EMMY-NOMINATED ACTOR, COMEDIAN, AND VENTURE CAPITALIST KEVIN HART ADDS ANOTHER CREDIT TO HIS LONG LIST OF ACHIEVEMENTS: TEQUILA MOGUL, RELEASING A SMALL BATCH SIPPER PERFECT FOR LATE-NIGHT SUMMER REVELRY
BY DAN SALAMONE
Kevin Hart has the type of accomplishment-stacked resume us mere mortals could only dream of: box office star, stadium-filling stand-up superman, business mogul, and most recently, the owner of Gran Coramino, a new small-batch tequila label. Its launch is yet another testament to his social media proclamation, “My name is Kevin Hart, and I work hard!”
A litany of celebrities have already made the leap into the spirit fame game, some to rousing success (hello, George Clooney’s famous $1 billion sale of Casamigos in 2017), while others reek of an easy money grab. Critic and fan reviews of Gran Coramino, however, confirm the comedian’s tequila does indeed have heart. “Admittedly, I’m not a big tequila guy,” said a review in The Autopian. “But with this, I might be converted.” Another online reviewer echoed the praise: “Best tequila I’ve ever had in my life. I usually do not like tequila. Everyone I give it to loves it. Five stars.”
In creating Gran Coramino, Hart partnered with spirit industry heavyweight Juan Domingo Beckmann, whose family has been in the tequila business for 11 generations. (The Beckmann family’s mainstream brand, Jose Cuervo, is the bestselling tequila on the planet, accounting for a fifth of the tequila consumed worldwide.) Gran Coramino is, contrarily, a boutique brand, an artisanal, small-batch spirit that’s designed to be sipped and savored. It’s available in two barrel-aged expressions: Cristalino and Añejo, both crafted from hand-picked piñas, harvested at peak maturity and roasted in traditional Gran Coramino grancoramino.com stone ovens. The Cristalino, finished in California cabernet wine casks and slow-filtered, boasts aromas of cooked agave, ripened stone fruit, and oak that give way to notes of vanilla bean, toffee, dark berries, and light spice with a long, oak-laced finish. The Añejo ages first in American oak and French oak barrels before it’s blended with an Añejo matured in ex-cognac casks, lending aromas of cooked agave, butterscotch, and cinnamon. Expect a complex flavor profile of rich oak, nuts, toasted cacao, and coffee beans.
“Gran Coramino is about people coming together and building a community that everyone can be part of,” said Hart. “I wanted something different in the market, to tell a story that hadn’t been told before for my fans, for my culture, and a generation who has never tasted a Cristalino before. It’s the best-kept secret in tequila.”
Gran Coramino
