WEBVTT

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It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. What
a great idea on iHeartRadio. Welcome to

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Maria's Mutts and Stuff and with me, I am so excited to talk to

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and find out so much about him. It is founder and CEO of Alma

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del Jaguar McAuley Williams. So McCauley, thanks for taking the time out.

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I have to tell you I tasted
Almadel Jaguar at north Shore Animal Leagu's gala

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with Joe who works for you,
and I don't often drink tequila, but

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it was one of the smoothest and
finest tequila. Is that. I'll drink

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tequila now because of you, So
so thank you for that. But let's

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go. Let's go back because I
know you're an attorney, you've made bourbon.

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Tell me all about how did Almadel
Jaguar begin? Well, thanks for

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the kind Rhodes, and thanks for
chatting with me today. Sure. Yeah,

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we have a really cool we have
a really cool brand story that really

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starts with my uncle thirty years ago
when he founded the Northern Jaguar Project in

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Mexico. So he was a wildlife
photographer and conservationist who got into wild jaguar

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conservation, moved to Mexico and really
dedicated his life to it. It's kind

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of kind of crazy, but suffice
it to say that jaguars are native to

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the US Mexico borderlands are actually native
to our country in the United States.

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And they founded this amazing wildlife refuge, just protected land, no fences or

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anything, in the Sierra Madre Mountains
of Sonora, Mexico. And he's been

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doing that most of my life.
And I live in Tennessee and I'm an

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attorney and entrepreneur and ended up leaving
the practice of wall seven or eight years

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ago to get into the craft beverage
space. I started a bourbon brand called

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Blue Note Bourbon here in Memphis,
Tennessee. We grew that successfully, and

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unfortunately I brought in the wrong partners
to that business, and I was ultimately

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forced out of my own company two
years ago. And learned a lot of

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valuable life leasons along the way.
And when doing soul searching after that,

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as one you know could imagine you
do in that situation, I started thinking

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about what I wanted to do next. I started thinking about tequila, and

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I started to think about my uncle
and his work with jaguars, and a

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light bulb went off of well,
what if we could tie my skill set

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of building craft spirit brands to his
conservation work, and Alma del Haguar or

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Alma del Jaguar in English was born. And we're the first tequila brand with

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a mission or an environmental calls like
this. And the premise is simple that

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through tequila or through you know,
alcohol, we can open up doors and

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conversation about our content servation mission,
raise awareness for what he and his team

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are doing and other great folks along
the US Mexico borderland are doing for wild

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buff conservation. And then we can
also use the sales of our tequila to

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generate donations to raise money for them
as well. It's win win, really,

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that's that's the idea, right And
and you know, when you start

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bringing up things like conservation, it
can get really academic, and you bring

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up things like the US Mexico border, it can get really political, of

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course, and we found that tequila
is the great icebreaker and gets people talking

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about it that would otherwise feel uncomfortable
speaking of for asking questions. Sure,

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and and it also gets people talking
about it in settings like the bar,

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restaurant or a party settings you wouldn't
otherwise be talking about this kind of thing,

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right, No, it's genius.
And I love the fact that your

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quote is Jaguar is our cause,
not mascot, which I think explains it

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all. I love that because it's
true. I mean, it's just it's

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such a unique idea. I don't
mean unless I'm wrong, but I don't.

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I can't think of another alcohol that
does the same thing, you know

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what I mean, like has a
purpose as your brand does. So,

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you know, kudos to you,
congratulations with coming up with this brainstorm.

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To you, Well, it's true
because they always say when one door closes,

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another one opens, and it seems
like the one that opened for you.

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You know, I'm sure it was
awful to be kicked out of your

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own company, but you know,
there's always like a reason, and this

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was the reason because look what you're
doing now. Thank you so much.

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I've definitely you know, I'm religious
and have come to believe that that that

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is, this is what I was
meant to do. And yeah, you

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know, some every life event offers
a educational experience. Some are just a

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little more expensive and hurt a little
bit more than others. But right right

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now, this is amazing. And
I'm sure your uncle Rick, right,

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is that Uncle Rick? Am I
correct on that? That's right? Yeah,

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William, I'm sure he was,
like he probably was so thrilled and

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surprised that you had this idea.
He that he was kind of rejuvenated in

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the project. You know, after
living on in the in the mountains of

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Mexico more or less for the last
twenty years. You know, he's in

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his mid seventies. The project has
really grown and this has rejuvenated his enthusiasm

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for it, which is exciting.
We've raised about twenty five thousand dollars for

