October 21, 2025 • 41 mins
Today on Brewsers, we talk to Jorge Garcia with ATX Tequila. We talk about his history in the restaurant world, Austin as a city, and so much more. Follow us on instagram and twitter at Brewserspod. Like, share, review, enjoy and cheers. #brewsers #brewserspod #Enjoylife #DrinkLocal #Cheers
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Welcome to Bruisers podcast about beer, coffee, booze and bruisers.
I'm your host Rojean, and today we talked to Hoorge
Garcia with ATX Tequila. We talk about his history in
the restaurant world, Austin as a city, and so much more.
Jorge has so much knowledge and history when it comes
to not only the restaurant world, but also the tequila
world as well. And you don't want to hear from me,
(00:41):
you want to hear from him. So without further ado,
here is Jorge Garcia with ATX Tequila. I would like
to welcome the show Hoorgey Garcia with ATX Tequila. How
are you doing today, sir and wonderful?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
How are you now?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I'm doing well. So those lists think kind of pain
us the word picture. Where are you at? What's going
on around you?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well? I mean alsin Texas. I came here to go
to school, never left, fell in love with the CD.
Like many other people, you know, they come to Austin
for a weekend and they never leave. I'm still here.
I have raised three wonderful children. We have started some
old business as my years here and I'm happy I
(01:31):
started another one five years ago a tequila company. Before then,
I have restaurants, and my soul took over the restaurants,
and I didn't want to retire, so I said, like,
I'm na just have something that I enjoyed, and tequila
is one thing that I do love, not just enjoyed love.
(01:52):
So I started my own tequila company. I started with
another tequila called Carbonneto. Carborneto means a coal mine. There
is a tribute to my hometown. I grew up in
a small coal mining town in Mexico close to the border,
and then at x for my second hometown. You know,
allstin Texas. Here we are just you know, fighting uh,
(02:20):
wanting to be able to shelf everywhere, trying to fight uh,
you know, being able to shelf at the bars, the restaurants,
and it's so heavy business.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
It is very much so especially in you know, because
there that's it's tequila and it's you know, the bourbon.
The whiskey category are the only ones really growing right
now unfortunately in the spirits world. But then also, like
you said, the shells are so full, how are you
going to fit in? How are you also you know,
stand out so that people be like, oh, Okay, I
(02:51):
want to try.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
That one exactly. So it's it's a little bit harder
work when you are all alone.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Many many of the companies, many of the tequilas that
you see out there right now, they have millions of
dollars from investors or or public companies just putting money
into them, you.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Know, get out there. So what they do is they
buy the shelf. Somebody like me as small as media,
has no investors or partners, and it's just all along.
So then you do it a little bit slower. You
stood organically a little bit little, but you know, I
have gained a little bit of momentum in different stores
and anyone who gives me the opportunity then and then
(03:33):
I prove to them that I because I do have
advertising on the radio, magazines, I do a lot of
social media, and then also I do promotions like wherever whoever.
There's a very famous bar called Sea Boys here in
Austin where medium fis shirts this whole month, and so
we contribute we Wedsday two hundred and fifty dollars towards
(03:56):
the band or the DJ, you know whatever. So we're
there to support for those who support us and it's
actually it's been paying off. November, we're going to try
to go to another bar, another local bar that here
on tough Congress and so on and so forth. So
we've been doing this for about a year now and
(04:17):
it seems like it's catching on. People likes it. The
name is out there gaining momentum, and more and more
people are calling me. There's like I'm meeting somebody tomorrow
who's doing a movie here in Austin, and he was
to visual the tequila on the movie. So you know, uh,
it's cashy. It's not only is the name the at
(04:39):
X the label that represents all thin very bigiously and
then also the fact that it's a really good tequila.
So then all those categories put together, it's making people really,
you know, say like let's let's work with them. Oh,
let's give me a chance and should give me the opportunity.
(05:01):
I am, you know contributed. I do contribute to them.
I go to restaurants, bars, I you know, support them
and give them gifts, you know, anything, anything. One thing
I'll do is bring your baps right wait, really, way
people throw some bo well I have seen you, no,
(05:24):
go ahead, but as you'll bring all this up that
will last you longer, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
So yeah, I was going to say on your social media,
which again you're doing fantastic on you are literally everywhere
you're you know, you're hosting entire nights where I've even
seen you coke for people. So like, what is that
instant feedback? Because obviously restaurants love that, and then people
get to try your tequila, which they didn't know that
they loved until they had it exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
You know that. That is one of the things that
I do is if I lost people, and I usually
tell people like, you know, I have thirty plus years
of rest on business experience, use me, ask me questions,
you know anything you want to know. I did it
when there was no computers, when there was there was
(06:13):
no applications. I did it the hard way, creating Excel spreadsheets,
you know, so I can help you with whatever you want.
These are people that actually ask me for help, and
I do help them. I do dinners, what we call
tequila dinners. So the quila dinner can start anywhere, depending
on the restaurant and what we're going to serve. It
(06:35):
can start anywhere from one hundred to one hundred and
fifty dollars a person. People willing to pay because there
is more than just a murderita. It is four or
five crooktails throughout two and a half hours of just experience. Also,
I do talk about not just my tequila, but tequila
(06:58):
in general. I give you a full class of you know,
what it takes to make the tequila, How does the start,
where does it start? How is it created? You know?
How long does it take to grow? A gab it?
What I gave it? What how do you select? And
I gat it one from me another. You know, just
like grapes. You know, I tell people it's just like grapes.
(07:20):
We also, you know, we harvest the night starting like
a floor a m because that's when the sugars are
highly elevated. This idea fine, So all those things I
talk about it during dinner. So it's two and a
half hours of just not just eating and drinking, but
(07:41):
just stalking and socializing. And it's a Q and a
back and forward with a lot of these people, and
it's really fun. Makes it interesting and people learn. People
are willing to learn. Also, a lot of people that
come to the dinners are not just social drinkers. They
are just people really are sitting in your product and
they are interested in in uh in tequila. And then
(08:05):
also it gives me an opportunity to say, yes, you can.
You know, there's the five stores near your neighborhood or
your three stores near you neihverhoard the carriage it you know,
ask for it, you know, ask for it, but no,
it's available. This all the restaurants and this all the
bars ask for it by name. So so it's a
great way for us to for me to go out
there introduce myself as the founder, creator, owner, and also
(08:31):
let everybody know that you know. And the other thing
about it is that people find money is that I
give it my personal cell phone and you know, answer
it any time of the day or say like hey,
I'm in a meeting, I'll call you back. And people
text me like, hey, I need a recipe from my arena.
(08:52):
All right, and what do you do? And you don't
want two to be four? Where are you you at
a restaurant? Bar? Are you uh, you know, doing a party?
Do you want to do a gallum? So then I
I'm able to talk to people about what they're doing,
how they you know, what they want to do? Every
time I do a tasting at a liquor store, I
always ask people, you know, here's my car. If you
(09:13):
if you have a question, call me. There's my website.
I have to maturait us there. Some of them are complicated,
some of the simple. But if you really want to
know how to make a gallant mauritas, call me. I'll
be moaning happy to help you. Don't make a mistike
and make the mistake, but you know, don't be forty
fifty dollars down the drain because it doesn't because she's
(09:35):
because you don't want to told me. They call me.
So those are the things that makes people really really
like you, that you stand differently from a lot of others.
