by Calanit Atia
Sammy Hagar, a legendary rocker and spirits pioneer, and Guy Fieri, an Emmy award-winning chef and restaurateur, walked in laughing and full of joy while being accompanied by a mariachi band as they celebrated that their new tequila, Santo Fino Blanco, finally launched after a long journey.
Fieri and Hagar have been friends for years—Fieri won a contest to meet Hagar backstage at a concert and they’ve been friends ever since. Years later, Fieri, who has been a tequila lover, received a phone call from Hagar who told him, “I just sold Cabo Wobo Tequila.” Fieri replied, “‘Next time you are going to do something please let me be involved—so I got the call one day and the rest is history.” Fieri and Hagar are now partners in Los Santo with the creation of Santo Fino Blanco.
“There are a few things I know,” Fieri says. “Great food, killer drinks and wild times…and Sammy and I are making it all happen with Los Santo.” Santo Fino Blanco is an “old-world” style tequila made with 100 percent Blue Weber agave.
Juan Eduardo Nuñez, the third-generation master distiller that Hagar originally tapped to make his Cabo Wabo tequila and now Santo Puro Mezquila, hand-selects the agave plants in the famed Jalisco Highlands of Mexico and creates proprietary recipes at the historic El Viejito Distillery, which was founded in 1937 and awarded Mexico’s National Quality Award.
According to Hagar, the name selection came out of his travels, explaining that when someone dies in Mexico on the side of the road, they put a cross there. As I was traveling I saw a cross that had an agave growing next to it.” That became the logo, Hagar even got a tattoo before he had created the brand. Santo means Saint.
The new tequila, Santo Fino Blanco, is highly recommended. The taste pairs a little bit of smokiness and a little bit of sweetness. The tequila is not harsh, and then you get the Blanco. The new Blanco is distilled twice, and there is no glycerin. Add a little salt and a little lime, and you get the winning combination.
For more info, visit www.SantoMezquila.com. To see video from this interview, visit https://youtu.be/p-dOVEufB_A, https://youtu.be/69xE8iCDQio and https://youtu.be/x9-FDlxlj2M
Hagar created the world-famous Cabo Wabo brand, which includes Cabo Wabo Tequila and Cabo Wabo Cantina, and is the founder of Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum and the Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill restaurant chain. Fieri is as well-known for his popular shows on Food Network including Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Grocery Games, as he is for his discerning palate and portfolio of more than 70 restaurants, including Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen + Bar and El Burro Borracho in Las Vegas.
Calanit Atia is founder and president of A to Z Events, a Las Vegas destination expert, an award winning event planner, columnist, Air Force veteran and speaker. She can be contacted at (702) 212-2500 or by email at Info@AtoZevents.com
This story originally appeared in the September/October issue of Exhibit City News, p. 20. For original layout, visit https://issuu.com/exhibitcitynews/docs/ecnflipbook_septoct_2019_web
