Guy Fieri is a lot of things. TV star. Restauranteur. Style icon. And, of course, Mayor of Flavortown. He's also a big tequila guy. So big, in fact, that back in 2019 he joined forces with rocker Sammy Hagar to launch Santo spirits. The former Van Halen frontman's history in the tequila business is a storied one — Hagar founded Cabo Wabo tequila in 1996 and began importing it in the US in 1999, making it one of the first widely-available 100-percent blue agave tequilas in the country. He eventually sold Cabo Wabo but re-teamed with its master distiller, Juan Eduardo Nuñez, and Fieri to create Santo, which is not only distilled from 100 percent blue agave in Jalisco, Mexico, but is also completely additive free.
Santo's lineup consists of a Blanco, a Reposado and the unique Mezquila — the world's first blend made from 100-percent blue agave tequila and 100-percent espadin agave mezcal. Now, just in time for summer, Santo is releasing its most premium bottle yet: Santo Añejo. The aged tequila spends an average of two years maturing in American oak casks, and all of the flavors and colors of the spirit are a natural result of this process.
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I recently chatted with Guy Fieri to talk about the release of Santo — along with his thoughts on celebrity tequilas, his favorite grill, how to build the perfect burger and more. Here's what I learned.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
How do you prefer to drink your tequila? Are you sipping neat? Shaking up a margarita? Or does it depend on your mood (and the tequila)?
I’ll take it any way I can get it! But really, it does kind of depend on my mood and what’s going on around me. Everyone loves a well-balanced margarita but for me, typically, I get the most out of my experience when I drink Santo neat. I learn something every time as I explore the pure agave expressions.
Right now, it’s all about our new Santo Añejo. After two years of our Blanco aging in American Oak casks, it’s finally right where we want it to be. We’ve tasted it all along its aging journey until we felt it had all the right notes and pulled it from the aging process. When you don’t use any additives, coloring, etc., you have to be super diligent in monitoring the progress of the liquid … when it’s ready, it’s ready!
There is no shortage of celebrity-owned tequilas these days, to the point where we’re starting to see some backlash against the trend. But your business partner at Santo — Sammy Hagar — owned a tequila brand (Cabo Wabo) long before it was cool.
Can you share your opinion on why people who are wary of celebrity-owned tequilas shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss Santo?
Look, I get it. I’ve been lumped into the celebrity category before. But I really don’t think that any product should be judged on celebrity, one way or another. If it’s good juice, drink it. If it’s not, don’t. The bad rap comes from when a celebrity is just a paid mouthpiece to say they dig it … whether they do or not isn’t the point. There is some of that out there in the tequila world for sure. Which, by the way, doesn’t mean the product is bad — it’s just that the endorsement isn’t a great indicator and it erodes trust in the celebrity world for the consumer.
Sammy and I don’t get paid to endorse Santo. We built it and funded it ourselves — a totally different ballgame. Sammy is my long-time buddy and a legendary musician, but the reason we partnered up on Santo is because of his true ownership of the tequila space. He is one of just a couple of people responsible for bringing real-deal, true-quality tequila to the US, and all of us who now get to taste it owe him for that.
So, my advice is that if you’re worried that a celebrity endorsement might steer you wrong, read up on the product. Do some research, read some reviews, listen to some word of mouth. I promise you that with Santo, what you’re getting is a true high-quality, additive-free agave spirit that you’re gonna dig!
Grilling season is now in full swing — what are you grilling up to pair with some tequila on a summer afternoon (and on what type of grill)?
Steak carne asada, pork al pastor, some simple grilled chicken … anything on the grill is a great complement to a cold margarita!
I’ve cooked on just about every type of grill out there and all have their benefits, but if you want to play around and experiment with some smoke as well, check out the Camp Chef Woodwind. I love it because I can grill over an open flame when I want to get that sear, or I can throw on a little bit of low and slow smoke to add some complexity that will change how it works with my Blanco versus Añejo, for example.
You’ve obviously tried a ton of different burgers — what’s a common mistake people make when cooking a burger that should be avoided?
Everybody has their own burger opinions, of course, but to me, the key thing is always balance. At my restaurants (and at home), our burgers are carefully designed and built to incorporate all of the important elements like salt, texture, acid, etc. It’s like burger architecture.
Take the super thinly sliced pickles, for example. So many people think they don’t like pickles so they say to leave ‘em off. I slice ‘em super, super thin so that they kind of melt into the bun. You don’t taste pickle so much as you get that important acid to cut through the fat of the beef and cheese. Don’t ignore the pickle, the tomato, the bun-to-beef ratio, the ‘coast to coast’ spread of the donkey sauce ... If you’re gonna burger, burger right!
Any thoughts on Donkey Sauce’s potential as a cocktail ingredient?
Absolutely. Have you ever seen one of those giant Bloody Marias/Marys with the slider hanging out the top? Donkey Sauce knows no boundaries.
Switching gears a bit, I’m a big watch guy, as I know you are as well. My wife and I regularly watch the DDD “Top 5” videos on YouTube, and I always make it a point to call out what’s on your wrist in each segment: “That’s a Doxa … He’s wearing a Panerai now.” (She finds it enthralling, I'm sure.)
Can you talk a little about how you first got into watches, and if there’s one watch in your collection that’s a bit more special than the rest?
Haha yes, good eye. I will admit that I’ve become a bit of a watch addict. I’ve always been into watches and the collection has certainly grown over the years. There are watches that I like for DDD (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives). And different ones for GGG (Guys Grocery Games) and TOC (Tournament of Champions).
We lost one of my best friends, chef Carl “The Cuban” Ruiz, a few years back, and he was for sure my biggest watch influence. I guess you could call him an enabler! So many of my watches have a Cuban story to them. But there’s a really special limited-edition Grand Seiko that they did in his honor that’s irreplaceable to me, just like he is.
Finally, if you could only choose one, which do you prefer: diners, drive-ins or dives?
D) All of the above.