And I totally understand that there is no owner to
Heraduda or other because those are big public companies. You know,
(09:56):
it's not an owner anymore. There is just a group
of men investors. So who are you going to call
to find out about what to do with tequila or
meet those old you know, any of the other brands.
It's going to be, you know, mainly the website with me.
It is the website loves me. I come with it.
(10:16):
It's all what practice.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
I love that it. I mean, it's great because then
people also it's that personal touch and not only do
they fall in love with the tequila, but they fall
in love with you as a person because you're so
real and you're so out there and wanting to help
all these people, and you're I love these classes that
you're talking about because or these dinners, because it's a
it's an appreciation for tequila. It's the history and letting
(10:42):
you fall in love with tequila, and especially when you're
going with the different cocktail recipes every time, you're doing
it as well, So that's even better for all these people.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Right, yes, many times after every tasting, after everything that
people call me. On Sunday, I was on the boat
with a few friends and then you know how you
tie up a lot of times out a cold with
a bunch of other boats. So I pull out the
bottle and I started giving shots and you go like,
oh my god, this is really good. What he said,
it's tequila, it's my own brand. And he goes like,
(11:11):
bro right, how how do how do I get it?
What do I get it? You know? And so you
start from there. You know, it is marketing yourself and
marketing your product literally every minute of the day. You know,
it's eight hours of sleep. You get up in the morning,
you start thinking, how do I get another customer today?
(11:31):
How do I gain another customer? And it takes it
takes time.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
You know.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
I'm really good friends with Titles, and I asked him
for advice all the time. And he's an incredible guy
because he's just kind of like me. He doesn't mind
answering the phone and giving your giving me advice, you know,
or giving anybody. So it's just it's literally it's just
great people, real people from must in Texas.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah, so let's go all the way back in time.
What is your earliest memory of alcohol? About what her
earliest memory of alcohol?
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Uh, you know, literally watching my grandfather drink tequila and
him drinking with his brothers. My dad was kind of
a brandy and whiskey guy. Yeah. And and back when
I was growing up, tequila in Mexico was not what
it is now. Tequila was for the low class, for
(12:33):
the middle class below people. So seeing my grandfather drink
tequila and my grandfather was literally not for se you know,
poor or middle class. It was a little bit about
middle class or you know, middle class person had a
good job and make good money, and.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
He enjoyed tequila with apples, peaches, palms. And that's what
I do a lot of time sometings, and I tell people,
do not serve good tequila, whether it's my tequila or
somebody else's tequila. Did not serve it with lime, because
what happens with lime is in numbs, yould taste buds.
Once you numb, you taste buds with the acid of
(13:15):
the lime, then it doesn't really matter. You can be
drinking gasoline and it's gonna taste the same way.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
If you remember, I don't know when you went to college,
but if you if you remember back in my college years,
there were may maybe forty tequilas, Yeah, all of them.
Out of forty tequilas, ten of them were good. And
they all had to be drunk with lime, yes, because
(13:43):
you didn't flavors. Because the reality was they were not
one hundred percent of gavic. Yeah they were. They were
cold mixed and they still are availab out there. They're
called mixed does. Where fifty is a gabric or a
product of liquor or gabric and the forty nine percent
is whatever they want to put it there. And usually
what they do is they put what it's called, which
(14:06):
is in essence rum, you know, sugar cane, and that's
what makes it sweet and that's what makes it wonderful
and beautiful, and you know, but that's what kills you
next day in the morning. And a lot of times
I asked people say, like, man, I can drink tequilas
in college and I have not had tequilas. And I said, like,
(14:27):
you know, if you if you taste my tequila, you
buy a bottle and you get a hangover, I'll give you.
I'll bid with you the money back.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
And one of the mains is because I don't use
those those ingredients that a lot of people do. You know.
I don't use fake sugars or you know, fake banillas
and additives to blend with your tequila to make a
better taste there. You know, I don't do any of that.
It's just very simple tequila. And that's how I saw
(14:58):
my grandfather when I was growing up, drink tequilas, you know,
and I saw my dad drink Brandy's the same way
I saw my my dad and my uncles drink whiskey
the same way. They did not face it because they
were not adultery adulterated alcohol drinks. You know, now nowadays
(15:21):
there's a lot of tequila's, a lot of them, the
skulls out there, a lot of subways. It's oooh, shooters,
fool of, very heavily adulterated, and it's just that's what
literally makes you sick next day I am on the shooters.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Yeah, I mean you look at the mask quantity that
you see, It's like, if you really do the backwards math,
how much? How are they really making that much? And
that's just this store count. However, many stores they're in.
They can't all be the same. So yes, they think about.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
That, Yes, they say, one of the thanks just the
way I discover all this, you know, from being in
the restaurant business for thirty plus years.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Such as you say, you don't know that, ye are
just completely unaware of. But when I started going looking
for who could make my tequila, my brother, my brother
law and I went to literally like paying fifteen different distilleries,
and you know, we saw a small, and large and
extra large distilleries and I has one guy, I said, like,
(16:27):
you know, how many gallons or how many leaders do
you make here of tequila? Let's say you're on a
monthly basis. And he says like, well, every tank here
has sixty two thousand liders we have and we have
twenty of them, and I like, so which one is mine?
He goes, it's all the same man, change the label,
(16:48):
changed the model, and uh, you know, at the end
of the night, you know, you can add four percent
or whatever you want to eat tequila get your own profile.
So in instance, that's what a lot of companies started doing,
adding added tips to it. I didn't fake sugars and
(17:09):
root beer and I saw a truck or root beerd
I have the guy, what is root beer doing here?
He goes, hee, that's color, sugar and flavor. I felt like,
oh wow, I like root beer, but I never had
up with tequila, so now I know.
Speaker 6 (17:24):
And uh, they do that because it's impossible to, you know,
to create your profiles with the amount of tequilas that
are being consumed.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
He became to the point where it was very, very
difficult to meet the mid. The mid the demands a
lot of all sadden, you know, cheating, you know, sadly,
and after they started cheating. You make a small badge
the way I do because you're you're in control of
that batch. And that's what I was asking these guys
that I went to distillery, Will you lend me your
(17:56):
own badger? Now? When I set up that way, when
I said up to make small batches, we're not set
up to make you know, personal label, I mean which
we set up to make personal labels, were not set
up to make personal you know, tequilas like that that
are the small for the price that you want to do.
In a lot of the other distilleries, they can make
(18:19):
your small batch. They're flacy expensive also because they're going
to stop production just to make your tequila the way
you want it. Because the way I do it is
a little rest and stainless steel for thirty days after
the stillation, and then I let it sit in a
Jack Daniel berrow for forty days after the stainless steel.
(18:42):
So that makes it a little bit better, That makes
it a little bit tastier, smoother, And that's how I'm
able to get what other people are adding to their tequila,
the sugars, the sweetbar the banilla flavors, all those Since
the people are adding to it. I don't have to
(19:03):
add them because I get him out of the barrel. Right.
So there is there is uh. And I learned this
from a big a tequila maker that have been around
for a while and has launch shovel tequilas that are
very successful. And he told me it says, just make
simple tequila, man, Just don't get the comfort.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
You'll keep it simple stupid.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Exactly exactly. I remember when there's a hot sauce festival
here in Alston. I mean, and I won many many years,
many times graduations with my soulsice and people ask me, so, like,
what is the secret? I said, there's no secret, it's
just hous us. Don't have been about it to it.