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Jaguar conservation to his group as well
as some other groups in the United States,

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which is amazing because I mean you're
a very you know, you're like

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an infant company and an infant alcohol
So that's pretty amazing. Twenty five grand

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thank you. Yeah, no,
absolutely, well, we hope we're not

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going to stop there. We keep
going. And so a lot of brands

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do good and donate a you know, a small percentage of theirselves. Our

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goal is to donate ten percent of
our profits towards this cause. So a

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higher commitment and then a more specific
commitment as opposed to just one percent for

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the planet kind of thing, right, And we also produce our tequila entirely

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sustainably on a fifth generation of Gave
ranch in partnership with the Vivanco Fly.

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And we're also the first brand in
the alcohol beverage space that I'm aware of.

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I don't know this beature, but
I'm pretty sure we are the first

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brand to ever bottle our product in
entirely recycled material, So it bottled and

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recycled glass like Jave fiber labels,
repurposed quirk stoppers, and it ships in

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a one hundred percent recycled cardboard box. Yeah, and I was going to

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ask you about that because I do
recalled when Joe was introducing me to the

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tequila and he was talking about that, like everything about the brand about it

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is green, which is so important, especially in today's day, and the

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fact that you took the time to
do that. No, absolutely, I

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mean, you know, I feel
like you are going to be a trendsetter

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because I feel that that's the way
to go these days, and I feel

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like other people who come up with
ideas should follow the same path that you

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are on and that you began.
Actually, you're like a pioneer. Thank

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you. And you know what the
cool the coolest thing about it is is

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we don't we do it because we
want to walk the walk and not just

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talk the talk. Sure, but
we've also found a lot of positive business

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synergies around us. So we source
all those materials for a packaging with that's

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all made with local manufacturers in Julisco, Mexico. And we found that while

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it's more expensive to produce the recycled
you know, labels and bottles, we

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make up for it on a lot
of our supply chain due to freight by

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partnering with local manufacturers. So what's
really cool is that there's a business case

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for it too that we have others
will adopt that not only is it good

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for the environment, but it also
can be it can make sense if you

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do your homework to the bottom line. And that's that's what we want to

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see it more people looking at like
the since and of the real business opportunity

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to go greener and more local.
Yeah, and that's and that's key to

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the fact that you've gone local,
because that's like a big thing. You

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know, everything is always oh it's
not it's not local, it's but local

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is. I just think it's very
important and you know you really did the

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right thing. So tell me how
did you find the Vivanco family you went

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around to. I mean, I'm
sure you you did your homework because that

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you are that type of guy,
But how did you decide on them,

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like find them and to sign on
them? So, uh, the journey

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started as I bought a one way
ticket to Halusco, Mexico, flew in

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the Guadalajara, had my uncle meet
me there, and we rented a car

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and drove to every tequila distillery that
would see us wow. And we went

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to all different size to distilleries.
Some some distilleries, you know, were

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mega factories that are industrial mega plants. And we just randomly were introduced to

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the Vivancos at a bar, kind
of licking our wounds, trying to figure

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out where to go next, dissatisfied
with all the people we've met with,

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and then they said you should go
check out mister Vivanco's operation, and we

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just instantly fell in love with Sergio
Vivanco or Sergio Ivanco is that his name,

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fell love with him, his master
distiller, Sodio Cruz, and their

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family and their legacy and their care
for the land, and we chose to

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go with them. So they were
the only producer we met that talked about

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not using chemicals in the fields,
suring for the land, family legacy,

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how this has been in their family
for five generations and that to them,

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and they just seemed like the clear
partner. But it ultimately the light bulb

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went off and we actually tasted their
product and they offered to work with us

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to craft our own unique recipe,
and we just fell in love with the

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family, the liquid story, everything
about it. Sure. Yeah, And

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they've been great partners. You know, it takes a lot of a leap

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of faith to do business with people
in different countries, in different languages,

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wiring, you know, large sums
of money to get going, and they

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have been just upstanding, amazing business
people and just humans through and through,

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and it seems like, you know, you found you found people who were

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cut from the same cloth as you
are. So I think that's really important

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to make it work, that's right. Yeah, they're stewards of the land

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as we as we say, Oh
I like that all yeah, yeah,

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yeah, no, that's great,
it's great. I mean I just think

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it's a very unique. I think
it's just a unique thing that you did

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and that you're doing. So I
mean, kudos to you. I know

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I told you that, but I
just feel like, no, but seriously,

