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Need Tequila for Cinco de Mayo? This Metro Detroit Spirits Label Is Rising

Anteel Tequila just picked up more national honors — and a distribution deal with Kroger

Three bottles of tequila
Metro Detroit tequila brand Anteel Tequila offers three flavors.
Courtesy of Anteel Tequila

Many American drinkers see Cinco de Mayo as a day to toast the Battle of Puebla by indulging in Mexican spirits. One of the most popular ways to mark the Fifth of May is with a tequila cocktail.

During the pandemic, when many bars are closed, fiestas have been reserved for home. Anteel Tequila, a local brand that is gaining national attention, has got you covered, with a flavor you won't find elsewhere.

Although it’s a small brand with a portfolio of three premium tequilas, Anteel Tequila’s star is rising. Last week, the metro Detroit brand (formerly known as Teeq Tequila) picked up silver and bronze medals for all three tequilas at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition, known as the “Oscars” of the spirits industry, for the second consecutive year.

Coconut Lime Blanco Tequila, a 70 proof product that requires a lot of flavor balancing, is the only coconut lime tequila in the country, says co-founder Don Ferguson, of Canton. Ferguson and his wife and co-founder, Nayana, made a splash into the industry in 2018, introducing the coconut tequila and a Reposado Tequila, aged for eight months in second-generation Tennessee whiskey barrels. A Blanco Tequila followed in 2019.

Anteel Tequila is now sold in more than 400 restaurants, bars, and stores and bars in Michigan, California, Florida, Texas, California, Colorado, New York and New Jersey. The brand just signed a deal for distribution in 70 Kroger stores statewide, a partnership that took two years, Don said, since the grocery chain adds new liquor products only once or twice a year.

The tequila will launch soon in Georgia, he said. To find it, order it online, or get drink recipes, go to www.anteeltequila.com

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