(19:54):
You know, it's okay if you like to have been
about it at home, just don't have been about it
for yourselves and when you're competing, because it's gonna throw
everybody out of whack when it comes to flavors, when
it comes to taste MUDs, when it comes to like,
what the hell is it this souf mm hm, you
know they're gonna as well, you have just natural flavors.
They speak for themselves.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
This is true. I think the same thing about barbecue,
like people who just slather it with sauce and just
hide everything. I was like, what are we doing? I
think you didn't do the meat right exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, it's you doing a good bottombeque rip. You don't
need itself, I mean a lottery good sauce on it.
You just need your own rub and they just get cooking.
That's it, No, no cookie is. It takes time. Give
yourself time to do anything and you and you will
master it right exactly.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Well, so how did you come up with the name?
Obviously at X you said you wanted to showcase the
city of Austin, But how did the bottle shape and
the actual logo itself come together? Because I love that
that logo is fantastic, and so is that bottle. It
looks the way it looks like it's really good in
your hands too.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yeah, so what we What I was starting to do
is uh, I know this artist, local artist that it
does a lot of murals uh in town. And I
asked him myself, like, Hey, I'm working in a tequila
brand and I want to portray Elston. It's called at X.
And I had already been fighting the Trade Commissioner for
(21:32):
at X because they they kept telling me, now, we're
not going to let you trademark Austin, Texas. And I
feel like, so, you know, are a lawyer, you know,
get a dog to fight another dog. And we were
able to prove that. Many years ago, somebody trademark at
(21:54):
X roofing or so there was a lot of names
trademark before, many things mark before ATX became literally Austin's nickname.
Now every day is at X, And so I was
able to register that brand as just as they do
in business as. And then later on I was able to,
(22:16):
you know, cite the trade commissioner and get the name.
And why did I have Why did I get at
X one is because it was my second my second hometown,
and it's unique. Austin is a very unique city. So
Austin rather do utique, got to do Easter ten thousand
(22:36):
people every year they go, not all of them to
stay here, they go all the places. And people can
buy it online in North Caroline not buy an ATX
online because they have a personal attachment to Austin and
they would always have because they are loan homs. They
graduated from Alston. So the logo was the time about
(22:57):
this artist with what literally Austin is, the trails, the river,
the bats, the bridge, the Congress bridge, h and a
little bit of everything. You know, it's just the colors,
you know, it's very else tonight and it has the
agave and it has everything else that we really wanted
there to emphasize what ATX tequila is. And then we
(23:21):
did it with quality brand name, I mean, with quality
and flavor. And then also the bottle. We didn't want
to be looking, you know, the toll bottle. That's what
they call everybody well bottled. So I find a bottle
that fits well, very well in the well and that
it's very easy to grap with your hand, and it's
(23:43):
very pretty with the label. Uh. And when it's fading, you,
I mean, when you write up a story, it has
a an orange stop and then on top the it
doesn't have a it has a synthetic cork on top.
It's made out of a real pecan wood with it
takes a star on it and the story is ingrad
(24:04):
is not painted. So lots of quality there.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Yeah, it looks like you did a lot of quality
with this work. And I do love the story behind.
Obviously the little bits of Austin that is all within
the volleyball itself.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yes, as Alston is is very unique in terms of
what we do and how we do it here. You know,
Allston is a place where you're gonna find the richest
man in the world eating tackles out a trailer in
shorts and sandals. So you know that's how unique cult is.
(24:44):
You won't see it in anywhere else except for Austin.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
I yeah, I've been down to Austin, you know, living
up here in the DFW area on and off for
as long as I you know, have had a license.
So the growth of Austin is absolutely incredible. What I mean,
like you said, you've been here for over thirty years. Now,
what does the growth of Austin look like? Yeah, like,
traffic's worse, Downtown's always under construction. How is the whole
(25:16):
growth in kind of a way of Austin kind of
changed for you?
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Well, it was. You know, it's fascinating to actually have
grown up in Austin and also see the city transformed
to what it is now because it's just from what
it's fell in love with in the eighties when that
first came to Austin. Where Alston was only like three
hundred thousand people and now Alstin being you know, a
(25:43):
million and a half. It's just amazing where you have
from zero buildings because they were not allowed. Of buildings
were not allowed in Austin because nothing could be toller
than the Capitol. Right all of a sudden, you know,
you have three of the biggest tallest buildings west of
the Mississippi. And then you're like, wow, how do we
(26:05):
go from not anything higher than the capitol to where
now we have three of the biggest hours in west
side west of the United States. But it's actually one
of the things that I seen that I love about
Austin is that you literally can walk downtown at one pm,
(26:25):
two pm, one am and feel safe and it's beautiful.
Austin is literally a beautiful city, very pretty, lots of parks,
lots of swimming pools, lots of you know, your river,
you can canoe, paddle, bore, do whatever you want. There
is every kind of sport and if it doesn't exist,
(26:46):
we'll invented here in Austin and start playing. You know,
when the first time I heard about golf, frisbee or frisbee,
you know, it's like how you play golf with a frisbee. Well,
you know, there was a bunch of people that were
doing it, and now there is a huge competition in Austin.
Every year they come and play golf with free sebee's
(27:09):
and you know, from bike trails to whatever you want. Also,
you know, as I tell a lot of my friends
and nieces and family that comes from Mexico. So like
Austin is topless optional, and you go like what so like, yeah,
you know, you can go to Barton Springs. You can
(27:31):
run into a bunch of people from Hollywood there. They're
swimming in the Bark Springs because they love the fresh
water pool. But there are also some of the women
go there to be topless and some bay topless and
it's optional. There's not a problem. This's you know, we
don't see. That's how wonderful Austin is.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
I will say I have seen many people riding bikes nude,
so yes, I completely yeah, I've experienced this all on
Austin as well. And I spent New Year's Eve there.
I mean I walked from the Moody Center through the
downtown by the Capitol and then we went under the
under thirty five, and like you said, very safe the
entire time. It was I think probably about two in
(28:13):
the morning by that time.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yes, yeah. Also, it's just, uh, we're having some problems,
as any big city would right now. A lot of
it is the growth, and growth has certain demands, so
there's people coming from other cities to supply the demand.
And you know, whether we want it or not, whether
we like it or not, this supply creates its on demand,
(28:36):
and you know, and the man creates a supply also,
So we have a city where it's growing, we're having
people from all over the world, and yes, there is
problems sometimes, but other than that, people are very nice
and sweet and honest, very honest people here.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, without a dolt. I've always had that experience every
time I've been in Austin myself.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
And the other thing is I tell everybody, if you're single,
single guy, you should come to also goes like twenty
growth for a guy here.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
That's what one of my buddies told me that too.
But he's obviously, like he said, there's different parts of Austin,
so there obviously there's different vibes from every area. So
I'm like, uh, okay, that makes sense. But also living
up here in the DFW area, long distance dating can
be a real thing. And that's like an hour drive.
I'm like what, uh sorry, As much as I like you,
an hour drive is a long time.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Yeah, it's like four hours from Nallas Photo War area, right.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Uh, depending on the traffic coming in and out of Austin.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Yeah, it's worth it. Except you know, Waco's under construction
as always right now, So it's fine. That's enough text
to talk for everybody. So obviously people want to find
it in Austin, but you're outside of Austin as well.
