The Powerful Story Behind El Perro Grande’s Iconic Bottle (with Renard Johnson and Dairen Sanchez)

What inspired the iconic dog-shaped bottle of El Perro Grande Tequila?

In this episode of Behind the Bottle, Celia Maestri sits down with Renard Johnson, Mayor of El Paso, and Dairen Sanchez, CEO of El Perro Grande Tequila, to uncover the inspiring story behind the brand. From the meaning behind their iconic bottle to the journey of building a premium tequila rooted in resilience, grit, and purpose, they share the vision, values, and entrepreneurial spirit that continue to shape El Perro Grande.

Whether you’re passionate about tequila, entrepreneurship, leadership, or founder stories, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

Thank you for listening! Follow us at @CasaMaestri and experience the magic! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Everyone knows the bottle, but do you know the story behind it? Welcome to Behind the Bottle by Celia Meistry, where the real stories of the tequila world are finally poured out. From bold beginnings to industry secrets, it's time for a deeper sip into the lives behind the spirits. Pour a glass, take a seat. The story's just getting good.

SPEAKER_03 0:22

Welcome to Behind the Bottles Tequila Tel. Today we have a very special guest, the major of El Paso, Renard and um Dairan, that is the CEO. We're going to have fun. They have a fun story, and I'm can't wait for you to hear it. Let's start. Thank you for coming to our podcast. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_02 0:49

I'm doing fantastic. Thank you for having us. I mean, I've been watching a number of the episodes, and it's finally good to be here on Behind the Bottle.

SPEAKER_03 0:57

Yes. So tell me about a little bit of your background.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Yeah, so um, my background is I was I was born in Chicago, Illinois, and my parents moved from Chicago to El Paso in the late 60s. So I was seven months old when I got to El Paso, Texas. And I grew up in El Paso. I went to school in El Paso. I graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso. And uh so El Paso's home. That's where all my memories are. That's where my family is. My parents are there, and you know, um, that's where I call home, El Paso.

SPEAKER_03 1:30

Very good. So, what what day brought your parents to El Paso?

SPEAKER_02 1:34

So my father was working for the uh the government, and he got a job opportunity to go to work at a White Sands Missile Range, which is just there in New Mexico. So he packed up his family and moved us from Chicago all the way to El Paso. And you could imagine my mother leaving Chicago, Illinois, going to El Paso in the 60s. It was quite different back then.

SPEAKER_03 1:56

And very small back then.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Very small, yeah. And and today, El Paso, you know, we're just about 800,000 people. And the region with uh Juarez, Mexico and Las Cruces, New Mexico, makes up about 2.7 million people. So it's a it's a very vibrant region. It's uh it's a big, it's a big area now.

SPEAKER_03 2:15

Very different than the way it used to be when I came 35, 37 years ago.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

Yes, yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

Yeah, well, we are Texans.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

Yes, exactly. And and you and you mentioned it, El Paso, most people don't know, but we're the sixth largest city in the United States. We're number 22 uh in the United States. I mean, we're sixth largest in Texas, 22nd largest in the United States. So we're we're a relatively large city.

SPEAKER_03 2:39

Yeah, Texas for sure has been growing and growing lately, you know, as well as Florida and other states. Yes. Very good. Uh Diane, could you tell us a little about your background?

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Yes, I am a border kid. I was born in El Paso, but lived in Juarez and did the whole back and forth, going back to school in the mornings, crossing the bridge, uh, moved to El Paso in seventh grade and have been there since. And I love my city. I love both. I go to Juarez to get my pets vaccinated, and I come back home. And I I just love the vibe how vibrant the city is. I'm really proud of it.

SPEAKER_03 3:17

Um how did that idea came to have a tequila?

SPEAKER_02 3:24

Oh, yeah. So growing up along the border, um, and I didn't really like tequila. So yeah, I I I didn't like it, you know. I didn't like the smell of tequila, I didn't like anything about tequila. And I was in San Antonio with a friend of mine, and he says, Hey, let's go to have a drink of tequila, and I didn't want to go because I didn't I didn't like tequila. And then he says, Well, you're not drinking the right tequila. And I says, Well, tequila is tequila, and he says, No, it's not. So we were in San Antonio and he took me to a tequila bar and he and he and he got me some tequila with some orange slices and cinnamon. And I said, Wow, this is this is really good. And then I found myself in circles of people that were drinking tequila, and I really didn't understand, you know, what the notes were, what they were smelling, how they were drinking it, why they were drinking it neat. Some people had orange slices, some did not. And I said, I want to figure this out. So along that journey, I said, I wonder if I could start a tequila company. I said, you know, there's Michael Jordan, there's Kevin Hart, why not Renard Johnson? Of course, why not? So I walked down the hall. You know, I was at work one day and I walked down the hall and I said, Diane, we're gonna start a tequila company. So I didn't know what to do, had no idea, never been in the business, never been in the industry, and we started from scratch. And and that kind of inspired me was not knowing enough about tequila and then starting to fall in love with it and wondering, could I start a company?

