Republic Tequila shipped its first bottle of product into distribution in early August, 2009. That was prefaced by a tumultuous 18 months of fund raising, Team building, creating a world class tequila, developing packaging and convincing Republic National Distribution Company that we were worthy of being a member of their portfolio, plus much more. If you’ve ever been involved in a start-up company you have shared with us the pressures, the fears, the sleepless nights, the disappointments, the highs, the lows……all which can be overcome by small, little accomplishments.
We now have expanded from Texas into Colorado, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico. And we have done this on a much faster pace than originally planned. Folks have asked why we departed from our slower, easier growth schedule. Well, to be honest with you a lot has to do with pressure…the pressure to build a successful brand….the right way; people working to do better.
Pressure is often considered as negative stress, but we consider pressure to be positive energy. It has strengthened us to tackle and overcome challenging circumstances in our lives and our business. Pressure compels us towards excellence. It empowers us to rise to the occasion such as the opportunity to grow our business in other states. The issue lies not with the amount of pressure we face, but how we react under that pressure. Our success won’t be based on what happens, but what we do with what happens.
We were given the opportunity to expand our market place and we attacked that opportunity with vengeance…….all along the way living by a code …… always do the right thing.
Tom Nall and the Republic Team
Did you know Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over the French at Battle of Puebla in 1862? Even if you didn’t, you can still celebrate with us! See below for a list of places where Republic will be observing the holiday.
Colorado
Terrace Maya – Boulder
Juanita’s - Boulder
Lola – Denever
Texas
Mesa Rosa – Austin (FM 620 location)
Lakewood Tavern – Dallas
Hacienda on Henderson – Dallas
Chimy’s – Ft. Worth
Lola’s – Ft. Worth
White Elephant – Ft. Worth
Don Julio’s – Houston
Mezzanine Lounge - Houston
Norton’s – Houston
Flips Patio Grill – Grapevine
Tolbert’s – Grapevine
Tavern on the Gruene – New Braunfels
Third Base – Round Rock
Tonic Bar – San Antonio
Republic of Texas - San Antonio
Republic Tequila, which is currently available in only Texas and Colorado, is preparing to expand to three new states: Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, in April and May of this year.
Stay tuned for more details!
Austin, TX (April 2010) – Republic Tequila took home three medals from the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition, held March 13 & 14th, 2010 at the Hotel Nikko in downtown San Francisco. This was the first time Republic Tequila had entered the well-known competition.
The San Francisco World Spirits Competition is considered to be one of the most influential and respected spirits competitions in the world. The judging panels were comprised of a diverse group of spirits experts, journalists and buyers from throughout the country. In this year’s competition, over 1,000 spirits from 54 countries were judged.
Republic Plata Tequila was given the honor of a Bronze Medal. Republic Reposado, which is aged 8 months in charred American Oak barrels, received a Silver Medal and Republic’s Añejo, which is aged 20 months in charred American Oak barrels, was awarded a Gold Medal.
Tom Nall, CEO of Republic Tequila, said, “When this adventure started, I knew we would have an award winning tequila, and now it is official. This is a gigantic milestone in our short history.”
While this is the first time Republic Tequila has won any medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Republic has been given other high awards and accolades. Republic Reposado received a Platinum medal, the highest honor, at the SIP Awards in 2009. Republic Plata was given a score of 92 at the Ultimate Beverage Challenge, hosted by F. Paul Pacult, the highest score given to a silver tequila.
Republic Tequila is certified organic and made with 100% blue agave. It is imported by Momentum Brands International, an Austin, Texas based company and is distributed by Republic National Distributing Company. It is available at liquor stores, bars and restaurants throughout Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma and will soon be available in New Mexico and Arizona.
I love Oklahoma!
I never thought I would make that statement, but after launching Republic Tequila in the Sooner State last week….I love Oklahoma.
The people we called on in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman, Edmond and other locations couldn’t have been nicer. Oh, we heard all the Texas jokes and folks turned the Texas bottle upside down, but they loved the product. Though we didn’t sell a lot of Texas bottles, we sold a fair share in OKC…with the largest liquor store in Oklahoma bringing in Republic Plata, Reposado and Anejo in the Texas decanter.
We had five Team members launching the brand and not one of us was turned down when presenting the Republic brand. The liquor stores are ready to stock their shelves and bars and restaurants are ready to start pouring Republic Tequila.
We look forward to sharing the Republic with all the fine citizens of Oklahoma. We have a lot planned for this great state and I look forward to returning and working with these great people. We had a fun week.
THANK YOU OKLAHOMA.
THANK YOU REPUBLIC NATIONAL DISTRIBUTING.
Viva Republic!
Tom Nall, CEO
Republic Tequila
Sam Houston once said, “I would give no thought of what the world might say of me, if I could only transmit to posterity the reputation of an honest man.”
In reading this quotation this morning I have come to find the kind of comfort I receive in calling this place home. There’s something to the open honesty that I find myself surrounded by at Republic Tequila that speaks to a heritage nested proud in its wild beauty. Honesty does not profess perfection, but rather allows for those imperfect parts that would otherwise tempt one to lie.
