09/25/2013
Hollywood's Newest Tequila by Rande Ge**er & George Clooney
Casamigo's Tequila
They did a funny commercial too....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w0KjBr4Gss
It would be so easy to hate Rande Ge**er. He has, after all, been married to supermodel Cindy Crawford since 1998 and ran a string of hit bars and restaurants around the world. Now, with his good friend, George Clooney, he has started Casamigos Tequila—and, with Puerto Rican distilling royalty the Serrallés family, Caliche Rum.
But Ge**er is surprisingly down-to-earth, and his enthusiasm for his new brands, especially Casamigos, is genuine and contagious. “It’s brought to you by those who drink it,” he jokes. “George and I came up with it when we were building our houses in Cabo.”
That was about five years ago. Ge**er and Clooney were frequently in Mexico supervising the construction of their homes, and the pair found themselves enjoying a lot of tequila in bars and hotels. Not only did they get an education in the agave spirit but they also soon began fantasizing about having their own personal stash. And, of course, they wanted the “smoothest, best-tasting tequila.”
They worked with a distiller, who over a year and a half sent them samples that they tried with their friends and families. They knew they had something great when “all of our friends wanted to bring a bottle back,” Ge**er says. With the amount of liquor they were drinking and giving away, they realized that “we had to get serious about this.”
At the time, Ge**er was still running nightlife company Ge**er Group, but after 22 years in the hospitality business, he was beginning to think he might want to start a spirits company. Fortunately, Crawford was more than supportive of his career switch. “She knew it was something we should sell to the public,” Ge**er says. One of the key determining factors was that after a night of drinking the reposado on the rocks (their drink of choice), Ge**er said that he and his wife weren’t hung over in the morning and felt great. A very important thing, since “her job is looking good,” he says. (Crawford even starred with Ge**er, Clooney and Clooney’s then-girlfriend Stacy Keibler in a sexy spoof commercial for the tequila.)
With Crawford onboard, Ge**er’s brother Scott bought out his share of the Ge**er Group. And now Casamigos, which comes in a blanco and reposado, is available in 45 states, and Caliche Rum is available nationwide. Which left us with just one last question: What’s it like to work with Clooney? “George is great at the creative part of the business,” Ge**er says. “We love working together. It’s great to have a challenge.”
We’ll drink to that.
By Liquor.com