SPEAKER_03 4:57

Yeah, the the company is really was not a tequila company, was originally was an IT company.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Well, that company is still there. It was this is a separate, and we it started with Renard and I, and a lot of Googling and a lot of figuring stuff out. And um, there was an AI that I could ask back then. So it was a lot of research going to the liquor stores, uh figuring out distilleries, figuring out who was making bottles, figuring out all of that as it came. There was a lot of surprises, uh, the legal stuff, the everything that comes with the industry was very interesting. But we learned, we we learned from Cyril. So there was no guidance at the beginning. So it was uh that's why we're really proud of what we made.

SPEAKER_03 5:42

So after you find us, what what leads you to to come to, you know, to be, you know, as many distillers as you do privately. What is something that between you, you know, both of you, you know, you talk about it and you say, let's go with the Casa Mistri.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

Well, we well, we wanted the best. So, and we did a lot of research. And the other thing we found out is that you guys were, you know, part of Texas. So once we found that out, and we're here in Texas, that was really special for us to to partner with a distillery that had Texas roots. So that was important to to both Diane and myself. And and when we found you guys, we knew it was the perfect fit to work with uh Casa Maestre on on our product. And it's been an absolute joy to work with uh your distillery uh building this brand, and and and it's become something quite special. But it took this team and and and the folks that you have at your distillery to make this happen.

SPEAKER_03 6:43

Yeah, how how the process went with uh my understanding that your uh project manager was Beatrice. How it was?

SPEAKER_01 6:51

She's amazing. I think I, like I said, I everything started Googling. So the I didn't know anything. So I would ask a lot of questions and no one blocked me, everyone answered me. I was very glad because I I didn't know the from the legal to the label to the back and forth, she was amazing and never felt like any of my questions were stupid or like any of my questions were redundant, um, and took the time to explain step by step what we were doing and we had to do. And we couldn't have done it without her.

unknown 7:23

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:23

I mean, she really held our hands through the process, and that was something that uh made it a lot better for us to go through this journey because it it's frightening. You know, we didn't know what we were doing to getting a bottle. What is a CRT? I had no idea what a CRT was.

SPEAKER_03 7:40

What it means CRT.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

And now I know, you know, a little bit about the CRT. I know about the process, we know about the legal work, everything that that it takes to to take a dream and make it a reality. But I can tell you that she held her hand and she made this really special.

SPEAKER_03 7:57

I'm glad to hear that. So why el perro grande and why a dog?

SPEAKER_02 8:06

Why a dog? You know, we we get asked that quite a bit. And so El Paso is, you know, we're always represented as the underdog, you know. We're we're the uh the city that some people, you know, give a bad image to, they give a bad rap to because we are along the US Mexico border. And when you say El Paso, sometimes people are like, oh, El Paso. And but El Paso is much more special than that. And we wanted something that represented our region, and and the and the the bottle has a number of markings on it. It has a US Mexico flag, and underneath it says Bienvenidos. On the back, it has a Texas, um oh, perfect. Yeah, on the back it has Texas and El Chuco, which is a short nickname for El Paso. It has a star on the head, but we wanted something that was small and mighty. And the dog has a journey, you know. It started in and tequila Jalisco made his way through the Chihuahuan desert, found himself in in El Paso underneath our our star on the Franklin Mountains, and he called that home. So he's been through a little bit, you know. When you really look at the bottle, one of the ears is cut off, you know, one of his ears is sliced. He has uh he's angry, he's upset. Uh, and he's been through a lot. So uh it shows you that with grit that you could become something. So he's he's a big dog in our city, he's Alberto Grande, and that's what represents, you know, he's small but mighty.

SPEAKER_03 9:30

Well, it has a lot of meaning. You know, I didn't realize that has a cut of the ear and all that nice uh representation. Yeah, I'm sure uh the audience will have to have one because it's a beautiful bottle and a beautiful meaning, and a beautiful tequila.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 9:48

Thank you. Yeah, they pick their own profile, they work with the team until they find the right profile for them. Yeah. So we work a lot. Um, because people think we all the same, but it's not the same. No, no, they're all different. Um, so talking about the tequila by itself, what is the difference in your mind between other tequilas?

