SINCE ITS LAUNCH IN 2023 UNDER THE PRINCIPLE OF NOT “TAKING LIFE TOO SERIOUSLY,” MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY’S PANTALONES TEQUILA HAS CHURNED OUT HILARIOUS, REFRESHINGLY ABSURDIST CAMPAIGNS TO PROMOTE THE AGAVE SPIRIT BUT DON’T LET THE LEVITY FOOL YOU. THIS IS DAMN GOOD TEQUILA, AND IT’S GOT THE AWARDS TO BACK IT UP
BY WILL HARRIS
When writing about a tequila brand founded by Matthew McConaughey, there’s a certain temptation to simply say, “It’s alright, alright, alright.” Yes, it would be funny, but it would also be inappropriately flippant, particularly given the quality of the product in question Pantalones Tequila and the way it’s been rapturously received by those who know their way around beverages of the alcoholic variety.
While your skepticism might be understandable (in a promo statement, McConaughey joked, “The world doesn’t need another celebrity tequila…”), the fact of the matter is that there are three expressions of Pantalones Tequila, and all three won major awards within their first year of release: the Organico Añejo received Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the Organico Reposado won Double Gold at the SIP Awards, and the Organico Blanco received a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
McConaughey and his wife, Camila, founded Pantalones in 2023, issuing a press release that described the brand as “a line of super premium organic tequila crafted to celebrate having fun, doing good, and not taking life too seriously.” That last aspect has been on display in the tequila’s marketing campaigns from the very beginning, with the McConaugheys doing photo shoots that find them ostensibly sans pants although with the potentially offending bits blurred out, only their photographers know for sure. Whatever the case, if we have to pick a favorite, it’s probably the couple’s parody of the artwork for McConaughey’s movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which changes the title to “How to Lose Your Pants in 10 Ways” and positions Camila in place of Kate Hudson.
The popularity of Pantalones has only continued to grow since its initial release, and this writer can confirm firsthand that the tequila is worthy of every bit of success it’s receiving.
Pantalones provided with a bottle of the Organico Blanco, and first and foremost, it’s absolutely crystal clear, to the degree that it could pass for water if you didn’t know any better. That resemblance ends, however, the moment you open the bottle, with the scent of agave immediately prominent, along with some fruity and herbal notes as well as a hint of vanilla. As for the taste? Well, you certainly could sip it straight, given its smoothness. Once again, the agave is front and center, but in addition to the fruitiness, the vanilla is joined by a hint of caramel. If you don’t tend to sip tequila all by its lonesome, it should come as no surprise that the blanco makes a primo margarita as well.
Pantalones Tequila