Exclusive First Look: Guy Fieri & Sammy Hagar Unveil Santo Extra Añejo Tequila
After surviving 39 months of aging and a $1-million heist, our Spirit Of The Week finally sees the light of day.
“Waiting is the hardest part. But honestly it’s like the bow and arrow: you pull that bow back, you keep pulling it back, and then fucking pull it back harder. And then when you let it go, it’s like it has more impact,” Sammy Hagar animates to Maxim in his naturally elevated state. The wait he speaks of is for the latest expression in his acclaimed Santo label’s portfolio: Extra Añejo (XA). And make no mistake the wait has been long—not just for fans of Santo, but also for the ex-Van Halen frontman and his partner Guy Fieri themselves.
You see unlike many brands, Hagar and Fieri cut no corners. Not just in the production of their superb tequila—a sacrifice to the real Agave Gods, meticulously crafted, famously eschewing any additives that gunk up many tequilas these days. Santo even takes the unique, expensive and time-consuming step of roasting their tequila twice, as Hagar promises the extra caramelization results in an even deeper agave profile. They also never source juice from another brand or distillery, negating themselves a shortcut to placing a XA on shelves without having to suffer the annoyance of time.
But even demonstrating the patience of Trappist Monks waiting for their Santo Blanco to age over 39 long months in first-use ex-bourbon barrels, the cosmos moved the goal posts yet again on Hagar and Fieri. Because right when their first barrel of XA was shipping into America last autumn, two of their loaded trucks were stolen in a brazen $1-million heist. Perhaps the Agave Gods answered their sacrifices, as one of the trucks was recovered a couple months later. The other disappeared forever, however, leaving their stolen tequila to evaporate into the ether. Obviously this speed bump delayed the release of their XA even further, whose anticipation has now hit absurd levels. But great things are worth the wait.
Hagar quickly clarifies this delay was no marketing gimmick, although no one ever suggested it was. “That game can be played with a lot of things,” he’s quick to verify, “but we weren’t playing that game.” Finally, the wait is over. “[The delays] just worked in our favor,” Hagar rationalizes. “I think all of our Santo fans were waiting for this.”
And there are plenty of Santo fans. A tequila rookie might assume a rock star who’s sold over 50 million albums worldwide, both solo and with Van Halen, simply leaned on his ample celebrity currency when tequila became a thing and slapped his backing on Santo. But nothing could be further from the truth, because Hagar wasn’t a celebrity pioneer in tequila—he was simply a tequila pioneer, full stop. When the Red Rocker dreamed of selling his own tequila at his raucously fun Cabo Wabo Cantina in the early 1990s, there was no other premium tequila on the American market other than Patrón. His love for the agave spirits sent him exploring across Jalisco for the perfect partner, knocking on doors and receiving wild looks from farmers and tequileros wondering who the hell this long-haired gringo was asking to try their tequila. A few agave farmers helped; more thought he was un poco loco. Fate finally united Hagar with Juan Eduardo Núñez, third-generation distiller of El Viejito Distillery—founded by Núñez’s grandfather in Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco, in 1937.
“Oh man, I love tequila. I mean, yeah, I didn’t jump in the business to get rich and famous,” Hagar chuckles. A funny notion, given as when he opened his cantina in Cabo San Lucas back in 1990 Hagar was already about as famous as a musician can get, having circled the globe more than Starlink satellites. “When I had Cabo Wabo I just wanted to make my own tequila. And of course, I wasn’t going to drink or make something that wasn’t the best it could be, so I had to go do it all myself,” he recalls of his early days. “People don’t do that anymore. I mean, certainly none of these celebrities that I know really went and did it hands on.”
Cabo Wabo’s popularity soared alongside the explosion of tequila, culminating with the sale of the label to global powerhouse Campari for $80-million in 2007. Three years later, he sold the remaining 20% for another $11-million. “As a matter of fact, probably the most shocking thing I’ve ever done was the success I had back with Cabo Wabo, of any dream I’ve ever had,” he shares wistfully. Then adds: “Or the dream I didn’t even have!”
Sammy reveals the day his non-compete terminated, he was already champing at the bit to launch his next Santo Spirits endeavor. Last year they added an over-proofed Blanco 110-Proof to a stable that already includes a regular Blanco (80-proof), Reposado, Añejo, and an aerated tequila/mezcal hybrid dubbed Mezcuila. And now, this superb Extra Añejo that goes on sale with the publishing of this Spirit Of The Week. All still crafted at El Viejito Distillery, by the same Juan Eduardo Núñez alongside tequilera Karina Rojo.
“I’m so proud of the Extra Añejo; an agave purist just has to smell it to really understand it,” Sammy promises. “The thing I like most about it is it’s not over-aged like some Extra Añejos. If we wouldn’t have had those nice new barrels, and you leave it in there that long it would probably taste a little more like whiskey or bourbon. It would also have a little funk, I’m sorry. I taste that kind of moldy stuff in some people’s aged products, especially when you start getting this aged.”
As a self-described “wine guy,” Hagar explains how his more subtle XA parallels a nuanced French Chardonnay more so than a California Chardonnay, famous for their big oaky boldness. “That’s just too much barrel for me. Look I’m a Blanco guy, so I’d rather have something that’s not quite so heavily wooded, like a Chablis,” he continues, crediting El Viejito’s meticulous production and superb barrels for avoiding all the potential negative repercussions from over-oaking. “It’s like barbecue guys that over-smoke something. It’s like, ‘Man, you just kind of ruined the meat—all I’m tasting is the smoke!’ Things like that. The Extra Añejo is really refined and elegant, that’s the only way I can put it. It’s like a DRC (Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Burgundy wine): you can taste the earth in it, you can taste the agave, but it’s not covered up by the wood. And that’s hard to do, man.”
The first batch of Santo’s Extra Añejo Tequila goes on sale today at the publish of this exclusive interview with Sammy Hagar for $150. No crazy decanter, no superfluous over-ornamented wooden box, just pure 100% blue agave tequila, excellently crafted, aged for over three years in ex-bourbon barrels. And perhaps most importantly: not stolen at the border.
Follow Deputy Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.