SPEAKER_02 10:11

So, you know, I'm gonna let that in get into it, but we wanted to make sure we had something special. Um, because when people were gonna look at the bottle, they were probably gonna think that the the juice inside was not good. So we wanted to make sure that we had high quality uh tequila inside these bottles. And each one of these bottles is an award-winning tequila, and uh and we it has done so much more than we could have ever anticipated. But uh award-winning tequila, we've done a uh over 30,000 units so far, and we probably have another 10,000 uh in the warehouse that we're filling as we speak. But uh the juice is really good. And I'll let Dide in talk a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Yeah, so we wanted to focus on something you could sip, right? Um, we wanted to get people out of the idea that you had to just shoot it, that you had to make a face when you drank it, that you had to like mix it a lot. So we wanted it to be the base to be sippable by itself, smooth. And and yeah, that also complements your drinks. So I think we we hear that a lot because we do a lot of the tastings at liquor stores and so on. And uh we hear a lot of like, oh, didn't expect that. It's actually good. You know, so that's what we wanted. People to be surprised and to change their mindset um about the tequila. I think we we have a lot of audience like of in the city that would cross over to Juarez and have a good night in Juarez in the in the parks downtown, and they had the the tequila that was meant to be shot, meant to be just to uh get the the to the end result, right? Um but we wanted something you can actually sip, you can actually sit down and uh taste it with the blanco and the repo. I think it's way more common with the repos that you can sip it, but we also wanted the blanco to accomplish that, and I think we did.

SPEAKER_03 11:59

Yes. I hear as well that you guys have a tequila uh you know business going. How how this how did this come up afterwards? You know, I think you're getting into the tequila business, but very deeply.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

Yeah, so you you never know along the journey whether the opportunities will create or pop up or create themselves. And we we enjoyed this so much that we started going through Mexico more. We've been to San Miguel, we've been there, of course, to tequila, Guadalajara, other parts of Mexico, and we started venturing into the tequila tasting rooms. And we wanted to, you know, because we love it so much now, we said, let's uh take this and expand it into a a tasting room.

unknown 12:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

And there is a tasting room now in El Paso called uh uh EP Tasting. Okay. And it's located as a speakeasy with uh a boot store. So when you walk through this bootcase, you go into this grand hall of a tequila tasting room, which is just absolutely it's an award-winning tasting room, too. So because we we we wanted to showcase tequila, we we we now have a tasting room. So you start down one journey and it opens up doors for others.

SPEAKER_03 13:13

Wow, that is amazing. You know, that maybe you should replicate in uh big cities like Texas, they're gonna like Houston, Dallas. That would be so in the future, in the future.

SPEAKER_02 13:24

Yes, that would be great.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

Yeah, we can think about it, you know. I I like I am I still entrepreneur. Ah, I love it. Anyway, so going back to the this great uh journey with the Pedro Grande, um, you say originally was not this name, correct? No, so anytime you without entering into details, but the original was a different name.

SPEAKER_02 13:49

Yeah, the the the original name was different, and you know, we we started off with a different name and we quickly were involved in a little bit of legal uh because of the name. Uh, and I thought we were right, and the other person thought they were right, and finally I said, let's just let's just change the name and and move move forward. But I can tell you, looking back now, this name fits more, is what the story that you just told me. Perfect. It's so the name fits this this this dog, it fits this bottle. And you know, anyone that has a small chihuahua or uh a rat dog like a rat terrier, like we have. Like your rat terrier that you guys have. I mean, they're small but mighty. They think they're bigger than what they really are.

SPEAKER_03 14:35

They are they they are tremendous, you know, it's a challenge with those dogs.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

Yeah, so this is perfect for this guy, and and uh his name fits him, and he's uh we get a lot of compliments on the bottle. It's an award-winning. It's very well made. Yeah, thank you. Well, compliments to to Casa Mastery, too, because they help guide us through this.

