George Strait Celebrates Cinco de Mayo With New ‘Pink’ Rosa Reposado Tequila

george strait tequila rosa - Credit: AMIR SHAFII
george strait tequila rosa - Credit: AMIR SHAFII

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Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, George Strait is celebrating the latest expression in his Código 1530 tequila line, a company the singer invested in more than three years ago (he even named a song after it).

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The latest release is a limited-edition Rosa Reposado, which gets its name from the pinkish hue that results from the tequila resting in French white oak Cabernet wine barrels. The liquid is then finished in Spanish Sherry wine barrels. The resulting spirit features notes of ripe cherries and delicate citrus with a soft, clean finish. As with all Código tequilas, there are no additives, sweeteners, flavoring, coloring or chemicals.

Credit: Codigo
Credit: Codigo

Codigo


Buy:
Código 1530 Rosa Reposado Tequila
at
$75

First released at the end of 2021, only a few bottles of the Rosa Reposado remain, and Strait (pictured above with his Codigo co-founders) is hoping fans snatch up the remaining bottles as a way to try something different on Cinco de Mayo. In addition to the unique liquid, the bottles themselves were specially-designed, with a custom, special edition print with Strait’s famous silhouette, guitar and signature. The bottle also features a unique raised “bubbled glass” design with a subtle symbolic Jerusalem Cross from the Jalisco region on its shoulder and branded in its base.

Strait may have grown up as a whiskey guy, but he says his palette has changed since he started working with the brand. “I was never a big tequila drinker before Código,” he told Rolling Stone last year. “If I drank it at all, it was with a lime, and I would try to get the taste out of my mouth as fast as I could. I think that was from all the additives that some companies put in their tequila, which we don’t do. There is no harsh burning aftertaste to it, so it’s very nice to sip on straight.”

Código now features half a dozen different expressions of tequila and the brand is sold in all 50 states (it’s also available for home delivery via Reserve Bar, with pricing from $50). The Rosa Reposado is available from $75 online, with a Rosa Blanco expression available from $71 here.

“The other founders and I had been drinking the unnamed juice for a few years before we decided to try and take it to the rest of the world,” Strait says, of the brand’s humble beginnings. “None of us were trying or had any plans to start a tequila company, but it was just too good not to share.”

Strait knows the liquor market is crowded, and he’s not the only celebrity who’s put his name behind a tequila brand (The Rock’s tequila brand, Teremana, has consistently sold out since it launched in the spring). But the singer says it’s just a matter of getting people to try Código for themselves. “I truly believe we have the best tequila brand out there,” he says. “I like to say, ‘If it’s not your favorite, you haven’t tried it.'”

Related: The Best Tequila Brands to Buy Right Now

And what better time to pick up a bottle, Strait suggests, then right now? After a few years in which it seemed like nobody could catch a break, Strait, who postponed his 2020 shows due to Covid restrictions, says he’s excited his namesake George Strait Origen release is finally available to purchase.

“Yes, it’s been a crazy year to say the least, but I think it’s the perfect time [for tequila],” he says. “People need a little joy in their lives.”

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