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because you know, many people get
into things because especially like coming up

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with an alcohol and they come in
they decide because they like the alcohol and

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they want to be you know,
to say like, oh I started this

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alcohol. Okay, great, and
maybe I'll give some to charity. Okay

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great. But you are like the
real deal, you know, and probably

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influence obviously growing up with your uncle
that influenced you as well. I mean

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growing up, did you visit your
uncle many times? You know? With

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the Jacks, I haven't went on
a lot of journey. So a lot

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of our deep appreciation from nature comes
from our families, from a farm that's

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been in our family for since it
was actually I'm named after a gentleman who

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served in the Revolutionary War who got
our farm as a land grant for a

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service and our family's been there ever
since. Oh wow. I grew up

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with a deep appreciation of nature from
our family farm and then going on adventures

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with my dad and uncle like fishing
trips to Canada or out West, and

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that's something of how we actually market
our brand. In terms of the branding,

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you know, we of course,
they're all about our cause, sustainability,

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in our product quality. We're winning
a lot of awards just in blind

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tastings for how good it iss turns
out. If you don't cut corners and

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do things the right way, you
make a superior product. You know who

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do right? Yeah? Teasing there, right, you know we should all

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know this, But yet business folks
want to cut corners often most times they

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do, of course. I mean
that seems to be their own detriments,

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right, which is the ultimate irony
of it. Well, yeah, I

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mean I hate to say it,
but that's like the American way. You

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know, let's cut corners and let's
charge a lot of money. But wait,

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but not you, Yeah, not
you, mccar. What I was

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going to say is the way we've
branded our brand. If you go to

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our website and social media, we
show our tequila being consumed outside is we

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feel like people that like to go
on a hike or sit on their patio

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or deck, or get out in
nature or go canoeing, kayaking, fishing,

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that kind of activity develop a deeper
appreciation from other nature. And so

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whereas most tequila brands are showing their
product consumed at the nightclub or with celebrities

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on a red carpet or what I
would consider a vapid sort of cultural experience,

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we want to show our product with
people in nature, which is where

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our product comes from, from nature
for nature. So just our overall branding

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is really different too, and we've
kind of denounced the celebrity backing and kind

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of the big the big corporate backing, and you're showing this totally different way

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of life. We call that our
wildly Free campaign because our tequila is all

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about wild jaguars. It's made from
wild, natural, wild yeast, and

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we are additive free. So the
other dirty secret is most tequilas not only

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are not made sustainably, but they
actually add chemical manipulance called additives to them.

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Around ninety four percent of tequilas on
the shelves today have chemical manipulence blended

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in to cover up all the corners
that that producer cut. They add things

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like glycerine and coloring agents, and
they don't have to disclose it on the

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label, which is the real travesty. To me what you want, But

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whose it on the label. Why
don't you have to do FDA regulations?

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You don't have to do in spirits? Wow, and then the Mexican regulations

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around tequila. But we are confirmed
additive free by a third party auditing source

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that has done lab analysis and we're
number probably number three on that list.

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And there's about seventy wallcraft brands that
are now on the confirmed additive free lift

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and nice. We just want to
show people, but you can do it

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the right way. Sure, I
cut corners. You can have a cause,

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and you can be different in your
branding and succeed. And hopefully we

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can encourage other people to do that
because we were really inspired by brands like

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Patagonia the closing company, and their
amazing product quality but also their environmental,

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environmental first mission and that you can
build a for profit company that's also for

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good. Sure we want the others
follow that puts following not only our footsteps,

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but the much larger companies like Patagania
that have blazed the trail for us.

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All. Yeah, I think you're
doing it. I think you're on

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your way. I mean, you
know there's I don't I don't see any

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negative to what you're doing and what
your goal and what your dream about it

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is. So I mean, obviously
you're brand new, so it takes time.

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But the fact that you've already won
awards and that you're number three on

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that list that has something you know, that says something about you, and

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of course the tequila and what and
how you're doing it and what you're doing,

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I tho, right, well,
thank you. It takes, you

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know, to build a brand.
It's one bottle, one taste, you

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know, one handstake or one interview
at a time, and so it takes

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folks like you that hear our story
and are inspired by it to spread the

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word. So honestly, I can't
thank you enough for to give me the

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opportunity to come here and speak with
you and tell our story. Oh absolutely,

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I mean I was real, Like
I said, I was very excited.