I mean, where can they? They said, the website is
(30:08):
the best place to go to find out where they can.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Well, if you live you know, like I've been trying
to go to Dallas, but a lot of times, you know,
it just get you get stock concentrated because of demand
here in Austin, and you want to you want to
keep keep up with the demand. Uh. So being being
my home is easier. And but they restore the orders
(30:31):
that we will be more happy to deliver it to
the to the Dallas Forward area.
Speaker 7 (30:36):
Uh, there is a certain demand there, but the taste
is different and I do have people that borders online
from like the airport area there.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
There's a couple of down I wouldn't I don't know
if you will call them cities basically is one of
them Friskly. There's another one that I seen people order
tequila from there, you know a lot of them. I'm
almost certain that there is a connection to Austin in
a way, or a connection to you know, uh, but
(31:13):
I don't I done. I did a party last year
with one of the Dallas Cowboys. He's partners at a
liquor store on Lemon Street. I think it's called seventy
Rewine Store on Lemon Street, and they have it there.
Good people, nice, uh, and we had a very successful turnout.
(31:35):
I mean obviously everybody came in to get us an
autograph from him, of course, yeah, him and I, you know,
him and I autographed the bottles and this all of
my thirty bottles. So quite a really good time, you know,
we got I got to meet one of the Dallas
Cowboys in person. So it's actually yeah, so well, but uh,
(31:57):
the the website is the the uh the best way
to get tequila, my tequila ATX Tequila anywhere in the
United States except for Utah. They don't want my tequila there.
And uh, we have a promo every year by coming
up November and December. We have a promotion where if
you buy three bottles, you I paid the chippen. Yeah.
(32:23):
So I think it works out with a lot of people.
They want to use that as a gift or you know,
keep keep a little bit extra or you know, Christmas parties,
so that our Christmas party is coming up, and you
know it's a good tequila to serve exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Holiday times are the best time for alcohol.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Yep. Well there's always a good time for our good migrator.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Well, yes, this is true.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Well I have a second on the show. I call
it the five count. It's just five random questions. Yeah,
what was your first car?
Speaker 2 (33:01):
My first car was say four nineteen eighty three four LTD.
Speaker 8 (33:07):
Wow, okay here in my old town in Mexico, my dad.
It was like one of my dad's all pickup truck
at four nineteen seventy one.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Back then, I don't know if you ever seen an
old truck. You could pick up the hood and you
know what the agent was, you know what the battery
was from the carburetor. And you know the starter and
I was able to change any of it speaks anywhere.
Pull it up right now, I look at the hood
(33:41):
and I go like, I have no idea where the
engine is because it could be even sideways. So I
don't literally don't there to change oil. So do any
of that stuff that I used to do when I
was growing up. Right in that nineteen eighty three LTD
that I had was a car. There was just easy
(34:03):
to load up all my friends from school and you know,
let's go to sixth Street and you could put people
because there was no.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
Yep, I did that.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
You could. You could see a lot of people in
our car. Yeah, I didn't lead it on. I got
out of uh, got I started. I got out of
the car and got my went back to pick up again.
And I'm never gone basket car again. Uh since then
because I was from a pickup guy. There you go.
Now the pickups are more comfort than cars.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Oh my god, there's so much more comfortable. I just
don't want to pay the gas for it.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Yeah. The truck I have right now is quite know.
I dropped to dollars in one tank. So this just
it gives me good malaga.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
Uh, Number two, if you were a progressler or m
M a fighter, what would you name be?
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Uh? Well, I will probably be the terror of Rosita.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
Oh, there we go, be the terrorst uh. Number three?
What music were you into when you were a kid
versus what you listen to now?
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Believe it or no. I still love frend Sinatra, Uh
listening to my mom my grandmother played Dean Martin Fan
Sinatra and you know the rap back as they were
called they have known, uh, you know the Martin and
Frand Sinatra, Sammy David Junior and Uh so I still
(35:44):
do listen to those uh to those guys every now
and then. Also, Uh, there was a lot of great
artists coming out of Cuba, uh with different music playing
Q and jazz with my grandfather used to listen to.
It was really really good. So all of them are
still out there playing. Uh, someone are getting very old
(36:06):
and music music from Cuba is literally dying because it's
just a demand that's not there anymore. He has been
mainstream to more syles and different than what he was bumbled.
You know, if you if you ever heard that word
before and what it was, Q and jazz, just the
beautiful cure and jazz. I think it's almost gone. But
(36:28):
I grew up with listening to my grandfather. Uh he
had a short wave radio or if you ever heard
of what it's called, what a short wave radio him? Oh,
a short wave radio had an antenna, and we were
able to listen to other countries like you know, like
if there was a local station.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
So we we were. We listened to music from everywhere.
And growing up in Mexico, where extended families is still
a big tradition, you know, was practically raised by my grandparents.
So my dad and my mother work. My dad, my mother,
my parents had a meat market and my dad had
a ranch, and my family and my grandfather and my
(37:15):
dad worked with my uncles and then later on my
brother and I helped as we grew up. But my
mother was always in charge of the meat market, so
they worked a lot of long hours. We were a
traditional farm to a market business. That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
Number four. Who are what inspires you?
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Literally? I think my grandfather's my grandparents had a lot
of inspiration in me. Uh, my dad also in my uncle.
I had an uncle with whom I worked a lot
of the ranch who had a big even as rude
as she was. You know you still in some ways
(38:00):
somehow and need any counseling. That just took the punishment
with it. And back then you grew up and you
think that was part of you know, life right now
is he said, like, oh my god, I'm an in
therapy for that, for that, but it's too too far along.
(38:21):
The inspiration was there, and the inspiration was it doesn't
be no matter what the situation was, get out of it,
I mean, good or bad. You have to manage, know
how to get it in or out of a good
situation or a bad situation. And work with your hands,
(38:44):
literally work with your hands, and we apply I applied
a policy a lot in the philosophy during COVID during
twenty twenty, when all the restaurants were shutting down and
you know, everybody was in chaos, and let's just literally
say like we just I don't know what's going to happen,
but let's just work. Yeah, you know, it's just work, work, work,
(39:05):
and see what happens. And you know, I'm pretty sure
we're pulled through if we just work. You know. So
learning how to work with your hands and your had
was a big inspiration by my grandparents and my uncles
who you know, my grandmother grew up in the eighteen
eighties eighteen nineties part of the Chisholm Trail. When I
(39:28):
tell people stories that three of my uncles were born
in wagons, you're like, what, that's crazy, So like, yeah,
because they were in a trail, you know, gattle from
Mexico into the United States, and so you know, there
was a lot of kids being born.
Speaker 9 (39:49):
How my grandmother would tell me story.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Thanks so much to Jorge for being on the show. Again,
Definitely make sure if you are in the Austin area
to check out ATX Tequila. He is growing it by
the city, by the state. It's so fantastic. I can't
wait to get a hands on my bottle as well,
so definitely make sure to do that. And if you
get your hands on a bottle, definitely make sure to
tag us on social media. It is bruisers Pod that
(40:23):
has bet R E W S c R S b
O D on the Instagram, the threads, and the Twitter.
If you want to send us an email, it is
Bruiserspod at gmail dot com. If you want to follow
me directly, it is Roady John that is our od
I E j O N. Roady john is the name
on the Twitter and an on tap in case you
want to find out when I'm drinking, maybe we're gonna
have a beer together. If you want to follow me
on the threads or the Instagram, it is a fisher
(40:43):
Rody john Son. Till next time, make sure to enjoy life,
drink local and cheers.