I don’t know about you all out there, but I have the best fun with people who prefer you just the way you are above that of who you think you ought to be. When I say that every one of you should join us to Crawl the Capital this Tuesday, March 2, I mean to invite you to a night of good people filled with honest Texas spirits. There are prizes to be won and mustaches to be adorned plus a whole lot of hootin’ and hollerin’. From the bottom of Republic’s heart, we’d love to see you there.
- Kendra Lea Hull of the Republic Tequila Team
Austin, TX (January 18, 2010) – Republic Tequila, an ultra-premium, 100% blue agave, certified organic tequila arrived in Colorado in late January. Republic launched in Texas in 2009 and has already garnered impressive reviews, including a prestigious Platinum SIP award.
“One thing for sure, Texans love Colorado. We love the skiing, the natural beauty, the cities and the people. So it is only natural that we would share Republic Tequila with our friends in Colorado… our first state for expansion,” says Tom Nall, CEO and Founder of Republic Tequila.
Republic Tequila is handcrafted from estate grown blue agave at the La Quemada distillery, one of Mexico’s only certified organic distilleries. The distillery uses an age-old distillation process that includes no foreign yeasts or chemicals. This process also includes letting the tequila rest and aerate before it is bottled, which produces a purer, smoother spirit making it ideal for any type of cocktail and sipping.
The two co-founders of Republic Tequila, Tom Nall and Ken MacKenzie, know quite a bit about tequila. Tom, a true cowboy, developed a love for tequila in the saloons of the Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Ken MacKenzie, a tequila expert with Scottish heritage, spent many years in Mexico studying with the country’s best distillers. “I am thrilled to be sharing my passion, Republic Tequila, with the great folks of Colorado. I know they will it enjoy it just as much as Texans have,” says MacKenzie.
Republic Tequila is available in three styles: Plata, Reposado, and Añejo. Republic’s Plata is bottled after a short resting period. Republic’s Reposado is aged in charred American oak barrels for 8 months, and Republic’s Añejo is aged for 20 months. The aging process produces more full-bodied tequilas, which are ideal for sipping.
“Because of the time and care La Quemada takes during the distillation process, Republic tequila has an exceptionally smooth taste profile, making it extremely mixable in all types of cocktails,” says Ken MacKenzie. Ken recommends trying Republic Plata in any cocktail where you would typically use vodka or rum.
Republic Tequila will be available for sale in bars, restaurants, and liquor stores in Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins in late January.
Republic Tequila is proudly imported by Momentum Brands International, an Austin, Texas based company and distributed by Republic National Distributing Company in both Texas and Colorado.
To help you grow the best one ever, here are a few tips from expert mustche grower, Blue Nall:
- You must first decide what shape and style of mustache you want to grow; 1980’s style, Cat Fish, Handle Bar ( Two types – Monopoly man or Wild West), Droopy or Broom Brush. The shape of your lip and color of your hair has a lot to do with the final decision. Whatever you decide to grow you need to make sure it is a worthy addition to your personality.
- After you start growing it don’t forget NOT to shave your upper lip. Years of the misguided habit of shaving your upper lip is hard to break. There is nothing worse than to start one and then with a slip of the razor killing one side of the projected beauty.
- You must be patient, it takes longer than a couple of weeks. At first you will think, man this looks awful, but give it a while and it will “Grow on you”
- Make sure that you have small sharp scissors, but don’t use them for the first two weeks and then only once a week.
- Make sure that you when you do trim the beauty that it is symmetrical. If you have a crocked smile you are going to have a hard time getting it to look right so you might have to just not smile much.
- Wash, towel dry and brush the mustache daily.
- I your mustache needs training or has long hairs a good thing to keep it manageable is Crew’s Fiber product…wax makes it look like a fake mustache and is what really too old fashioned.
- You will learn that your mustache is never finished which is what makes growing one become an obsession.
- No matter what your spouse says, don’t shave it off until you are finished. Giving up can cause depression and can label you as a quitter.
Blue and his 'stache
Our success will not be based on what happened in 2009, but on what we do with what happened.
2009 was a wonderful year for the venture of Republic Tequila. An award winning, 100% blue agave organic tequila was created in partnership, with La Quemada Distillery located in Arenal, Jalisco.
A professional team was assembled from Austin, Houston, St. Louis and Denver. The criterion for a position on this squad were enthusiasm, the desire to succeed, a work strong work ethic and the vision to appreciate the opportunity that lay before us. We drafted extremely well.
The Team traveled to Dallas and landed the largest spirits distributor in Texas, Republic National Distributing Company. This accomplishment will always be pivotal in Republic Tequila emerging as a “real” company and a true player in the industry.
Our first order was shipped July 24, 2009. Our sales, which were projected over ten months, but actually occurred in a five month period, exceeded expectations by +56%.
We would like to give a BIG Texas thank you to the many, many fans of our brand. You folks help create the success we had in the past year. We ask for your continued support in 2010. Much obliged!
Now…..what are we going to do with happened in 2009?
We have a very strong plan for 2010. Stay tuned and watch us grow.
Tom Nall
CEO / Partner
We want to see your Republic ready for the Holidays. Send us a picture of Republic Tequila involved in your Holiday festivities and we may just send you something special.
Submit your picture to info@RepublicTequila.com
