting, you know, just getting their taste of tequila right now. It's wow. Banked and unbanked population that is not yet trying to.

[John Rainey Jr.]

But Sean, another thing that John and I and some of the partners kind of wanted to do is, you know, give us that edge or that leverage when we do go and talk to distributors. So, you know, we do have a low calorie, healthy, you know, beer, cold skinny lager. We have a scotch whiskey called Rare Ra, which is an award winning whiskey.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Nice.

[John Rainey Jr.]

We have a 6100 vodka, which is an award again, award winning. And we also have a healthy drink as well. So, you know, when we go and talk to distributors, we can say, look, we don't just have a tequila, we have a vodka, we have a whiskey. We have a beer. We have a, you know, low calorie, like a low calorie beer. So, you know, again, because we like to be different from everyone else. And that's the reason why, if you think about it, there is nothing, one other brand on the planet that has went down the, the route that we have and being disruptive in terms of creating a documentary. Like I said, we're now on Amazon prime, going on Apple next month, but also having a, you know, TV show, a reality TV show, you know, how big then things can go. Oh, huge cold tequila empire. So, you know, it says what it is and no one else has done it. So we're the first one. We're excited by that and we believe that it will reach millions and millions of people and we will be the next well known tequila brand.

[Rob]

We're opening up the curtains on the tequila empire stuff.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah, yeah. We'll link the show below. We'll link the website and everything. Thanks for coming on, guys. Thanks for having us.

[John Rainey Jr.]

Thank you.

[Sean (Interviewer)]

Yeah, check it out, guys. I'll see you next time.