Speaker 7 (41:00):
Three to work.
Welcome to Bruisers podcast about beer, coffee, booze and bruisers.
I'm your host Rojean, and today we talked to Hoorge
Garcia with ATX Tequila. We talk about his history in
the restaurant world, Austin as a city, and so much more.
Jorge has so much knowledge and history when it comes
to not only the restaurant world, but also the tequila
world as well. And you don't want to hear from me,
(00:41):
you want to hear from him. So without further ado,
here is Jorge Garcia with ATX Tequila. I would like
to welcome the show Hoorgey Garcia with ATX Tequila. How
are you doing today, sir and wonderful?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
How are you now?
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I'm doing well. So those lists think kind of pain
us the word picture. Where are you at? What's going
on around you?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well? I mean alsin Texas. I came here to go
to school, never left, fell in love with the CD.
Like many other people, you know, they come to Austin
for a weekend and they never leave. I'm still here.
I have raised three wonderful children. We have started some
old business as my years here and I'm happy I
(01:31):
started another one five years ago a tequila company. Before then,
I have restaurants, and my soul took over the restaurants,
and I didn't want to retire, so I said, like,
I'm na just have something that I enjoyed, and tequila
is one thing that I do love, not just enjoyed love.
(01:52):
So I started my own tequila company. I started with
another tequila called Carbonneto. Carborneto means a coal mine. There
is a tribute to my hometown. I grew up in
a small coal mining town in Mexico close to the border,
and then at x for my second hometown. You know,
allstin Texas. Here we are just you know, fighting uh,
(02:20):
wanting to be able to shelf everywhere, trying to fight uh,
you know, being able to shelf at the bars, the restaurants,
and it's so heavy business.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
It is very much so especially in you know, because
there that's it's tequila and it's you know, the bourbon.
The whiskey category are the only ones really growing right
now unfortunately in the spirits world. But then also, like
you said, the shells are so full, how are you
going to fit in? How are you also you know,
stand out so that people be like, oh, Okay, I
(02:51):
want to try.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
That one exactly. So it's it's a little bit harder
work when you are all alone.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Many many of the companies, many of the tequilas that
you see out there right now, they have millions of
dollars from investors or or public companies just putting money
into them, you.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Know, get out there. So what they do is they
buy the shelf. Somebody like me as small as media,
has no investors or partners, and it's just all along.
So then you do it a little bit slower. You
stood organically a little bit little, but you know, I
have gained a little bit of momentum in different stores
and anyone who gives me the opportunity then and then
(03:33):
I prove to them that I because I do have
advertising on the radio, magazines, I do a lot of
social media, and then also I do promotions like wherever whoever.
There's a very famous bar called Sea Boys here in
Austin where medium fis shirts this whole month, and so
we contribute we Wedsday two hundred and fifty dollars towards
(03:56):
the band or the DJ, you know whatever. So we're
there to support for those who support us and it's
actually it's been paying off. November, we're going to try
to go to another bar, another local bar that here
on tough Congress and so on and so forth. So
we've been doing this for about a year now and
(04:17):
it seems like it's catching on. People likes it. The
name is out there gaining momentum, and more and more
people are calling me. There's like I'm meeting somebody tomorrow
who's doing a movie here in Austin, and he was
to visual the tequila on the movie. So you know, uh,
it's cashy. It's not only is the name the at
(04:39):
X the label that represents all thin very bigiously and
then also the fact that it's a really good tequila.
So then all those categories put together, it's making people really,
you know, say like let's let's work with them. Oh,
let's give me a chance and should give me the opportunity.
(05:01):
I am, you know contributed. I do contribute to them.
I go to restaurants, bars, I you know, support them
and give them gifts, you know, anything, anything. One thing
I'll do is bring your baps right wait, really, way
people throw some bo well I have seen you, no,
(05:24):
go ahead, but as you'll bring all this up that
will last you longer, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
So yeah, I was going to say on your social media,
which again you're doing fantastic on you are literally everywhere
you're you know, you're hosting entire nights where I've even
seen you coke for people. So like, what is that
instant feedback? Because obviously restaurants love that, and then people
get to try your tequila, which they didn't know that
they loved until they had it exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
You know that. That is one of the things that
I do is if I lost people, and I usually
tell people like, you know, I have thirty plus years
of rest on business experience, use me, ask me questions,
you know anything you want to know. I did it
when there was no computers, when there was there was
(06:13):
no applications. I did it the hard way, creating Excel spreadsheets,
you know, so I can help you with whatever you want.
These are people that actually ask me for help, and
I do help them. I do dinners, what we call
tequila dinners. So the quila dinner can start anywhere, depending
on the restaurant and what we're going to serve. It
(06:35):
can start anywhere from one hundred to one hundred and
fifty dollars a person. People willing to pay because there
is more than just a murderita. It is four or
five crooktails throughout two and a half hours of just experience. Also,
I do talk about not just my tequila, but tequila
(06:58):
in general. I give you a full class of you know,
what it takes to make the tequila, How does the start,
where does it start? How is it created? You know?
How long does it take to grow? A gab it?
What I gave it? What how do you select? And
I gat it one from me another. You know, just
like grapes. You know, I tell people it's just like grapes.
(07:20):
We also, you know, we harvest the night starting like
a floor a m because that's when the sugars are
highly elevated. This idea fine, So all those things I
talk about it during dinner. So it's two and a
half hours of just not just eating and drinking, but
(07:41):
just stalking and socializing. And it's a Q and a
back and forward with a lot of these people, and
it's really fun. Makes it interesting and people learn. People
are willing to learn. Also, a lot of people that
come to the dinners are not just social drinkers. They
are just people really are sitting in your product and
they are interested in in uh in tequila. And then
(08:05):
also it gives me an opportunity to say, yes, you can.
You know, there's the five stores near your neighborhood or
your three stores near you neihverhoard the carriage it you know,
ask for it, you know, ask for it, but no,
it's available. This all the restaurants and this all the
bars ask for it by name. So so it's a
great way for us to for me to go out
there introduce myself as the founder, creator, owner, and also
(08:31):
let everybody know that you know. And the other thing
about it is that people find money is that I
give it my personal cell phone and you know, answer
it any time of the day or say like hey,
I'm in a meeting, I'll call you back. And people
text me like, hey, I need a recipe from my arena.
(08:52):
All right, and what do you do? And you don't
want two to be four? Where are you you at
a restaurant? Bar? Are you uh, you know, doing a party?
Do you want to do a gallum? So then I
I'm able to talk to people about what they're doing,
how they you know, what they want to do? Every
time I do a tasting at a liquor store, I
always ask people, you know, here's my car. If you
(09:13):
if you have a question, call me. There's my website.
I have to maturait us there. Some of them are complicated,
some of the simple. But if you really want to
know how to make a gallant mauritas, call me. I'll
be moaning happy to help you. Don't make a mistike
and make the mistake, but you know, don't be forty
fifty dollars down the drain because it doesn't because she's
(09:35):
because you don't want to told me. They call me.
So those are the things that makes people really really
like you, that you stand differently from a lot of others.
And I totally understand that there is no owner to
Heraduda or other because those are big public companies. You know,
(09:56):
it's not an owner anymore. There is just a group
of men investors. So who are you going to call
to find out about what to do with tequila or
meet those old you know, any of the other brands.
