Sammy Hagar and Guy Fieri announced they are reintroducing Santo Mezquila, a first-of-its-kind tequila/mezcal blend. The re-release will feature all-new packaging and a nationwide marketing push designed to leverage the split-spirit cocktail trend and the country’s obsession with agave spirits and hybrid food and drink.

First introduced in 2017 with limited distribution, Santo Mezquila was the first commercially available tequila/mezcal blend in the U.S. Now, with the innovative expression available in all 50 states, Canada, Japan and Puerto Rico, Santo Mezquila has received a fresh, contemporary look, in-store and in-bar promotional support, and its first digital advertising as part of Santo Spirits’ new “A Reputation Earned” marketing campaign. 

“I launched Santo Mezquila as my long-awaited return to agave spirits after the sale of Cabo Wabo to Campari Group,” Hagar said in a news release. “My vision was to create something that was totally different, packed with personality, but still created using very traditional techniques that let the agave and a light smoke essence shine through. I like to say, ‘Where there is the right amount of smoke, there is flavor.’”

Santo Mezquilastarts with Santo’s award-winning, additive-free 100% agave Blanco Highland Tequila produced by third-generation distiller Juan Eduardo Nuñez and tequilera Karina Rojo at El Viejito Distillery (NOM 1107) in Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco using time-honored methods focused on preserving the heritage of bold agave flavor from when tequila was first made in Mexico centuries ago.

Handcrafted in small batches, Santo Blanco Tequilas distilled from 100% Blue Weber Agave. The agaves are cooked using traditional brick ovens – employing a low pressure and slow cooking method that optimizes the deep, earthy flavor of sweet agave.

Using a proprietary process, the fine tequila is then blended with artisanal Joven Mezcal handcrafted in Oaxaca (distillery undisclosed). Again here, traditional methods of producing mezcal are employed including cooking the eight to 10-year-old agave in conical volcanic stone ovens and grinding the pinas with a traditional horse-drawn tahona to extract the sweet juice.

The resulting spirit is an ideal entry point for drinkers who are curious about mezcal but not ready to take the leap into the smokiest end of the flavor spectrum.

“I’m not a fan of big, smoky mezcals, which can overpower your taste buds,” Hagar said. “It was a full year of receiving samples from Juan Eduardo before we felt the blend was right, capturing the bold, agave-forward signature note of Santo Tequila accompanied by a pronounced, but not overbearing, essence of smoke.”

Santo Mezquila also embraces the current split-spirit cocktail trend, where two spirits share an equal billing in some of today’s most innovative cocktails. Santo Mezquila may also be enjoyed neat and easily adds a delicate layer of smoke to a traditional Margarita, Paloma, or Bloody Maria.

Santo Mezquila is 80 proof and retails for $69.99 for a 750ml at fine spirits retails and online at www.santospirit.com.