George Strait has ventured into the tequila business with his latest investment into a new brand called Codigo 1530. “King George” was in Nashville last week for a private tasting of the tequila held at historic Studio A on Music Row. Fellow singers Kix Brooks, Martina McBride and Chase Rice showed up to taste Codigo. Studio A is significant for Strait because that’s where he recorded his first album, Strait Country, in the early 80s.
At the event, Strait spoke to the attendees about how he met Codigo’s co-founders, Ron Snyder and Federico Vaughan (who were also in attendance), at a golf course in Mexico.
“We would be out there playing and Feddy [Vaughan] would show up with this amazing tequila that nobody had ever tried before and it had no name,” Strait said. “It was in a random bottle with no label. He said it was tequila. We trusted him and drank it,” he added with a laugh.
“We [Strait and Snyder] were like, we have to have this in the States. We’ve got to get this back home so we can buy it at home. It wasn’t like we were sitting around one night trying to decide, ‘Hey let’s come up with a tequila and go to the States and sell it.’ It took a lot of talking to get this whole ball rolling. It took a lot of time and a lot of convincing.”
Strait it made it known that he was impressed with the tequila since day one, and Vaughan added that he was honored by Strait’s stamp of approval.
“What you have in front of you today is a formula that has been improved by five generations,” Vaughan said. “George, who doesn’t put his name on many things, the reason he joined us is because he knows we’re trying to make the best tequila.”
“It’s just something that’s been fun for me,” Strait said. “I was looking for something to have another career at. I’m plenty busy doing what I do, but it’s a fun thing for us.”