It's going to be, you know, mainly the website with me.
It is the website loves me. I come with it.
(10:16):
It's all what practice.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
I love that it. I mean, it's great because then
people also it's that personal touch and not only do
they fall in love with the tequila, but they fall
in love with you as a person because you're so
real and you're so out there and wanting to help
all these people, and you're I love these classes that
you're talking about because or these dinners, because it's a
it's an appreciation for tequila. It's the history and letting
(10:42):
you fall in love with tequila, and especially when you're
going with the different cocktail recipes every time, you're doing
it as well, So that's even better for all these people.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Right, yes, many times after every tasting, after everything that
people call me. On Sunday, I was on the boat
with a few friends and then you know how you
tie up a lot of times out a cold with
a bunch of other boats. So I pull out the
bottle and I started giving shots and you go like,
oh my god, this is really good. What he said,
it's tequila, it's my own brand. And he goes like,
(11:11):
bro right, how how do how do I get it?
What do I get it? You know? And so you
start from there. You know, it is marketing yourself and
marketing your product literally every minute of the day. You know,
it's eight hours of sleep. You get up in the morning,
you start thinking, how do I get another customer today?
(11:31):
How do I gain another customer? And it takes it
takes time.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
You know.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
I'm really good friends with Titles, and I asked him
for advice all the time. And he's an incredible guy
because he's just kind of like me. He doesn't mind
answering the phone and giving your giving me advice, you know,
or giving anybody. So it's just it's literally it's just
great people, real people from must in Texas.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah, so let's go all the way back in time.
What is your earliest memory of alcohol? About what her
earliest memory of alcohol?
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Uh, you know, literally watching my grandfather drink tequila and
him drinking with his brothers. My dad was kind of
a brandy and whiskey guy. Yeah. And and back when
I was growing up, tequila in Mexico was not what
it is now. Tequila was for the low class, for
(12:33):
the middle class below people. So seeing my grandfather drink
tequila and my grandfather was literally not for se you know,
poor or middle class. It was a little bit about
middle class or you know, middle class person had a
good job and make good money, and.
Speaker 5 (12:53):
He enjoyed tequila with apples, peaches, palms. And that's what
I do a lot of time sometings, and I tell people,
do not serve good tequila, whether it's my tequila or
somebody else's tequila. Did not serve it with lime, because
what happens with lime is in numbs, yould taste buds.
Once you numb, you taste buds with the acid of
(13:15):
the lime, then it doesn't really matter. You can be
drinking gasoline and it's gonna taste the same way.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
If you remember, I don't know when you went to college,
but if you if you remember back in my college years,
there were may maybe forty tequilas, Yeah, all of them.
Out of forty tequilas, ten of them were good. And
they all had to be drunk with lime, yes, because
(13:43):
you didn't flavors. Because the reality was they were not
one hundred percent of gavic. Yeah they were. They were
cold mixed and they still are availab out there. They're
called mixed does. Where fifty is a gabric or a
product of liquor or gabric and the forty nine percent
is whatever they want to put it there. And usually
what they do is they put what it's called, which
(14:06):
is in essence rum, you know, sugar cane, and that's
what makes it sweet and that's what makes it wonderful
and beautiful, and you know, but that's what kills you
next day in the morning. And a lot of times
I asked people say, like, man, I can drink tequilas
in college and I have not had tequilas. And I said, like,
(14:27):
you know, if you if you taste my tequila, you
buy a bottle and you get a hangover, I'll give you.
I'll bid with you the money back.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
And one of the mains is because I don't use
those those ingredients that a lot of people do. You know.
I don't use fake sugars or you know, fake banillas
and additives to blend with your tequila to make a
better taste there. You know, I don't do any of that.
It's just very simple tequila. And that's how I saw
(14:58):
my grandfather when I was growing up, drink tequilas, you know,
and I saw my dad drink Brandy's the same way
I saw my my dad and my uncles drink whiskey
the same way. They did not face it because they
were not adultery adulterated alcohol drinks. You know, now nowadays
(15:21):
there's a lot of tequila's, a lot of them, the
skulls out there, a lot of subways. It's oooh, shooters,
fool of, very heavily adulterated, and it's just that's what
literally makes you sick next day I am on the shooters.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Yeah, I mean you look at the mask quantity that
you see, It's like, if you really do the backwards math,
how much? How are they really making that much? And
that's just this store count. However, many stores they're in.
They can't all be the same. So yes, they think about.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
That, Yes, they say, one of the thanks just the
way I discover all this, you know, from being in
the restaurant business for thirty plus years.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Such as you say, you don't know that, ye are
just completely unaware of. But when I started going looking
for who could make my tequila, my brother, my brother
law and I went to literally like paying fifteen different distilleries,
and you know, we saw a small, and large and
extra large distilleries and I has one guy, I said, like,
(16:27):
you know, how many gallons or how many leaders do
you make here of tequila? Let's say you're on a
monthly basis. And he says like, well, every tank here
has sixty two thousand liders we have and we have
twenty of them, and I like, so which one is mine?
He goes, it's all the same man, change the label,
(16:48):
changed the model, and uh, you know, at the end
of the night, you know, you can add four percent
or whatever you want to eat tequila get your own profile.
So in instance, that's what a lot of companies started doing,
adding added tips to it. I didn't fake sugars and
(17:09):
root beer and I saw a truck or root beerd
I have the guy, what is root beer doing here?
He goes, hee, that's color, sugar and flavor. I felt like,
oh wow, I like root beer, but I never had
up with tequila, so now I know.
Speaker 6 (17:24):
And uh, they do that because it's impossible to, you know,
to create your profiles with the amount of tequilas that
are being consumed.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
He became to the point where it was very, very
difficult to meet the mid. The mid the demands a
lot of all sadden, you know, cheating, you know, sadly,
and after they started cheating. You make a small badge
the way I do because you're you're in control of
that batch. And that's what I was asking these guys
that I went to distillery, Will you lend me your
(17:56):
own badger? Now? When I set up that way, when
I said up to make small batches, we're not set
up to make you know, personal label, I mean which
we set up to make personal labels, were not set
up to make personal you know, tequilas like that that
are the small for the price that you want to do.
In a lot of the other distilleries, they can make
(18:19):
your small batch. They're flacy expensive also because they're going
to stop production just to make your tequila the way
you want it. Because the way I do it is
a little rest and stainless steel for thirty days after
the stillation, and then I let it sit in a
Jack Daniel berrow for forty days after the stainless steel.
(18:42):
So that makes it a little bit better, That makes
it a little bit tastier, smoother, And that's how I'm
able to get what other people are adding to their tequila,
the sugars, the sweetbar the banilla flavors, all those Since
the people are adding to it. I don't have to
(19:03):
add them because I get him out of the barrel. Right.
So there is there is uh. And I learned this
from a big a tequila maker that have been around
for a while and has launch shovel tequilas that are
very successful. And he told me it says, just make
simple tequila, man, Just don't get the comfort.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
You'll keep it simple stupid.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Exactly exactly. I remember when there's a hot sauce festival
here in Alston. I mean, and I won many many years,
many times graduations with my soulsice and people ask me, so, like,
what is the secret? I said, there's no secret, it's
just hous us. Don't have been about it to it.