SPEAKER_03 14:54

Yeah. Well, tell me, um, in these days, uh how the well, I know that it's well received in the market so far, whatever you are, but the challenges that you are encountering.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

A little bit of everything, right? Uh there's a lot out there, right? You have to stand out. And you would think that a dog bottle would stand out. But it's there's a lot. And there's a lot of really good tequilas out there. So um challenges with this, like the representation and in like liquor stores and those things are are hard because uh as we've been in market, it's gonna be four years this year, and we're a small team. So it's I think the small team has way more challenges in a big company, and we those are the kind we face, especially in the world, right? Um the world happens too, and people sometimes don't drink the tequila, and you have to uh get by with it and still so on. But I think we we are working on doing the presents, and I think proving that it's not only a dog bottle, but it's an actually good liquid, that that it tastes good is what's helping us. But it's obviously uh in a long road.

SPEAKER_03 16:04

Yeah, well, I thought I mean sometimes the small teams work better than big things. Yeah, yeah, uh, but uh you you were mentioned to me last night that we have a dinner, yes, and uh that you had to do all that the wholesalers are not helping you. I think we are on the same boat, but I want you to the people, you know, I want the behind the bottle name, you know, is the killer tails, is about all the struggles, not just the nice, you know, finest product that you can put in the shelf. The struggles to get to market are very small.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Yes, um, from everything, right? Um, if you don't have a good team that's representing you in the store, pushing it in a way, there's just so much we can do. I guess that's that's the hard that's the hard part because you put so much effort into certain things, but if it's if you don't have a support team um on the other side, it's hard. It's hard. And uh especially if you're not one of with a big other company to support you, that's where it gets tricky because um there's less uh funds in our pockets to incentivize other things. So that's what gets hard. Um but yeah, that I think those that's one of the biggest struggles because you do everything on your side, right? You do the marketing, you make this bottle in even us though, we did it from server, right? Um in and then you get there and then you don't have the support to like because we're still learning. We're not we don't come from the industry. We didn't we're we don't have a background. We were fortunate enough to find people that were and explain a lot of things to us, but there's still a lot of things we don't know. So I think that is the fact that you I do a lot of tastings at the at the actual stores, um, because that's what you have to do. People have to taste it. And that's the hard I think people need to understand that you that's what you do. You you need to have people taste it in order to convince them that you have a good product.

SPEAKER_03 18:10

But lately, you know, the the mean is hard. You you you took it all the way to the Capitol.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Yes, yes. So uh a lot of our state legislation uh was gifted these bottles from the the chamber in El Paso. It it's it's been in places that I would have never thought this this little guy would have ventured to. I mean, he's been I've seen him on certain you know TV shows, you know, where he happens to be in the back or or someone has it. Uh musicians have uh had him in in their in their green room. So he his journey has been really, really good, but it's been hard. You know, like Didyn was mentioning, you know, no one's gonna take care of your brand like you are. It just doesn't happen that way. And as hard as we work to make sure that every detail is perfect, that we we're presenting it well, uh the the liquid inside is good. It's it's just very hard to get someone else to to feel that passion that we have, that we put into this. Because this is this is your blood, sweat, and tears inside of a bottle.

SPEAKER_03 19:12

Yeah. So what is the the next step for bottle at Pedro Grande?

SPEAKER_02 19:17

We we we're gonna continue to expand into other markets. You know, right now we're we're in Texas, New Mexico, uh, New York, and New Jersey, and we we getting we're getting a lot of requests for Arizona and California and Florida. So we've we've got to start expanding more. Um and and we've got an extra in Yeho.

SPEAKER_03 19:38

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 19:39

Yeah, we have an extra in Yeho and what's really unique too about this bottle, it's a blank canvas. We can do a number of different things with the bottle and and and uh and the actual labeling, and we can change it to any color we want. We could do shiny, we could do gold lettering. We have some really cool bottles that we're gonna be featuring here pretty soon that that are not in the market.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

Wow, so the pero grande will continue big big.

SPEAKER_02 20:06

Yeah, he's the big dog.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

It's a big dog, and we'll not stop, correct? That's right. That is the main thing. So well, um it's it's been a good journey. Uh I I'm happy that you're doing well and I I know you will be successful. You know that you are we are behind you, you know, so that is a good uh good thing. And before we leave, we have a few more questions that um what you will recommend or advise to people that uh maybe will like to enter into the tequila business.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

Yes, I would tell you if you want to get into the tequila business, it the the journey is not going to be easy, but it's something you can do. Uh once you find the distillery like Casama Estray and you work with them, you got to listen to the professionals that will guide you through the process because uh what you think about the industry may not necessarily be true. So I would say surround yourself with professionals that understand this and just go for it. Because if we would have stopped, we wouldn't be here today. And I think the most important advice that I would give is remember that I've never been in the liquor business and neither has Dietin. We don't know anything about it, but yet we're sitting here today on an episode of Behind the Bottle with Celia talking about it, tequila, that we were able to bring to market. So just just stick with it, surround yourself with the professionals and they'll guide you through the process.

