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From performing on stage to playing bartender, country star, Jon Wolfe has now created his own tequila brand in Austin, Texas where the Juan Lobo brand lives and breathes. With hit songs “Boots on a Dancefloor” and “Play Me Something I Can Drink To,” Wolfe has become the King of Texas Country. After more than a decade of touring nationwide, Wolfe was affectionately given the nickname, Juan Lobo, by his fans, which translates to his name in Spanish. Wolfe held the nickname near and dear to his heart eventually discovered a way to mend his love for tequila by creating Juan Lobo Tequila.
The journey of creating the brand began over five years ago when Wolfe began the search for the perfect tequila while on tour across the United States. With no luck and countless efforts, Wolfe took matters into his own hands and decided to build his own brand. Wolfe began the journey by taking countless trips to Guadalajara, Arandas to learn more about the tequila making process, distilleries, and the industry – which led to a lot of tequila drinking, “Many late nights were spent developing this company behind the scenes of my touring career, and sometimes I can’t believe this product that started as a dream, a nickname, and a love for tequila now sits on shelves and people are loving it,” Wolfe recalled.
But the brand didn’t become what it is today overnight. “I have another career that has been developed over the course of a decade, so the challenge of dedicating the proper time needed to build a brand on top of my current career was incredibly difficult,” said Wolfe. After countless hours and long nights of putting the pieces together, Juan Lobo Tequila was finally launched in 2019 and has since grown to become a national-facing brand, on the shelves of liquor stores all across the country. “I love tequila! I’m truly a fan of the spirit, the process, and history. There has also been a big rebirth in agave-based spirits in recent years. Tequila has a history that spans centuries – I love that it’s based around a culture of tradition and solid family values. That’s just something that really speaks to me and my beliefs. On a business level, agave-based spirits have a big upside. There’s still a lot of misunderstandings in the world of tequila and a lot of education still to be had, so there are many opportunities to spread the good word about quality 100% blue agave tequila,” Wolfe shared.
Connecting with people is Wolfe’s vision for the company as some of his best memories have been with his fans gathered together around country music and tequila. Juan Lobo seemed to be the missing puzzle piece to his career. “The connection to our consumers is everything. We try to keep things fresh with our fans and consumers, so we’re very event focused,” explained Wolfe. This connection led to the birth of Juan Lobo Fest, an event that married Wolfe’s musical career with his tequila brand and something that lies close to his heart as it represents everything the brand stands for.
“We wanted to develop a festival that was centered around great music, a memorable experience, and Juan Lobo Tequila,” said Wolfe. The festival is the perfect blend of Wolfe’s vision of a place where fans and tequila lovers can learn more about the 100% agave blend tequila, while listening to unforgettable performances by local country musicians, including Wolfe himself. As of recently, Wolfe has had the opportunity to dip his toes into the acting world with his new short film, a dramatic reenactment of Wolfe’s adventures searching for and crafting the perfect tequila, entitled The Quest. “I decided to do something pretty out of the box and shoot a dramatic short film to coincide with the launch of Juan Lobo Tequila,” said Wolfe. “Part of what I envisioned with Juan Lobo Tequila is the ability for consumers to feel “immersed” in the fantasy elements of our brand – we want our consumers to feel like they can enter into this world of Juan Lobo Tequila that I’ve built.” The short film was released on May 5 to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