(19:54):
You know, it's okay if you like to have been
about it at home, just don't have been about it
for yourselves and when you're competing, because it's gonna throw
everybody out of whack when it comes to flavors, when
it comes to taste MUDs, when it comes to like,
what the hell is it this souf mm hm, you
know they're gonna as well, you have just natural flavors.
They speak for themselves.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
This is true. I think the same thing about barbecue,
like people who just slather it with sauce and just
hide everything. I was like, what are we doing? I
think you didn't do the meat right exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, it's you doing a good bottombeque rip. You don't
need itself, I mean a lottery good sauce on it.
You just need your own rub and they just get cooking.
That's it, No, no cookie is. It takes time. Give
yourself time to do anything and you and you will
master it right exactly.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Well, so how did you come up with the name?
Obviously at X you said you wanted to showcase the
city of Austin, But how did the bottle shape and
the actual logo itself come together? Because I love that
that logo is fantastic, and so is that bottle. It
looks the way it looks like it's really good in
your hands too.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yeah, so what we What I was starting to do
is uh, I know this artist, local artist that it
does a lot of murals uh in town. And I
asked him myself, like, Hey, I'm working in a tequila
brand and I want to portray Elston. It's called at X.
And I had already been fighting the Trade Commissioner for
(21:32):
at X because they they kept telling me, now, we're
not going to let you trademark Austin, Texas. And I
feel like, so, you know, are a lawyer, you know,
get a dog to fight another dog. And we were
able to prove that. Many years ago, somebody trademark at
(21:54):
X roofing or so there was a lot of names
trademark before, many things mark before ATX became literally Austin's nickname.
Now every day is at X, And so I was
able to register that brand as just as they do
in business as. And then later on I was able to,
(22:16):
you know, cite the trade commissioner and get the name.
And why did I have Why did I get at
X one is because it was my second my second hometown,
and it's unique. Austin is a very unique city. So
Austin rather do utique, got to do Easter ten thousand
(22:36):
people every year they go, not all of them to
stay here, they go all the places. And people can
buy it online in North Caroline not buy an ATX
online because they have a personal attachment to Austin and
they would always have because they are loan homs. They
graduated from Alston. So the logo was the time about
(22:57):
this artist with what literally Austin is, the trails, the river,
the bats, the bridge, the Congress bridge, h and a
little bit of everything. You know, it's just the colors,
you know, it's very else tonight and it has the
agave and it has everything else that we really wanted
there to emphasize what ATX tequila is. And then we
(23:21):
did it with quality brand name, I mean, with quality
and flavor. And then also the bottle. We didn't want
to be looking, you know, the toll bottle. That's what
they call everybody well bottled. So I find a bottle
that fits well, very well in the well and that
it's very easy to grap with your hand, and it's
(23:43):
very pretty with the label. Uh. And when it's fading, you,
I mean, when you write up a story, it has
a an orange stop and then on top the it
doesn't have a it has a synthetic cork on top.
It's made out of a real pecan wood with it
takes a star on it and the story is ingrad
(24:04):
is not painted. So lots of quality there.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Yeah, it looks like you did a lot of quality
with this work. And I do love the story behind.
Obviously the little bits of Austin that is all within
the volleyball itself.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yes, as Alston is is very unique in terms of
what we do and how we do it here. You know,
Allston is a place where you're gonna find the richest
man in the world eating tackles out a trailer in
shorts and sandals. So you know that's how unique cult is.
(24:44):
You won't see it in anywhere else except for Austin.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
I yeah, I've been down to Austin, you know, living
up here in the DFW area on and off for
as long as I you know, have had a license.
So the growth of Austin is absolutely incredible. What I mean,
like you said, you've been here for over thirty years. Now,
what does the growth of Austin look like? Yeah, like,
traffic's worse, Downtown's always under construction. How is the whole
(25:16):
growth in kind of a way of Austin kind of
changed for you?
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Well, it was. You know, it's fascinating to actually have
grown up in Austin and also see the city transformed
to what it is now because it's just from what
it's fell in love with in the eighties when that
first came to Austin. Where Alston was only like three
hundred thousand people and now Alstin being you know, a
(25:43):
million and a half. It's just amazing where you have
from zero buildings because they were not allowed. Of buildings
were not allowed in Austin because nothing could be toller
than the Capitol. Right all of a sudden, you know,
you have three of the biggest tallest buildings west of
the Mississippi. And then you're like, wow, how do we
(26:05):
go from not anything higher than the capitol to where
now we have three of the biggest hours in west
side west of the United States. But it's actually one
of the things that I seen that I love about
Austin is that you literally can walk downtown at one pm,
(26:25):
two pm, one am and feel safe and it's beautiful.
Austin is literally a beautiful city, very pretty, lots of parks,
lots of swimming pools, lots of you know, your river,
you can canoe, paddle, bore, do whatever you want. There
is every kind of sport and if it doesn't exist,
(26:46):
we'll invented here in Austin and start playing. You know,
when the first time I heard about golf, frisbee or frisbee,
you know, it's like how you play golf with a frisbee. Well,
you know, there was a bunch of people that were
doing it, and now there is a huge competition in Austin.
Every year they come and play golf with free sebee's
(27:09):
and you know, from bike trails to whatever you want. Also,
you know, as I tell a lot of my friends
and nieces and family that comes from Mexico. So like
Austin is topless optional, and you go like what so like, yeah,
you know, you can go to Barton Springs. You can
(27:31):
run into a bunch of people from Hollywood there. They're
swimming in the Bark Springs because they love the fresh
water pool. But there are also some of the women
go there to be topless and some bay topless and
it's optional. There's not a problem. This's you know, we
don't see. That's how wonderful Austin is.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
I will say I have seen many people riding bikes nude,
so yes, I completely yeah, I've experienced this all on
Austin as well. And I spent New Year's Eve there.
I mean I walked from the Moody Center through the
downtown by the Capitol and then we went under the
under thirty five, and like you said, very safe the
entire time. It was I think probably about two in
(28:13):
the morning by that time.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yes, yeah. Also, it's just, uh, we're having some problems,
as any big city would right now. A lot of
it is the growth, and growth has certain demands, so
there's people coming from other cities to supply the demand.
And you know, whether we want it or not, whether
we like it or not, this supply creates its on demand,
(28:36):
and you know, and the man creates a supply also,
So we have a city where it's growing, we're having
people from all over the world, and yes, there is
problems sometimes, but other than that, people are very nice
and sweet and honest, very honest people here.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, without a dolt. I've always had that experience every
time I've been in Austin myself.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
And the other thing is I tell everybody, if you're single,
single guy, you should come to also goes like twenty
growth for a guy here.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
That's what one of my buddies told me that too.
But he's obviously, like he said, there's different parts of Austin,
so there obviously there's different vibes from every area. So
I'm like, uh, okay, that makes sense. But also living
up here in the DFW area, long distance dating can
be a real thing. And that's like an hour drive.
I'm like what, uh sorry, As much as I like you,
an hour drive is a long time.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Yeah, it's like four hours from Nallas Photo War area, right.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Uh, depending on the traffic coming in and out of Austin.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Yeah, it's worth it. Except you know, Waco's under construction
as always right now, So it's fine. That's enough text
to talk for everybody. So obviously people want to find
it in Austin, but you're outside of Austin as well.
I mean, where can they? They said, the website is
(30:08):
the best place to go to find out where they can.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Well, if you live you know, like I've been trying
to go to Dallas, but a lot of times, you know,
it just get you get stock concentrated because of demand
here in Austin, and you want to you want to
keep keep up with the demand. Uh. So being being
my home is easier. And but they restore the orders
(30:31):
that we will be more happy to deliver it to
the to the Dallas Forward area.