SPEAKER_03 21:45

How about you?

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Um, really Renard said, but I think the team you built and I think I ask a lot of questions. I don't assume anything, I don't assume I know. I ev the smallest details. That's what I w I ask, just to not make a mistake and trust them completely. Um, I'm not a legal expert, and I think as you as soon as you put yourself in that position of like teach me, that's easier, way easier. So I think um part of that, and just be patient. This is not something you're gonna build in a year. This is not something uh I don't know, it's not a get rich fast kind of thing. It's it's uh it's a process, it's a passion, it's a it's something that is kind of like a legacy, yes, it's a career and it's it's uh um you're walking, you're not running kind of thing. And sometimes you stop to breathe, and sometimes you run again a little bit, and then you stop to breathe, and sometimes you fall to the floor, you know, like so it's a little bit of everything, and it's and it's not a straight line for sure. Um, and just be prepared in mentally, emotionally to learn so much about this industry is crazy, it's so big, it's so detailed, it's so different from other things we were used to. Um, so yeah, I think that's just knowing those things and then Mexico and the US and every state. Yes, and every state, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:10

So I would say also you're gonna get a lot more no's than you're gonna get yeses. Yes, but turn the no's into passion and figure it out because if we would have stopped on every no we got, I would not be sitting here today, neither would die then. Because we were told no over and over and over, you can't do this, you can't do that. And we just figured it out. And and again, to her point, listen to the professionals because that we're not the first that have started a tequila company. So there's people out there that know exactly what to do. And if it's your passion, go for it. I mean, because it it uh the journey's been great.

SPEAKER_03 23:45

We we have a great team ourselves too, and we guide you every step of the way. So, like you say, if they really wanted to do their series to to get into the market, uh we are not competition, we are just a big family, yeah. You know, and we all have the same struggles that you have every day. And my team here they can tell you the same thing, you know, they're they have struggles, but the main thing is never give up. Yeah, for me, for every no, it's a two yes. And if that person says no, I go back. Yeah, and I go back, and I go back until they die. You know what I'm saying? Yes, yeah, it's this is uh successful, you know, success in life. Yeah, never give up. And if you have something in your mind, you have a dream, you had to make a happen.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

Yeah, and that's the story of this guy, right? That's the story of Pedro Grande, never gives up.

SPEAKER_03 24:43

That's good. That I love it. So last and not least, when you wake up every day, what motivates you?

SPEAKER_02 24:53

Oh, so when I wake up, I mean that's gonna be super easy for me, a number of things, but uh my daughters. I've got two young daughters and uh I've got a 12-year-old and and a 16-year-old, uh, both girls. And that motivates me. That that makes me want to, it gives me more drive than than anything. It's and it's my family, you know. I I mentioned earlier, you know, in life for me, it's your faith, your family, and and a few friends. So I've got a strong faith, I've got an wonderful family, and uh, I've got a few friends that are real close to me. So that's what motivates me. Um and I wake up to that every day and and and and I I I sit in my room before I get up and go and just take a few moments for myself. I don't turn the lights on, I just sit there for a minute, I get ready to go, and then I go. And that's my motivation.

SPEAKER_03 25:42

But I think it's two people that motivate you, even though they are now far away enjoying the ocean. Your parents.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

My parents, yeah. My parents, yeah. You know, uh everyone is grounded with um memories of your parents. I'm very blessed to still have my parents with me. And my parents are on vacation right now, but uh they're the ones that'll give you the tough love. You know, even at my age, I still go to my parents and say, What do you guys think? And your mom will always tell you the truth. They will tell you whether you want to hear it or not.

SPEAKER_03 26:15

So uh that's a very, very, very important.

SPEAKER_02 26:18

Yes. So remember that. You know, if you want to know tough love, ask your parents. They'll they'll tell you and it will be unfiltered. So uh, yeah, but that's that's my motivation, and that's what gives me my drive to keep me going.

SPEAKER_03 26:30

Well, so I wish you both the best. Uh, we are behind your bottle.

unknown 26:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 26:35

And thank you for everybody for seeing us today. We'll see you in the next episode. Don't miss it.

SPEAKER_00 26:41

That's it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to Behind the Bottle, Tequila Tales by Celia Meg Street. The next story is already aging to perfection, so don't miss it. See you soon. Don't forget to follow us in social media on your favorite podcast listening.