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And it's interesting because at this north
Shore Animal League gala, their veterinarian

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came over to me and we were
talking and he was like, oh,

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you should go taste that tequila and
I was like, yeah, I don't

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really drink tequila too much, and
he goes, yeah, but it's for

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Jaguar rescue, and I'm like,
what so of course I made like a

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bee line over to the table and
Joe was there and he was just so

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accommodate, and he was Joe and
his wife and they were talking to me

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and he's like, you have to
taste it. I was like, okay,

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And honestly, it was just so
very so booth and very tasteful,

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and honestly, it's probably why I
haven't been drinking tequila because of the chemicals,

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because it just was a different taste
Yours was just so it was just

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it was very delicious. And he
made me a drink and I had that

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and I was like And then we
were talking and I was like, oh

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my god, you'd be on my
podcast, so, you know, because

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it's animal rescue and it's just and
he was telling me about the packaging and

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now everything's sustainable, and I was
like, oh my god, this product

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is just so perfect. So,
you know, again, like I said

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about the thing with you with two
years ago, but everything happens for a

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reason, you know, running into
Joe and talking about it and he was

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like, we're brand new, and
I'm like, what, it's amazing.

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It doesn't feel like it's brand new. So my point is you are so

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on the very right path, I
believe, and I just think it's just

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amount of time, you know,
before everybody knows about the tequila. Are

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you available and in all the states? Or is just a few states at

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a time? Like how does that
work? So alcohol distribution in our country

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is a challenge. You're in sixteen
states and spreading. So whom you reference,

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you know as our VP of sales. He's based in the New York

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metro area. But right now as
we speak, as it is being recorded,

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we are launching New Jersey, New
York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts,

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really expanding our northeastern footprints, which
is really exciting. But we're also available

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in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee,
soon to be Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas,

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Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois
amazing. Then we look for Oklahoma

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too, we're launching, and then
we're looking to expand westward. So you

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know, you can look at the
Electoral College votes in a presidential election and

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get the idea of where most people
live in this country. Right you see

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a lot of votes out of California, Texas, New York, Illinois,

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Florida. Those are the big states. There's the big five for us too,

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and so now we have four of
the Big five and we're looking to

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move into California next and nice just
continue to spread the word and awareness for

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our product, our calls and hopefully
inspire more people like you. But but

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since since we you met Joe at
gala, we're actually now going to be

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distributed in the New York in New
Jersey metro area, which is really exciting

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because we hadn't had that. We
hadn't had that yet. And it's critical

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not only just because it's a large
population base. There's a lot of growing

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tequila enthusiasts there, but it's really
important for our brand because it's New York's

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the kind of the lighthouse market of
trends and writers and reviewers, and getting

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our brand in front of them is
what's going to hopefully allow us to grow

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and spread spread the word even faster. Absolutely, and we're really excited for

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twenty four. Yeah, no,
for sure. And I mean I'm in

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New York City and I have many
friends who are drinkers and who drink tequila,

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so you know, word of mouth
helps as well. You know,

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New York's the coin capital of the
country, right, so there's a lot

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of great tequilla, a lot of
great restaurants, and it's a huge opportunity

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for us. So our interview can
be heard nationally. If someone if a

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state, if someone is in a
state that doesn't have Alma del Jaguar,

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can they go into like their favorite
liquor store and say, hey, hey,

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could you get this brand? Can
they do that? That always is

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really helpful. And then there's a
growing online sales. So you can go

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to our website almadel Jaguar dot com
and you can click the buy now button

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and we can shift to pretty much
any state from that website. I think

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we can shipped a forty four of
the fifty states. Oh that's great from

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our website, which is fulfilled through
kind of third party retailers. Right,

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that actually did the back end of
it. But that's really exciting to watch

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kind of our archaic alcohol systems slowly
develop into the realities of you know,

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twenty twenty four. Sure, crazy, how backwards some of these laws are.

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I know, well, there are
many laws in this country that are

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pretty backwards. But that's another story, another conversation, another podcast altogether.

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Right, yeah, exactly, Macaulay
Williams, thank you so much for your

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time, good luck, Almadeljaguar dot
com. For my listeners who want to

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check it out, they can read
about Jaguar rescue and so much more.

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I wish you all the best.
I'm very excited because of you and your

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I will drink tequila now. So
thank you for doing this and just for

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your passion, and I just wish
you nothing but the best. It's really

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it's a really wonderful thing that you're
doing. And like I said before,

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you I really believe that you are
the trendsetter and I hope others follow you

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in your past. Well, Maria, thank you so much and as we

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say, salute or cheers to that