Speaker 7 (30:36):
Uh, there is a certain demand there, but the taste
is different and I do have people that borders online
from like the airport area there.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
There's a couple of down I wouldn't I don't know
if you will call them cities basically is one of
them Friskly. There's another one that I seen people order
tequila from there, you know a lot of them. I'm
almost certain that there is a connection to Austin in
a way, or a connection to you know, uh, but
(31:13):
I don't I done. I did a party last year
with one of the Dallas Cowboys. He's partners at a
liquor store on Lemon Street. I think it's called seventy
Rewine Store on Lemon Street, and they have it there.
Good people, nice, uh, and we had a very successful turnout.
(31:35):
I mean obviously everybody came in to get us an
autograph from him, of course, yeah, him and I, you know,
him and I autographed the bottles and this all of
my thirty bottles. So quite a really good time, you know,
we got I got to meet one of the Dallas
Cowboys in person. So it's actually yeah, so well, but uh,
(31:57):
the the website is the the uh the best way
to get tequila, my tequila ATX Tequila anywhere in the
United States except for Utah. They don't want my tequila there.
And uh, we have a promo every year by coming
up November and December. We have a promotion where if
you buy three bottles, you I paid the chippen. Yeah.
(32:23):
So I think it works out with a lot of people.
They want to use that as a gift or you know,
keep keep a little bit extra or you know, Christmas parties,
so that our Christmas party is coming up, and you
know it's a good tequila to serve exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Holiday times are the best time for alcohol.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Yep. Well there's always a good time for our good migrator.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Well, yes, this is true.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Well I have a second on the show. I call
it the five count. It's just five random questions. Yeah,
what was your first car?
Speaker 2 (33:01):
My first car was say four nineteen eighty three four LTD.
Speaker 8 (33:07):
Wow, okay here in my old town in Mexico, my dad.
It was like one of my dad's all pickup truck
at four nineteen seventy one.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Back then, I don't know if you ever seen an
old truck. You could pick up the hood and you
know what the agent was, you know what the battery
was from the carburetor. And you know the starter and
I was able to change any of it speaks anywhere.
Pull it up right now, I look at the hood
(33:41):
and I go like, I have no idea where the
engine is because it could be even sideways. So I
don't literally don't there to change oil. So do any
of that stuff that I used to do when I
was growing up. Right in that nineteen eighty three LTD
that I had was a car. There was just easy
(34:03):
to load up all my friends from school and you know,
let's go to sixth Street and you could put people
because there was no.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
Yep, I did that.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
You could. You could see a lot of people in
our car. Yeah, I didn't lead it on. I got
out of uh, got I started. I got out of
the car and got my went back to pick up again.
And I'm never gone basket car again. Uh since then
because I was from a pickup guy. There you go.
Now the pickups are more comfort than cars.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Oh my god, there's so much more comfortable. I just
don't want to pay the gas for it.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Yeah. The truck I have right now is quite know.
I dropped to dollars in one tank. So this just
it gives me good malaga.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
Uh, Number two, if you were a progressler or m
M a fighter, what would you name be?
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Uh? Well, I will probably be the terror of Rosita.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
Oh, there we go, be the terrorst uh. Number three?
What music were you into when you were a kid
versus what you listen to now?
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Believe it or no. I still love frend Sinatra, Uh
listening to my mom my grandmother played Dean Martin Fan
Sinatra and you know the rap back as they were
called they have known, uh, you know the Martin and
Frand Sinatra, Sammy David Junior and Uh so I still
(35:44):
do listen to those uh to those guys every now
and then. Also, Uh, there was a lot of great
artists coming out of Cuba, uh with different music playing
Q and jazz with my grandfather used to listen to.
It was really really good. So all of them are
still out there playing. Uh, someone are getting very old
(36:06):
and music music from Cuba is literally dying because it's
just a demand that's not there anymore. He has been
mainstream to more syles and different than what he was bumbled.
You know, if you if you ever heard that word
before and what it was, Q and jazz, just the
beautiful cure and jazz. I think it's almost gone. But
(36:28):
I grew up with listening to my grandfather. Uh he
had a short wave radio or if you ever heard
of what it's called, what a short wave radio him? Oh,
a short wave radio had an antenna, and we were
able to listen to other countries like you know, like
if there was a local station.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
So we we were. We listened to music from everywhere.
And growing up in Mexico, where extended families is still
a big tradition, you know, was practically raised by my grandparents.
So my dad and my mother work. My dad, my mother,
my parents had a meat market and my dad had
a ranch, and my family and my grandfather and my
(37:15):
dad worked with my uncles and then later on my
brother and I helped as we grew up. But my
mother was always in charge of the meat market, so
they worked a lot of long hours. We were a
traditional farm to a market business. That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
Number four. Who are what inspires you?
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Literally? I think my grandfather's my grandparents had a lot
of inspiration in me. Uh, my dad also in my uncle.
I had an uncle with whom I worked a lot
of the ranch who had a big even as rude
as she was. You know you still in some ways
(38:00):
somehow and need any counseling. That just took the punishment
with it. And back then you grew up and you
think that was part of you know, life right now
is he said, like, oh my god, I'm an in
therapy for that, for that, but it's too too far along.
(38:21):
The inspiration was there, and the inspiration was it doesn't
be no matter what the situation was, get out of it,
I mean, good or bad. You have to manage, know
how to get it in or out of a good
situation or a bad situation. And work with your hands,
(38:44):
literally work with your hands, and we apply I applied
a policy a lot in the philosophy during COVID during
twenty twenty, when all the restaurants were shutting down and
you know, everybody was in chaos, and let's just literally
say like we just I don't know what's going to happen,
but let's just work. Yeah, you know, it's just work, work, work,
(39:05):
and see what happens. And you know, I'm pretty sure
we're pulled through if we just work. You know. So
learning how to work with your hands and your had
was a big inspiration by my grandparents and my uncles
who you know, my grandmother grew up in the eighteen
eighties eighteen nineties part of the Chisholm Trail. When I
(39:28):
tell people stories that three of my uncles were born
in wagons, you're like, what, that's crazy, So like, yeah,
because they were in a trail, you know, gattle from
Mexico into the United States, and so you know, there
was a lot of kids being born.
Speaker 9 (39:49):
How my grandmother would tell me story.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Thanks so much to Jorge for being on the show. Again,
Definitely make sure if you are in the Austin area
to check out ATX Tequila. He is growing it by
the city, by the state. It's so fantastic. I can't
wait to get a hands on my bottle as well,
so definitely make sure to do that. And if you
get your hands on a bottle, definitely make sure to
tag us on social media. It is bruisers Pod that
(40:23):
has bet R E W S c R S b
O D on the Instagram, the threads, and the Twitter.
If you want to send us an email, it is
Bruiserspod at gmail dot com. If you want to follow
me directly, it is Roady John that is our od
I E j O N. Roady john is the name
on the Twitter and an on tap in case you
want to find out when I'm drinking, maybe we're gonna
have a beer together. If you want to follow me
on the threads or the Instagram, it is a fisher
(40:43):
Rody john Son. Till next time, make sure to enjoy life,
drink local and cheers.
Speaker 7 (41:00):
Three to work.
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